When I think of Christmas, images of snow-covered streets, fragrant biscuits, candlelight and family evenings spring to mind. But this year, everything was different. I had the privilege of experiencing the festive season in a completely new way. I was curious to see how Christmas is celebrated in a tropical country with a predominantly Hindu culture. What I experienced was an impressive blend of Christian tradition, Indian hospitality and a vibrancy that touched me deeply.
My time in India was very intense, exciting and inspiring right from the start. However, hardly any period was as filled with impressions as the run-up to Christmas. During this time, I experienced, saw and heard extraordinary things. Although I had expected to find cultural differences compared to a German Christmas, the intensity and beauty with which Christmas is celebrated here really impressed me.
The run-up to Christmas began as early as the start of November. At the Elwin Centre, the home where I am doing my voluntary service, we had already started making Christmas decorations in the form of small baubles, little trees and stars out of foam rubber, which were sold to parishioners during church services and formed a source of income for the Centre. As we spent many weeks making the same designs almost every day, I was getting a bit fed up with it all by the end, but it was still a lovely way to get into the spirit of what was to come.
One of the most beautiful traditions I had the chance to experience was the so-called ‘carol rounds’. Every week in December, three times a week, we set off with a large group of men from the congregation to visit parishioners in their homes. We reached them on scooters and motorbikes, on which there was rarely just one person. The sheer number of vehicles was impressive every single time. Inside the houses, Tamil and English Christmas carols were then sung loudly and passionately. The positive energy and joy of the people was totally infectious. As I don’t speak Tamil, I couldn’t sing along to most of the songs, but I played the tambourine and supported the group in that way. We were always given a very warm welcome in the homes; the residents were delighted that we had come and were very pleased with the singing and the prayers. People often invited us in for tea and snacks or gave us small gifts. Donations for the community were also collected. One of the things that impressed me most was the people’s hospitality. It is already very generous in India, but at Christmas this was evident even more so.
In addition to the carol rounds, we attended several ‘Christmas functions’ organised by other schools, and the Elwin Centre also held a number of functions. A ‘function’ is a Christmas party where there is lots of dancing and singing, and at least one nativity play is performed. The celebrations are always very cheerful, and the children’s costumes were glittery and colourful. Simon and I took on the roles of the Three Wise Men from the East at our own home’s functions, travelling in magnificent clothes and with our own camels. What made the nativity plays here special was that real animals gathered around the manger; the shepherds had little baby goats with them, and on one occasion there was even a calf in the mix. After the festivities, the whole party was invited to eat on the grounds and get into the Christmas spirit together.
Simon and I were also able to bring a little bit of a German Christmas to India by baking some little biscuits, the sort I’ve probably eaten at some point every year. It was a lovely memory that brought a touch of familiarity to the otherwise rather unfamiliar surroundings around us. The biscuits were packaged and sold in the bakery attached to the home.
We spent Christmas Eve itself together with the Indian ems volunteers. We boarded the train on 23 December and arrived in Goa about 24 hours later. There we spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve under palm trees and by the wonderfully warm sea. Even though it was absolutely lovely, Christmas Eve was the only time during my time here so far that I felt homesick, because you really do celebrate the festival with your family, and that’s what makes it so special.
What struck me in particular was that Christmas in India is nowhere near as commercialised as it is in Germany. Here, the religious and communal aspects are much more in the foreground. There are gifts, of course, but they are often symbolic. It is far more important to spend time together, eat together and celebrate.
All in all, my Christmas this year was the most exciting and memorable I’ve ever experienced. And even though it was so different from usual, the essence of the festival remained the same – it was about community, love and gratitude. Perhaps that is exactly what makes Christmas so special: it is a festival that is celebrated differently all over the world, yet always carries the same message.
This text was automatically translated using an AI-powered translation system.
