Christmas is here again. It is the feast of everyman — the feast when barriers, that divide man from man, break down. It has come to be the season of goodwill.
Traditionally this spirit of goodwill expresses itself in exchange of gifts and greetings. So hundreds of Christmas cards are flying across the City. No doubt some messages are trite, rhymes are fascile, the images flowery — we must not read too much or too little into them. And all the legends wander through them, the virgin birth, the manger, the shepherds, the wise men from the East with gifts and the Song of Mary.
Bangalore has a sizeable Christian presence — over four lakh in number. They come from all corners of the country with their varied cultural, linguistic and regional backgrounds and traditions.
Although Christians in the City celebrate the festival broadly on the pattern adopted worldwide, they do not fail to give it a distinctive Indian touch. There are several Christian communities in the City that incorporate Kollattam (stick dance), dramas and skits, Harikathas and songs on the birth and life of Jesus as an integral part of the celebrations. They are staged, recited or sung through the night. Sweets like athirasam, doughnuts and plum cakes are specially made at home and distributed among friends and relatives. This mode of celebration is popular with the Tamil and Telugu Christians
Lucy Sebastian, a student of theology from Nagaland, who has been in the City for the last four months says, “Christmas is never the same when one is away from home. We’ve decorated our Christmas tree with lights and ornaments, wreaths and garlands. Yule log and Yule cakes are an important part of our celebration. Carols are sung and played through the season.”
For the 400 odd Mizos settled in the City, it is a community event and is celebrated in a grand way. It is a form of public feasting known as ‘Lengkhawn Zai’, which has its roots in the pre-Christian society.
On Christmas day, friends and family join together to cook and bake cakes. Feasting is not about good food alone. It is a fellowship too. Community singing and dancing is peculiar to Mizos. “There’s plenty of good food and it’s a time family and friends come together and feast,” says Rev C Lal Muankima of the United Theological College.
Syrian Christians, like Mathew Thomas who heads an advertising firm in the City, says on Christmas Day they feast upon delicacies like appam/palappam and mutton stew for breakfast, chicken-roast, baked and pork cooked in traditional style for lunch. Sweets like rose cookies, doughnuts and diamond cuts are made at home.
The Tamil and Kannada Christians stray into some of the Hindu customs like drawing the Kolam. Crib-making is an important part of their celebrations which brings out the best in terms of artistic value and creativity, re-enacting the birth of Christ. In a sense, replicating the ancient Middle East tradition. “We make all the Christmas delicacies like sanas, Kalkal, ghee rice, idlis cooked in coconut milk and dry grapes. But I believe we don’t have to have a particular day to celebrate Christmas and spread good cheer. We must be able to do that everyday,” says Jessie Shri, a Kannada Christian.
But to Sheela, who works in a textile shop on M G Road, Christmas is a simple affair. She goes to church with her family in the morning. Her children go for carol rounds at night from the second week of December until December 24.
