Indian Christians and Christmas

Christmas is just around the corner, like literally in 3 days. Not only is it observed by Christians, but equally celebrated as a universal festival by all walks of life. There are so many Christian communities in India like Goans, Mangaloreans, Anglo Indians, East Indians. Bengali Christians, Karwar Catholics, Marathi Christians, Gujrati Christians, Tamil Christians, Telegu Christians, Keralite Syrian Christians, Christians from North India like Delhi, Jharkhand and of course the Christian population from the Northeast like Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Tripura, and Sikkim. So, I thought about learning and understanding the customs and food culture of some of the Indian Christians. I read there are also some Knanaya Christians. Never heard of them much but would love to explore more about them.

Did you know that somebody may be a Christian but not necessarily be a Catholic? Roman Catholics and Protestants are different denominations. That, before Christmas, many Christians use the time of Advent to prepare themselves and get ready to celebrate the joy of Christmas. Advent is a period of four Sundays and weeks before Christmas. There is also a tradition to fast from the 1st to 24th December to welcome baby Jesus and Christmas.

The main Christmas celebrations begin with midnight mass and continue with the massive feast of different delicacies and the giving and receiving of presents the next day. But the Christmas season ends only on Epiphany, the Feast of The Three Kings which is 6th Jan. That's when the Christians will finally pull down the decorations. Honestly, for me, the preparation until the 25th is far more exciting than the actual Christmas Day. That's where the actual stories come alive. I have had so much fun discussing all this in some of my conversations with family, friends, and acquaintances.

So, join me as I talk about some Indian Christians and how we all celebrate Christmas. This endeavor mainly to understand more about Christmas sweets and savory delicacies and also to highlight home chefs and other entrepreneurs specializing in Christian cuisine and decorations.

There's so much more to delve into and gain more information about all the communities. I wish I could go to each house and taste their food, etc. but that is for another day. For now, in the interest of the time limit, I hope you enjoy reading what I bring forth. You will find many similarities or even stark differences in our customs and traditions. But I hope you get more insights into this very peace-loving community of Indian Christians. Thank you to all my friends and new friends I have made while doing this research.

The spotlight today is Una Fernandes Barretto who specializes in Christmas and other holiday decorations for your house. Most of them are handmade by her. Check out the pictures and if a beautiful holiday house sounds good to you, DM her.

So, before I end, some trivia, there is certainly more to us than the "Bollywood" stereotype.

While Paowalla is a fun term generally used for all us Christians., we hardly eat bread every day. We have some tremendous traditional breads like Sanaas, Fugeas, Chittaps, Poes, etc. you should try some of them. We are never perpetually drowned in alcohol, just because we are Christians. Many Christian families do not touch alcohol including mine. Football is not the only "game" in town and our boys and girls are great lovers of other sports as well. Flowery short dresses are not our only sense of vogue and I'd urge you to take a walk to Sunday mass every week to get a sense of the latest fashion in town.

Happy Christmas, Khushal Borit Natala, Subh Krisamas', 'Anandi Natal', 'Shubho bôṛodin' Shubh Natal.