India is a vast country having a
population of over one billion that include Hindus, Muslims, Christians,
Sikhs, Jains etc. Despite the religious differences the people of India
celebrate all the festivals with equal enthusiasm. Like world over in India
too, Christmas is celebrated with great pomp and gaiety. An annual festival
Christmas falls every year on 25th December and it also marks happy end of
the year. For Christians, Christmas is an important festival, just like
Deepawali of Hindus and Eid - ul - Fitr of Muslims. It is true that Hindus
and Muslims comprise majority of the population in India, but Christmas is
celebrated with much fanfare all over the country. In India traditions of
Christmas include the display of Nativity scenes, Christmas or X – mas
trees, the exchange of gifts and cards and the arrival of Father Christmas
or Santa Claus
History of Origin of Christmas
An annual festival, Christmas is celebrated to commemorate the birthday of
Jesus Christ. Every year on December 25 Christmas is celebrated, but the
birthdate for Jesus is traditional and not considered the actual date of
birth. In fact, even today the world is exactly unknown when or why 25th
December was associated with birth of Jesus Christ. Earliest reference to
the celebration the celebration of Christmas was found in the Calendar of
Filocalus, compiled in Rome in 354 AD. In 378 AD, following the death of the
pro-Arian Emperor Valens in battle, Christmas was promoted in the east to
mark the revival of Catholicism. In 800 AD Charlemagne was crowned on
Christmas Day, from here the prominence of Day increased gradually. By the
High Middle Ages, the Christmas holiday become very prominent and magnitude
of celebrations also intensified. In 1377, King Richard II of England hosted
a major Christmas feast and thousands of people were invited to enjoy
non-vegetarian dishes.
In 1647 , following the Parliamentary victory over King Charles I, England’s
Purtian rulers banned Christmas. Due to Restoration of 1660 the ban over
Christmas was lifted, but several Nonconformist clergy disapproved of
Christmas celebrations. At the same time, in Colonial America, the Puritans
of New Zealand disapproved Christmas and the festival fell out of favour in
the United States. In the year 1820 the interest in Christmas was revived in
America by Washington Irving through his short stories appearing in his ‘The
Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon’ and “Old Christmas”. Clement
Clarke Moore’s poem ‘A Visit From St. Nicholas’ in 1822
popularized the tradition of exchanging gifts and seasonal Christmas
shopping. In 1850, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a charactered in her book “The
First Christmas in New England", who complained that the true meaning
of Christmas was being lost in a shopping spree. Finally in 1870 Christmas
was declared a United States Federal Holiday and later the economic
significance of Christmas made it more popular. From then till now,
Christmas is celebrated all over the world by Christians and known for its
religious as well as economic significance.
Celebration of Christmas
In India the celebration of Christians varies in different regions of the
country. Celebration of the festival differs from North to South and East to
Western parts of the country. In the plain areas of the country the
Christians decorate mango or banana trees, some also decorate their houses
with mango leaves. Christians in some parts of India use small clay
oil-burning lamps for decorations and place the lamps on the edges of flat
roofs and on the top of walls.
Churches across the country are also decorated with poinsettias and lit
with colourful candles. While in the urban regions the potted X – mas
trees are decorated with plastic or paper stars, toys and colourful
streamers. Decorated X – mas trees are placed in front of the houses,
shops and restaurants. On Christmas Eve or Christmas morning people dressed
like Santa Claus can also be seen in city streets and shops, entertaining or
offering gifts to children. Christmas in also celebrated with various
themes, most popular among them is the promotion of goodwill and peace
