CELEBRATIONS
COUNTRYWISE
I
IndiaIndia, perhaps, has the most cosmopolitan Christmas in the world because of
international influence on her people, Just to name a few, Christmas trees from Germany,
ornaments from America, greeting cards from England, creche from France, books from
Greece. Children in brightly coloured dresses, accompanied by an orchestra of drums and
cymbals, perform group dances, using coloured sticks as they do their native dances.
Indian Christians do not believe in short services. The main service on Christmas Day is a
midnight one which lasts from two to three hours, with hundred of communicants and many
children all massed together on the floor.
In south India, Christians fill little clay lamps with oil and put a piece of twisted
cotton in them for wicks. Towards the evening they light these lamps and place them along
the edge of the low flat-roofed houses and along the walls outside, so that the houses
twinkle with light.
M
MEXICOOn December 16, Mexican homes are decorated
for the upcoming holiday with flowers, evergreens, and coloured paper lanterns.
Traditionally, Christmas has been celebrated with replicas of the manger scene called the
presebra rather than the Christmas tree.
The pinata is a delightful treat for the children of Mexico. During the nine days before
Christmas, parades lead the townspeople to one neighbour's house. There is much
celebrating and fun. The children are anxious to break the pinata. It is usually a clay
pot decorated to look like a bird or other animal. But best of all it is filled with
candies and goodies. The pinata is hung from the ceiling and the children take turns
swinging at it while blindfolded. When it breaks, all the children race to the falling
goodies.
Also in Mexico, Santa Claus is less popular than the figure of Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec god
of the sun. He is an old man with a long white beard and flowing white robes. Before
Christmas arrives, children write letters to the Christ Child listing what they want. And
on the eve of the Epiphany, January 6, they place their shoes at the foot of their beds
for the Three Magi (the Three Wise Men) to fill.
P
PAKISTAN
December 25th is a public holiday in Pakistan, but it is in memory of Jinnah,
the founder of Pakistan. In Christian homes, cards and gifts are exchanged, new clothes
are worn and friends' houses are visited. Christmas Day service is filled with Christians.
In the villages of Urdu and Punjabi, it is called Bara Din, the Big Day. The villagers
wear bright clothes because it is a happy occasion. People embrace and greet each other
with 'Bara Din Mubarrak Ho', 'the blessing of Christmas on you'.