THE Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce held its 7th annual Christmas Tree light-up celebration at the traditional venue, Rahaman’s Park, Houston, East Bank Demerara. Hundreds had converged, amidst great excitement and gay chatter, to witness the feature, eagerly looked forward to at this time of year. Bleak though the atmosphere was, following two days of intense rainfall, it did precious little to prevent the large turn out of enthusiastic families. Apart from the lighting up of the towering 50 feet tree, there was a display of colourful fireworks, and Santa Claus and his entourage distributing toys to the many children there. The tree, described by Ray Rahaman as Guyana’s national Christmas tree, was lit up by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds. This gesture came following a cultural segment during which Guyana’s award-winning vocalist Tennicia De Freitas led a medley of Christmas Carols, joined by the gathering. Also regaling the spectators with choice steel pan entertainment was the Parkside Steel Orchestra.
Following a moment of suspense during which the countdown was chorused, the crowd went ‘wild’ as the lights were finally turned on in sync with burst of fireworks, which lasted for several minutes.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hinds, in extending Christmas greetings to the gathering, referred to the occasion as an important event on Guyana’s calendar. He congratulated the Tourism Ministry and the private sector for their part played in realizing the annual feature.
Noting that, “Christmas is a time of caring, sharing and forgiving,” the Prime Minister proposed, that for those who have not done enough sharing and caring during the year, Christmas should be a good time to make up for it.  
Prime Minister Hinds said that government is pleased to be associated with the private sector-led activity. He acknowledged the contribution of businesses that have bonded together with the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce to make the event a success.  Such neighbouring and caring business establishments he said, include Rent-a-Tent; Banks DIH; Prettipaul Singh Investment and others.
He commented on what a positive contribution the tree and the environment in which it is magnificently displayed, make to the ambience and aesthetics of the surrounding community, which is literally a tourist attraction around this time. Mr. Hinds also called on Guyanese, in their respective regions, to play their part in environmental enhancement, particularly cleaning up and proper disposal of waste.  
He urged them to take the attitude of cleaning displayed at home to other parts of their environment.