One of the most interesting facets about Christmas celebrations in India has always been its heterogeneity - its unique but harmonious blend of different customs, habits, food patterns and, of course, linguistic traditions. Maybe it’s the generosity and accommodative nature of the festival itself which makes it such a beautiful mélange of diverse celebratory practices or maybe it has something to do with the plural, multi-cultural ethos of our country which enables us to accommodate and mould any number of diverse cultures to suit our needs.

Whatever the reason, Christmas celebration in India has evolved as a distinctive and happy combination of native/local traditions and the dominant western tradition.

What is even more interesting is the way Christmas celebrations differ within a single state, depending on the linguistic denomination the community belongs to. In Karnataka, where there is a sizeable population of Tamil, Konkani and Malayali Christians along with the Kannada Christian community, native and regional traditions go hand in hand with the other usual celebrations. There has been a lot of give and take within these cultural-linguistic denominations, with the result that there is no one pure way of celebrating the birth of the messiah.

Among the Konkani families residing predominantly in the coastal belt of the State and in parts of Malnad including Chikmagalur and Shimoga, sharing of kusvaar (various sweet delicacies) among their neighbours has been a very important part of Christmas celebrations. Kusvaar comprises several snacks including the popular chaklis and kodubales, rose cookies, diamond cuts, nevrios, kidios and gulios, the last two being special Konkani favourites. Kidios are made using maida, sugar and eggs while gulios resemble dark brown marbles and are made of rice and jaggery. Plum cakes are specially prepared for the occasion and in many traditional homes orange peel and various fruits are soaked in rum, months in advance, to ensure a special flavour to the Christmas cake.

Decorating the Christmas tree, singing Jingle Bells and carol troops which go from home to home singing carols with a Santa look-alike and other predominantly western traditions have been appropriated so beautifully by the local Christian communities that no Christmas is complete without a Santa, or without a brightly lit up and decked Christmas tree. These traditions have become synonymous with most denominations of the community in Karnataka as elsewhere.

Despite changed lifestyles and eating patterns and in spite of a large percentage of women having to work outside their homes, by and large, Konkani families have retained their traditional ethos and take pride in their linguistic and cultural roots.

Stella Vas, a long time resident of Bhadravathi, points out that a couple of decades ago she knew almost the entire Konkani Christian population in the town. She recalls that during her childhood an entire room in the house was kept aside for the storing of sannas (the Konkani equivalent of idlis, but with a decidedly distinct flavour).

Sanna and maas (mutton stew), coupled with ghee/coconut rice and pork and chicken side dishes were part of the festive lunch on Christmas day. A far cry from the standard biriyani fare which has become the norm in most Christian families today, Stella feels. Kusvaar would be prepared weeks in advance with women of the family joining together to ensure that the required quantity is prepared. Though such grand preparations have lost their meaning today, most Konkani families take pride in retaining the tradition of preparing Konkani specialities and distributing them in the neighbourhood.

The sizeable number of Malayali Christians living in Malnad have been participants in this cultural give and take as much as anybody else. This is especially evident in the food habits with traditional Malayali recipes like appam, puttu and avial becoming standard fare in most families. The Malayali Christian community too has adapted practices from the Malnad while retaining a few of their own to ensure that their celcelebration is meaningful, while also adaptable to the new cultural needs.

Ancy Johnson, a Malayali Christian whose family has been in Karnataka for generations, reminisces about the beautiful Christmases she spent as a child in Shimoga. Here too, the celebration was for the entire family with all aunts and uncles and cousins gathering together to celebrate Christmas with the matriarch of the family.

For Ancy, going to Church to attend the service at midnight was extremely special. She remembers dressing up in her finery late at night, walking to church with her family, getting back at around 3 am, cutting the cake, sharing the distinctive Kerala wine made of lime and grape and exchanging gifts at the wee hours of the morning.

Christmas was the time when the family prepared all the special Kerala sweets like achchappam and rose cakes and diamond cuts, under the guidance of the maternal grandmother. Ancy points out that the thing she misses most is not the food itself but the preparation part of it when she, her mother and grandmother would sit together and work on the sweets. The sharing of their tales, of the wonderful gossip, of the togetherness which was the result of this intimacy is what she misses most in these days of tight schedules and zero leaves from work. Ancy’s mother also began the tradition of giving special, hand made gifts to her daughter, which Ancy prefers to continue in her own family. To Ancy, Christmas remains extra special because of this sense of optimism, happiness, togetherness and peace and maybe this is the most precious part of the feast which every Christian family cherishes, she says.

Despite the apparent changes in the modes of celebration, what unites the entire Christian community is this last aspect which Ancy refers to. Typically a family affair, Christmas is the time when nuclear families living hundreds of kilometres away come together. This is a time for aunts to share their tales of happiness and woe, when uncles get together for the long needed game of cards and glasses of rum, when children learn about their far-off cousins and dream of far-off futures. A time when hearts unite to face an uncertain future with expectant optimism. A time when hope is rekindled in every heart of a new, wonderful beginning, of the end of winter, of the end of turmoil and despair. It’s Christmas time folks!!!