My memories of Christmas
celebrations in India are so varied. Let me share with you some
of them. My first South India Christmas in a girls’ boarding
school was celebrated one month early-- November 25. A month
later the girls would be in their homes with their
families--about one hundred twenty-five in Christian homes and
thirty in Hindu homes. In the open-sided school chapel with its
thatched roof over a sandy floor the girls in their white saris
sat on individual woven mats. Covered heads and bare feet were
outwards signs of worship and reverence. The Christmas scriptures
and carols set this day apart. The mid-day Christmas feast of
special rice and curry with coconut and nuts added to the
occasion. The school hall was decorated with streamers of yellow
and green twisted crepe paper (yellow is a happy color). A fun
program in the evening brought the happy day to a close. Churches
in India are usually full on Christmas Day. It is a day to wear
new clothes, to wear freshly picked flowers, to give and receive
garlands and sweets, to have open house and to decorate with
balloons. After church everyone goes home to a meal with
something special. Hindu and Moslem neighbors visit Christian
families. Religious differences are forgotten in the atmosphere
of joy and celebration.One Christmas in Lucknow a professor at Isabella Thoburn College joined me in inviting several Christian Africans who were studying at the university to join us for Christmas dinner. Special rice and curry! Yum! Yum! It was a bright sunny day so we ate on the verandah and looked out at the hedge of six-foot poinsettias in the front garden. There was no need for artificial ornaments. In the evening I visited a Christian community outside Lucknow where all the musical instruments of the village were brought out, including a large drum. The cacophony of this “band” needed all the space of out-of-doors. The joy and happiness of this group of Christians was expressed in volume if not in harmony!
Christmas for Christians in India is focused, joyous, and unsophisticated.