Yuletide spirit comes to town
With Christmas just around the corner, upscale hotels are organising parties, restaurants are floating various offers and shops are stocking up on festive products ahead of the biggest religious festival for the Christian community.
For example, Boss Cosmetics in Dhaka's Farmgate is selling artificial Christmas trees, Santa dolls, hats and other items.
"As there is a Christian community in the capital's Farmgate area, we sell different items every year and the response from customers is tremendous," Md Shaju, the shop's proprietor, told The Daily Star.
For the last few days, about 45 to 50 customers have visited the shop and over a dozen of them made purchases. The price of a plastic Christmas tree starts from Tk 250 and stretches up to Tk 10,000 depending on quality and size.
"Not only the Christian community, but a significant number of products are sold to different business outlets as they adorn their floors with Christmas trees and lights," he said.
Aarong, a leading lifestyle brand, is one such business that has already decorated its Gulshan outlets in Christmas colours.
"We plan to decorate all of our outlets in the Christmas theme," said Mohammd Ashraful Alam, chief executive officer of Aarong.
During the yuletide season each year, Aarong introduces a colourful collection of clothing alongside many decorative pieces to commemorate Christmas.
"We witness good sales during this time," he added.
Surovi Rozario, a resident of Dhaka's East Rajabazar, said she bought new dresses and ornaments to celebrate Christmas.
"Besides, we decorate our house with different traditional themes," Rozario added.
Although there is no estimation on Christmas sales in Bangladesh, it is the biggest sales season in the US, EU and many other countries as it is observed as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people worldwide.
Christmas retail sales in the US were forecast to grow more than 10 per cent this year to about $843.4 billion dollars, compared with a previous high of $777.3 billion last year, according to global data firm Statista.
The Christmas season accounts for over 30 per cent of apparel shipments from Bangladesh to the US, UK and EU, said SM Khaled, managing director of Snowtex.
"From Thanksgiving Day, which was November 25 this year, to Christmas, this one month is the biggest selling season in the EU and US," he added.
Snowtex's local retail brand SaRa, which has seven outlets, has also started showcasing some items for Christmas.
In Bangladesh, much of the exuberance of Christmas is seen at top hotels.
Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka will host a "fun-filled" Christmas party on December 25, where customers can choose from barbecue items including beef steak, lamb chops, beef ribs, and king prawns. Interested parties can purchase an entry ticket for Tk 4,500 while select debit and credit cardholders can avail buy-one-get-one offer.
With an entry fee of Tk 1,500 per person, InterContinental Dhaka is throwing a Christmas Kids' Party, which includes activities such as cutting a cake, meeting Santa Claus, a live-action Farmville, magic show, ball pool, and so on.
Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden, Lakeshore Hotel Gulshan and other hotels are organising different parties on the occasion as well.
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