Hardly a week into December and the Christmas cheer has already set in along with the chilly weather! We may not have a white Christmas or bells ringing audibly, but there is every indication ‘tis the season to be jolly – for it’s time to remember the birth of Jesus Christ in a humble manger more than 2000 years ago.
The Christmas tree with gifts under it, the snow, fireplace, greeting cards, candy canes, alcohol, holly and ivy on wreaths hanging in homes, red and green stockings – these are exactly what authentically Indian Christmas celebrations are not!
Without all of these elements, what makes the season then, in our very own country? While we have adapted over the course of time to some of the Western practices, each region in India celebrates in its own distinct way.
Each home brings out the box of Christmas decorations that eagerly await someone’s attention for the only time of year, and certainly, this is the time for all those decadent recipes, those family favorites, not from stained pages of a recipe book, but from memory, because Indian grandmothers never recorded their recipes in books! But wait, why does everything need to gravitate back to food? Because those delectable dishes always add to the excitement and err… the added kilos, too
Being subtle with celebrations has never been on the menu for any Indian festival, and it is no different for Christmas. Ringing in the Christmas subhakankshalu in Telugu homes, there are some traditions that are common to other parts of India, some practices borrowed from the West, and some that are our very own. Christmas fruit cakes, plum cakes, rose cookies, and other cookies prepared only in Telugu homes (called doughnuts), kajjakai (sweet fried puffs), chakinalu (round murukus), caramel custard, mutton and vegetable stew, coconut rice, giant paper stars hanging in front of houses, these are some common items.
Divya Vilvaraj, who comes from a half-Telugu and half-Tamilian family and has lived in Hyderabad says, “My best memories of Christmas are the gifts my grandma used to give us. And I always look forward to our whole extended family of about 25 people meeting for breakfast after the morning service at church on Christmas Day.
Aunts and uncles from all over the city make it a point to meet on that day.” Her mother’s special biryani made only during this time of year is one thing the family enjoys, apart from other sweets and goodies including homemade rose cookies, cakes and store bought marzipan sweets, which she refers to as ‘Goa sweets’.
Another fond memory she shares is that, while she was forced to sleep early on every other school day as a child, she was allowed to stay up past midnight on the days they went caroling with church. “Our church team went caroling, visiting people’s homes a few days before Christmas and rejoicing, singing famous carols and simply having a lot of fun late into the night.
I live in Safilguda, and we used to visit families all the way in Ghatkesar, Bala Nagar and HITEC City.” She further shares about the group ‘Good Samaritans’, which she is a part of, who visit poor families living in different parts of the city, giving them gifts and sharing the story and joy of the birth of Christ with them. “As a kid when I went on these trips, it was moving to see other kids my age not having the very basic things that I had back at home,” says Divya.
Christmas is indeed the time for families to get together over a good meal and hearty laughter, rejoicing in God’s love for humankind. Even Krupamma, who works as a domestic help in homes, brings together her four children and their families each year to sit down to a meal of chicken curry.
While the Christmas tree has gained much fame in Indian homes, some families are known to have decorated a banana or mango tree (or any other tree found). The trends of celebrating however vary with different cultures. Christians in Goa celebrate in a more ‘Western’ way because Goa has historical connections with Portugal, and hence the influence.
Raul D’Souza, a half-Malyali and half-Anglo-Indian celebrates according to the Catholic calendar, wherein the advent begins four Sundays prior to Christmas Day. “This year, Advent started on November 29 itself,” he shares. It is tradition in his family to bake a whole chicken for the main Christmas meal. “This baked chicken dish has a vegetable stuffing and is baked in a dish along with baby potatoes, capsicum and carrots. The head of the family cuts the chicken on the day of celebration.
And the rest of the season includes a lot of partying and drinking,” he adds. Making wine at home, soaking dry fruits in rum for the next year’s Christmas cake and distributing goodies to neighbors are other traditions that Raul’s family engages in.
Speaking about a traditional fast and abstinence exercised before the nativity, called ‘Noyemb’ in Malayalam or the ‘Phillip’s Fast’, he explains that it is similar to Lent (which is before Easter). ‘Noyemb’ is abstinence before advent, during which, it is customary to avoid consuming animal products on certain days of the week, although specific practices vary.
For Jemima Samuel, whose family is originally from Coonoor, Ooty, but has been living in Hyderabad for many years, the Christmas season begins in the month of October itself!
“Every Sunday of December we have programs scheduled at our church, and since I’m part of the English and Tamil choir, we start practicing right from October,” she says. The choir, she explains, sings 9 traditional English carols and hymns, and 12 songs in Tamil. “I love the Tamil song we have been practicing this year, called ‘Vinnai Vittu Mann Irunghi’, which loosely translates as ‘He came down to earth from heaven’. It’s a sort of fisherman song on the birth of Christ,” she says enthusiastically.
Not unlike many other families, their family prepares snacks such as rose cookies, murukus, rava laddus, sweet puffs, adrasam (flattened out disks made of jaggery and rice flour also known as ariselu in Telugu) and kalkals, to name a few. She recalls a bitter-sweet memory of watching her grandfather make kalkals, the round, rolled fried snack.
“They are so laborious to make, and Grandpa wouldn’t let any of us help make them. He would do it himself!” she says. On Christmas Day, their family gathers for a meal of coconut rice with pachamasala kolumbu, a curry that has coconut and green chillies as main ingredients.
The paper star hung outside homes at Christmas time is indicative of the star that led the wise men to the birth place of the Christ. Some Indian homes are decorated with small clay lamps to show the birth of the light of the world.
And this is quite common in the North-East as well, as Christmas is celebrated much like Diwali, with a lot of decorations and singing. Adu, from Nagaland studying in Hyderabad says, “Pork dishes are quite a specialty back at home, and in general, I think we have some Western traditions for Christmas.” One of their special dishes is pork smoked with akhuni, which is fermented soyabean, an integral part of the Naga cuisine.
The season naturally evokes a host of other memories including sitting around a bonfire on the final day of caroling, sneaking in yet another piece of moist chocolate brownie, setting up the paper star and decorations prior to the day, taking part in the nativity scene play at church and school, shopping, the 10-day vacation from school, and feeling so full with all the food by season’s end, that you nearly feel like a stuffed chicken yourself! This is what makes a very merry Indian Christmas – complete with the amalgamation of cultures, et al. And this is indeed, the joy of being in a multi-cultural nation.
While most of the Christmas traditions and practices are fun, lest we forget, Abraham Erra, a preacher says, “The most important thing about Christmas is that God became a man and lived on earth to show how man should live.” Even as we usher in Christmas 2015, and rush off to start shopping in time for the day, that is a good point to remember, as are the wise words of the good ole Dr Seuss in his ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas!’ – “Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” And on that note, let’s welcome the most wonderful time of the year; the hope it brings and the new beginnings.
How some of the traditions came about?
There are often multiple reasons behind the traditions practiced; some stem from Christianity itself, and many even have a basis in pagan religions and pre-Christian traditions.
Gift giving: It is sometimes said that the tradition of gift-giving started with the 3 wise men, who visited Jesus and gave him gifts of myrrh, frankincense, and gold. But there are different versions.
Santa: Most people know that Santa’s origins lie in Saint Nicholas – the generous saint who gave presents to needy children. However, many other figures evolved into the conglomerate we now call Santa Claus.
Stockings: The practice of stocking-stuffing can be traced back to Saint Nicholas’ charitable donations in the 4th century. He put gold coins in the stockings of three sisters who came from a poor family, one night when the girls left their stockings drying over the fireplace.
Wreaths: In Rome and Greece, kings and emperors often wore laurel wreathes as crowns, and as a symbol of power and strength. They are made from evergreens as they last through even the harshest of winters.
Holly: The prickly leaves represent the crown of thorns that Jesus wore when he was crucified. The berries are the drops of blood that were shed by Jesus because of the thorns.
By:Elita Enoch
(This feature first appeared in thehansindia.com on December 5, 2015)
Hardly a week into December and the Christmas cheer has already set in along with the chilly weather! We may not have a white Christmas or bells ringing audibly, but there is every indication ‘tis the season to be jolly – for it’s time to remember the birth of Jesus Christ in a humble manger more than 2000 years ago.
The Christmas tree with gifts under it, the snow, fireplace, greeting cards, candy canes, alcohol, holly and ivy on wreaths hanging in homes, red and green stockings – these are exactly what authentically Indian Christmas celebrations are not!
Without all of these elements, what makes the season then, in our very own country? While we have adapted over the course of time to some of the Western practices, each region in India celebrates in its own distinct way.
Each home brings out the box of Christmas decorations that eagerly await someone’s attention for the only time of year, and certainly, this is the time for all those decadent recipes, those family favorites, not from stained pages of a recipe book, but from memory, because Indian grandmothers never recorded their recipes in books! But wait, why does everything need to gravitate back to food? Because those delectable dishes always add to the excitement and err… the added kilos, too
Being subtle with celebrations has never been on the menu for any Indian festival, and it is no different for Christmas. Ringing in the Christmas subhakankshalu in Telugu homes, there are some traditions that are common to other parts of India, some practices borrowed from the West, and some that are our very own. Christmas fruit cakes, plum cakes, rose cookies, and other cookies prepared only in Telugu homes (called doughnuts), kajjakai (sweet fried puffs), chakinalu (round murukus), caramel custard, mutton and vegetable stew, coconut rice, giant paper stars hanging in front of houses, these are some common items.
Divya Vilvaraj, who comes from a half-Telugu and half-Tamilian family and has lived in Hyderabad says, “My best memories of Christmas are the gifts my grandma used to give us. And I always look forward to our whole extended family of about 25 people meeting for breakfast after the morning service at church on Christmas Day.
Aunts and uncles from all over the city make it a point to meet on that day.” Her mother’s special biryani made only during this time of year is one thing the family enjoys, apart from other sweets and goodies including homemade rose cookies, cakes and store bought marzipan sweets, which she refers to as ‘Goa sweets’.
Another fond memory she shares is that, while she was forced to sleep early on every other school day as a child, she was allowed to stay up past midnight on the days they went caroling with church. “Our church team went caroling, visiting people’s homes a few days before Christmas and rejoicing, singing famous carols and simply having a lot of fun late into the night.
I live in Safilguda, and we used to visit families all the way in Ghatkesar, Bala Nagar and HITEC City.” She further shares about the group ‘Good Samaritans’, which she is a part of, who visit poor families living in different parts of the city, giving them gifts and sharing the story and joy of the birth of Christ with them. “As a kid when I went on these trips, it was moving to see other kids my age not having the very basic things that I had back at home,” says Divya.
Christmas is indeed the time for families to get together over a good meal and hearty laughter, rejoicing in God’s love for humankind. Even Krupamma, who works as a domestic help in homes, brings together her four children and their families each year to sit down to a meal of chicken curry.
While the Christmas tree has gained much fame in Indian homes, some families are known to have decorated a banana or mango tree (or any other tree found). The trends of celebrating however vary with different cultures. Christians in Goa celebrate in a more ‘Western’ way because Goa has historical connections with Portugal, and hence the influence.
Raul D’Souza, a half-Malyali and half-Anglo-Indian celebrates according to the Catholic calendar, wherein the advent begins four Sundays prior to Christmas Day. “This year, Advent started on November 29 itself,” he shares. It is tradition in his family to bake a whole chicken for the main Christmas meal. “This baked chicken dish has a vegetable stuffing and is baked in a dish along with baby potatoes, capsicum and carrots. The head of the family cuts the chicken on the day of celebration.
And the rest of the season includes a lot of partying and drinking,” he adds. Making wine at home, soaking dry fruits in rum for the next year’s Christmas cake and distributing goodies to neighbors are other traditions that Raul’s family engages in.
Speaking about a traditional fast and abstinence exercised before the nativity, called ‘Noyemb’ in Malayalam or the ‘Phillip’s Fast’, he explains that it is similar to Lent (which is before Easter). ‘Noyemb’ is abstinence before advent, during which, it is customary to avoid consuming animal products on certain days of the week, although specific practices vary.
For Jemima Samuel, whose family is originally from Coonoor, Ooty, but has been living in Hyderabad for many years, the Christmas season begins in the month of October itself!
“Every Sunday of December we have programs scheduled at our church, and since I’m part of the English and Tamil choir, we start practicing right from October,” she says. The choir, she explains, sings 9 traditional English carols and hymns, and 12 songs in Tamil. “I love the Tamil song we have been practicing this year, called ‘Vinnai Vittu Mann Irunghi’, which loosely translates as ‘He came down to earth from heaven’. It’s a sort of fisherman song on the birth of Christ,” she says enthusiastically.
Not unlike many other families, their family prepares snacks such as rose cookies, murukus, rava laddus, sweet puffs, adrasam (flattened out disks made of jaggery and rice flour also known as ariselu in Telugu) and kalkals, to name a few. She recalls a bitter-sweet memory of watching her grandfather make kalkals, the round, rolled fried snack.
“They are so laborious to make, and Grandpa wouldn’t let any of us help make them. He would do it himself!” she says. On Christmas Day, their family gathers for a meal of coconut rice with pachamasala kolumbu, a curry that has coconut and green chillies as main ingredients.
The paper star hung outside homes at Christmas time is indicative of the star that led the wise men to the birth place of the Christ. Some Indian homes are decorated with small clay lamps to show the birth of the light of the world.
And this is quite common in the North-East as well, as Christmas is celebrated much like Diwali, with a lot of decorations and singing. Adu, from Nagaland studying in Hyderabad says, “Pork dishes are quite a specialty back at home, and in general, I think we have some Western traditions for Christmas.” One of their special dishes is pork smoked with akhuni, which is fermented soyabean, an integral part of the Naga cuisine.
The season naturally evokes a host of other memories including sitting around a bonfire on the final day of caroling, sneaking in yet another piece of moist chocolate brownie, setting up the paper star and decorations prior to the day, taking part in the nativity scene play at church and school, shopping, the 10-day vacation from school, and feeling so full with all the food by season’s end, that you nearly feel like a stuffed chicken yourself! This is what makes a very merry Indian Christmas – complete with the amalgamation of cultures, et al. And this is indeed, the joy of being in a multi-cultural nation.
While most of the Christmas traditions and practices are fun, lest we forget, Abraham Erra, a preacher says, “The most important thing about Christmas is that God became a man and lived on earth to show how man should live.” Even as we usher in Christmas 2015, and rush off to start shopping in time for the day, that is a good point to remember, as are the wise words of the good ole Dr Seuss in his ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas!’ – “Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” And on that note, let’s welcome the most wonderful time of the year; the hope it brings and the new beginnings.
How some of the traditions came about?
There are often multiple reasons behind the traditions practiced; some stem from Christianity itself, and many even have a basis in pagan religions and pre-Christian traditions.
Gift giving: It is sometimes said that the tradition of gift-giving started with the 3 wise men, who visited Jesus and gave him gifts of myrrh, frankincense, and gold. But there are different versions.
Santa: Most people know that Santa’s origins lie in Saint Nicholas – the generous saint who gave presents to needy children. However, many other figures evolved into the conglomerate we now call Santa Claus.
Stockings: The practice of stocking-stuffing can be traced back to Saint Nicholas’ charitable donations in the 4th century. He put gold coins in the stockings of three sisters who came from a poor family, one night when the girls left their stockings drying over the fireplace.
Wreaths: In Rome and Greece, kings and emperors often wore laurel wreathes as crowns, and as a symbol of power and strength. They are made from evergreens as they last through even the harshest of winters.
Holly: The prickly leaves represent the crown of thorns that Jesus wore when he was crucified. The berries are the drops of blood that were shed by Jesus because of the thorns.
(This feature first appeared in thehansindia.com on December 5, 2015)