An Indian Christmas
The celebration of Christmas varies in different parts of India. The Christian Communityin India celebrate Christmas beginning on Christmas Eve on 24th of December and continue until New Year’s Day. Christians across the country mark the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas Day by participating in special masses organized in churches. Celebration of Christmas is marked by carols, cakes, candles and decoration of a Christmas Tree.
In the North East Christmas the tribal Christians of the Bhil tribe go out night after night for a week during Christmas to sing their special carols the whole night through and tell the story of Christmas to everybody.
In South India, Christians light clay lamps on the rooftops and walls of their houses, the same way that Hindus decorate their homes during the Diwali Festival. People also prepare mouthwatering recipes such as cakes, puddings etc.
Christians in the plains decorate mango or banana trees at Christmas time. Sometimes they also decorate their houses with mango leaves. In several states of India a popular custom is to decorate banana or mango trees instead of the traditional pine tree. Another interesting Christmas tradition in India is decorating the Churches with poinsettia flower. Churches are decorated with poinsettas and lit with candles for the Christmas Eve Service.
However, for the urban regions the ingredients of the festivities are the familiar Christmas trees (mostly potted) decorated with stars and tinsels, toys, plastic fruits, and colourful streamers and illuminated well and placed in front of the Christian houses, shops and restaurants.
In several parts of India, especially in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai, the Christmas Festival has assumed secular overtones and is joyfully celebrated by people of all religions and communities. In Mumbai, which has one of the largest Roman Catholic communities in India, there is a tradition to depict nativity scenes and decorate homes with big stars. Christmas Day called ‘Bada Din’ (Big Day) in Hindi, is a national holiday in India and people from all religions join their Christian friends to make the most of the joyous celebrations.
In Christian households, preparations for Christmas begin at least a month in advance. People get their homes whitewashed and indulge in spring cleaning of the house to give it a fresh new look. Ladies start preparations for the traditional Christmas cake which is anxiously awaited not just by the entire family but also by the neighbours. Hectic shopping activity takes place as everyone buys new clothes for the festival Christmas gifts are also bought for friends, relatives and kids in the family. The biggest festival for Christians, Christmas is also the time for family reunions. People staying in different cities for job or higher studies rush back to their homes to celebrate Christmas with their near and dear ones. Indian Christians do not believe in short services.
Most exhilarating celebration of Christmas can be seen in the vivacious state of Goa. A large number of domestic and international tourists flock to the beaches of Goa during the Christmas festival to watch Goa at its cultural best. One can enjoy the best of Goan music and dance during Christmas festivities. Catholics in Goa participate in the traditional midnight mass services locally called Missa de Galo or Cock Crow as they go on well into early hours of the morning. The Carnival, preceding Lent, is the most important event at Goa. This is similar to Mardis Gras in New Orleans.