Christmas is celebrated in almost every corner of the world and India is no exception. Though the Christians here are a minority community yet the celebration of Christmas is done with great zeal here. This is mainly because Christmas has attained the status of being almost a secular festival. People belonging to different religious communities gather together and make preparations for celebrating Christmas at their home or at a friend’s place. Like everywhere else, Christmas in India is also a time for a lot of joy and festivity. India is a land of many nationalities and they all have adapted the occasion of Christmas according to their own way. Christmas is celebrated in various cities and territories of India and each has a different style of its own.
Christmas with a European flavor
For the perfect Christmas celebrations with the touch of the West, the two places to be is either Pondicherry or Goa. Here Christmas is celebrated with great pomp since a lot of Christians live in these areas. Goa used to be a colony of Portugal. Likewise, Pondicherry was also a French colony. Since the colonizers brought with them their own traditions these two colonies adopted their ways of celebrating Christmas. Goa is a place where quite a huge number of Catholics had settled down and their tradition has been imbibed as a part of the traditional celebration. People from whatever faith they maybe generally attend the midnight mass and the houses and beautifully decorated with a lot of lights and other accessories which are ideal for Christmas. People either sing carols themselves or play songs. There is a mood of festivity all around. Since Goa and Pondicherry are both located by the sea, a lot of Christmas celebrations are also held on the beach. People drink and eat to their hearts content and enjoy themselves a lot. Here also Christmas is a time which is meant to be spent with one’s family. The city streets are decorated with plenty of lights and the sound of music can be heard emanating from possibly every house hold.
Christmas-the Indian City Style
The three premiere cities of India, namely Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi also celebrate Christmas with great pomp. Being under the rule of the British for a pretty long time, the greater part of India follows the English tradition of celebrating Christmas. There are Christian areas which are decorated with lights and trees but the whole of the city is also decked up in lights and other trimmings. There are plenty of reputed universities established by missionaries which also decorate the Christmas tree and sometimes builds little clay models telling the story of Jesus. People flock to these areas to see and appreciate the tidings. On the day of Christmas or on the eve, people of whatever religion they maybe visit the church. Then people generally go out to eat in good places with family or friends. Those who stay at home, prepare a nice dinner sometimes even with a roasted turkey or a chicken.
May it be Europe or Asia, Christmas is celebrated everywhere with great enthusiasm.
