MELAKA: Christmas is around the corner and preparations are being made for the Yuletide celebration at the Portuguese Settlement, where majority of the residents are Roman Catholics.

Combining creativity and tradition, residents in the settlement are seen putting up Christmas trees, lights, colourful ornaments and other decorative items both inside and outside their houses.

The stage area in the Portuguese Settlement is also decorated with stars, colourful baubles, Santas, snowmen and reindeers to create the Christmas atmosphere.

One feels that he is in a Christmas wonderland at the settlement as the houses are putting up their best decorations with Christmas themes in reflection of the festive spirit.

A resident of the settlement, Ronnie, said Christmas is not only a religious event as majority of the residents are Roman Catholics, but also a reunion for family members.

It is a customary practice for settlers to light up the settlement before Christmas to showcase multiple Yuletide decorations to thousands of visitors and foreigners who would usually throng the site to witness a colourful celebration.

Sitting at the coastline of Ujong Pasir in Melaka, the 11-hectare settlement was set in the 1930s by Rev Father A. M. Corado and Rev Father J. P. Francois.

The settlement of 118 homes is considered the cradle of Christmas celebration with predominantly 1,200 Catholic revellers.

The Portuguese Settlement serves as a home for the Kristang people – a Malaysian ethnic group with mixed Portuguese and Malay heritage originating from the time of the Portuguese rule in Melaka.