Hundreds of people who intended to attend the midnight Holy Mass in the open air at St Thomas Cathedral in San Thome to usher in 2026 were disappointed when the rain continued to be steady after it started at around 10.30 p.m.
The campus was specially decorated for the New Year Mass, with hundreds of chairs placed from end to end, large floral decorations on and around the altar set up on the stage and lots of illumination on campus.
Archbishop Rev. George Antonysamy had to celebrate Holy Mass inside the cathedral, with people occupying the spaces from end to end, with many seated on the ground inside.
Elsewhere, on January 1 morning people streamed into Sri Kapali Temple in Mylapore, to pray. A special darshan queue was created and it was packed through the morning.
Temples elsewhere in Mylapore saw a steady stream of people in the morning.
Rain did not allow people to design their customary large kolams and rangolis at their doorstep – there was water on the streets even as late as 8 a.m. on January 1. So Mylapore’s inner streets where families design large, theme kolams / rangolis did not sport these creatives this morning.
