CHENNAI: It is that time of the year when our warm woollen clothes become a part of our everyday outfits, along with it boxes of decorations, lights, trees, stars, and stockings, stored in our attic are put out in the spirit of the season. While we eagerly await Christmas, the celebrations often begin from the first week of December. The first Sunday of December is when the celebrations start with Advent, marking the beginning of Christmas carols. A tradition that has been going on for more than a century, carols are of two kinds — one where a group of people from the church get together, visit houses, and sing songs as a prelude to the celebration on December 25, and second is carol services, where a group of choir singers come together and collect funds for charity. These performances are held on a Saturday or Sunday.
“The carols are sung to vast audiences during the season with candlelights. The lights are switched off, and every one holds a candle and sings the evergreen carol Silent Night,” says Oscar C Nigli, former MLA, and national vice president, All India Anglo Indian Association. Churches and residences set up cribs with haystacks, angels, kings, and packaged gifts depicting the birth of Jesus along with the disciples around him. On this list is also the Christmas tree — coniferous trees such as pine, fir, or spruce. He shares that in earlier days people grew these special trees in their backyards. Being a slow-growing tree, they tend to grow two inches each year.
“As time evolved, people’s lifestyle changed and many started opting for store-bought trees as against the old tradition of decorating live trees. Today, we have six to eight-foot trees that can be dismantled and rearranged year after year till it lasts. Decorations too are state of the art.”
While these practices are similar for all fractions of Christianity, for nine days before Christmas, Tamil Christians practice novena — offering a particular form of prayer to God followed by confessions of their sins. “No human is perfect. By confessing, you prepare yourself spiritually to bring Jesus into your soul,” says Rebecca Royen Lawrence, a homemaker. Ending this on December 24, families go for Christmas mass. “For practical reasons, many of our churches start the midnight service in English at 9 pm, followed by the Tamil service at 11 pm, finishing it by 12.30 am,” notes Oscar.
They get back home early 25th morning. Rebecca says, “The star came and Jesus was born at midnight. We go for service and when we come back from mass, baby Jesus is placed in the crib, until then the space is empty.” Reminiscing her childhood, Rebecca recalls how the day of Christmas was looked forward by everyone at her colony. They started the day with colouring resplendent rangolis at the entrance of their houses, wore cotton half saris, and ran to the nearby ground.
“The day was a sports day in our colony. In the mornings, kids’ games like lemon on the spoon, tug of war, and skipping competitions were held,” she adds. This was followed by a sumptuous meal. In the evening, adults would indulge in activities like fancy shows and threading a needle. Prizes were distributed on the first Sunday of January.
In Anglo-Indian households, the norm is to have a get-together with families for lunch or dinner followed by a Christmas Dance on the 25th at 7 pm. This is one of the highlights of the Christmas celebrations worldwide. The Christmas dance is usually held at a few hotels or marriage halls in the city. “Every branch of the All India Anglo-Indian Association has their annual Christmas treat during this season before Christmas, with games for all, Santa Claus giving away gifts for children, high tea, community singing, and then dinner. In some places a little bit of dancing too,” adds Oscar.
The celebrations go on until New Year. On the first Sunday of January, the decorations come off, signifying the end of Advent.