Christmas in India

Christmas is not a enormous celebration in India compared to many other countries. One reason for this is the country does not have a large Christian population. It is estimated that there are only 25 million Christians in the entire country of India. Much of the population in India is that of the Moslem and Hindus religion.

The Christian in India generally belong to the Roman Catholic Church. As a result, midnight mass on Christmas Eve is a very important part of the holiday. Once the mass is over the families gather to exchange gifts and take part in a huge feast of favourite foods.

In the United States a Christmas tree is an honoured Christmas tradition. In India, the people decorate trees for the celebration as well. However, it is not the familiar Christmas tree we all know. In India, it is the banana and mango tree that is decorated. Not only is the tree decorated, its leaves are also used to decorate the homes. India also has a tradition of conveying to the world that the newborn child, Jesus was the light of the world. To symbolize this, many place lamps on the roofs of their homes and light them to give off a wonderful peaceful glow.

Christians in India, not so unlike those in the United States go to great extremes to have the most impressive nativity scene displayed in the windows of their homes during the Christmas season. In addition many make use of lanterns made out of paper in the shape of stars to outline their property. The Christmas season is focused on the religious aspect of the season and as a result much time is spent on proclaiming the birth of Jesus. This is done in various ways including canvassing the neighbourhoods singing carols throughout the night. As the carollers are signing they are telling the Christmas story to all.