Nilgiri: Nestled in the scenic Nilgiri hills of Tamil Nadu, Ooty kicked off its Christmas celebrations with a traditional cake mixing ceremony at a private hotel on Thursday.

Various dry fruits, including almonds, cashews, raisins, dates, dried cherries, along with multiple types of wines, were mixed together by the hotel staff and tourists residing there. The mixture will now be sealed in containers and aged for 50 to 60 days before being combined with flour and eggs to prepare Christmas cakes.

"Today we are celebrating the Cake mixing ceremony. This is a huge tradition in British areas. What we do is we lay down all the dry fruits, such as nuts and everything, and we invite all the guests to come and celebrate with us. When they come, we pour the liquor and wine and everything and start mixing together. After this, we pour the mixture into a drum and store it for one and a half months. Once it is fermented, we will start preparing the cakes. These cakes will not be for sale. It is basically to give away to the guests on Christmas," said Suresh, General Manager, Mango Hill Shola Hotel. 

Tourists who took part in the ceremony said they thoroughly enjoyed being part of this unique tradition, handed down from the times when the British resided here. The prepared cakes will be distributed free of cost among the people during Christmas.