How to celebrate an Indian style Christmas
To celebrate an Indian style Christmas you must be prepared for a coming together of two extremely diverse cultures and traditions. Not only do the Indians celebrate the birth of the Lord with total panache, they have lent the whole festival a local color in true indomitable Indian style. It is a time when the whole family comes together to celebrate the birth of Jesus and since Christianity first came to the Country from Europe, the Indian Christians still hold the old customs dear to their heart. Have fun time partaking of this festival of joy, Indian style.
A few suggestions
- Put up a Christmas tree, which may range from a regular pine fir to araucaria. Apart from the usual tree ornaments you might opt for some lovely Indian hand crafted decorations that are colorful and pretty.
- Cooking and eating is big on the list of priorities in any Indian festival and so you need to start preparations for the Christmas feast at least a month in advance, baking plum cakes and brewing home made wines. The wines are generally made of grape, banana, carrots, guavas or beetroot.
- Spices and the dry fruits that are added to the plum cake need to be soaked in rum for a month before they can be added to the cake batter.
- Give the whole house a thorough cleaning a day or two before and festoon the front yard or the house itself with lights. On the big day, small earthen lamps (like tea lights) filled with oil can be lighted and placed around the house, especially around the nativity scene. Make designs on the floor using rice powder.
- On Christmas Eve, deck up in all your finery, the brighter the better, and attend Midnight Mass along with your friends and family. After coming back, cut the cake and share it and the wine with everyone present.
- On 25th, attend morning mass, open presents and have a traditional Christmas feast of roast duck, turkey and pork. Add some exotic Indian dishes to the dinner for that extra touch.
Do’s
- Have fun and bask in the joy of togetherness.
Don’ts
- Do not go overboard; do only as much as you can possibly pull off without straining yourself.