Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith urged priests not to put up Christmas trees in their churches over the festive period, saying they had no religious significance.

The Cardinal, was quoted in a statement as telling clergymen to “try to avoid putting up Christmas trees inside the churches”.

“These do not belong to the sacred significance of Christmas but are more connected to social and family celebrations ... They have also become symbols of Christmas in malls and public squares,” the cardinal added.

Sri Lanka is a mainly Buddhist country but around 1.2 million of its overall population of 21 million people are Catholics.

(With inputs from AFP)