Georgetown : A large gathering turned out to witness President Donald Ramotar, accompanied by First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar, flick the switch to light the Rahaman’s Park Christmas tree last evening, at the Houston junction.
Delivering brief remarks, the President said the message of Christmas is one that “has universal appeal and one that is beautiful for our multi-ethnic country”. He added that this is why it has transcended Christianity and is now one for all Guyanese.
President Ramotar noted that at present, for the nation in particular the message of peace and goodwill, is “extremely important for nation building, not only to have the economy growing, and for us to improve our social services, but for us also to integrate more and more with each other, so we can see ourselves as Guyanese, as one people, one nation, one destiny”.
He described 2014 as a significant and momentous year and one that saw the nation “moving forward”. The Head of State further expressed the hope that 2015 would be even better as the nation renews its democracy and lays the political foundation to “take our country forward in a greater way”.
Acting Tourism Minister, Irfaan Ali called on those gathered to applaud the passing of another year and the “celebration of life” as he briefly addressed the massive crowd.
He described 2014 as “One more year of love, one more year of life, one more year of living in our beautiful country, and one more year of sharing this wonderful spirit of Christmas with each other”. He emphasised that this spirit of closeness and unity is one which should take the nation forward.
The event featured performances by the choirs of the Eccles Assemblies of God Church, the Bishops’ High School, Success Elementary School, Brickdam Cathedral, and the Linden Masquerade Band. It concluded with a parade with Santa and his Elves who distributed toys and sweets to hundreds of the appreciative children in attendance. This is the eighth anniversary of the event, started by th
e Rahaman family and they have promised, according to Ray Rahaman, to continue the tradition with the eventual aim of breaking the world record for the tallest artificial tree, which currently stands at 54 feet.
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