Christmas in India

In the honour of the birth of Jesus Christmas, worldwide 25^th of December is celebrated as Christmas. It is declared as a public holiday. In India, Father Christmas or Santa Claus comes on a horse and cart and is seen around everywhere giving gifts and presents to children. Having different languages, Santa Claus is given many names in India like 'Christmas Baba' in Hindi, 'Baba Christmas' in Urdu 'Christmas Thaathaa' in Tamil and 'Christmas Thatha' in Telugu  and 'Natal Bua' in Marathi. Mumbai is one city in India which has the largest Indian Christian Communities.

Mumbai was known as Bombay earlier. Most of the Christians in Mumbai are Roman Catholics. In the west, Goa is one of the smallest states In India where about 26% of people are Christians and it is said that most of the Christians in Mumbai are from Goa. However, east states of India like Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram also have many of the Christian population. For Christians in India, midnight mass is considered to be a very important service, especially for Catholics. Christian families are seen walking to the mass along with a massive feast of different delicacies like tasty curries, exchange of gifts with friends and relatives. Churches in India are fully decorated with Poinsettia flowers and candles for the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass service. However, in South India, Christians is celebrated with full enthusiasm where people decorate Christmas trees, put small oil burning clay lamps on the flat roofs of their homes and meet friends and relatives. Goa follows many western customs as part of the Christmas celebration because Goa is said to have historical connections with Portugal. People do sing carols around their neighbours for about a week before Christmas. Christians in Goa are seen decorating their places with giant paper lanterns in various shapes like stars hoping that the stars float above them as while walking down the road, on Christmas Eve. Christians eat the main Christmas meal on Christmas Eve made of roast turkey or chicken post which they go to the Church for a Midnight mass service. After the service, the church bells ring to declare that Christmas is here. In north-west India, the tribal Christians of the Bhil folk, celebrate Christmas by singing their own carols the whole night. They go to many villages singing and telling people that Christmas has arrived.

By: Anuja Arora

Content: https://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/india.shtml