APPY Christmas in advance, dear readers. Besides feasting on fruit-rich Christmas cake, pears and cherries made of marzipan and hot cocoa, one of our childhood rituals was to reread our favourite Christmas stories in the holidays. Be it Enid Blyton or Agatha Christie, we found that few popular writers could resist telling a Christmas story.
The bottom line is that you may be allergic to rude and intrusive evangelists, but what's not to love about Jesus? My grandmother had a small European art picture of Mother Mary holding baby Jesus in her puja room. My mother, a staunch Hindu, gave me Bible stories to read along with other storybooks, and one day she pointed out that 'the poor are at the heart of the gospel'.
I loved singing carols and hymns so much that I still remember them from childhood. My maami used to play the piano and threw a Christmas party every year so we could gather around and sing while she played. I even mugged up the Paternoster or Our Father prayer in Latin because I found it beautiful. India, that way, is like a great big box of chocolates for us that we are free to participate in and enjoy different traditions without fear.
Out North, Christmas has long become a Hindu festival. Santa hats, Christmas trees, star-shaped paper lamps, and Christmas cakes are hugely popular with Hindu families. It does not make them 'less Hindu'. Hindus enjoy any festival with an endearing basis and charming traditions, be it Christmas or Valentine's Day.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 23, 2024 من The New Indian Express Coimbatore.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 23, 2024 من The New Indian Express Coimbatore.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Forest close gap on Liverpool
NOTTINGHAM Forest beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-0 away from home and moved within six points of Premier League leader Liverpool on Monday.
India Open: Hosts to field 21 players
STAR shuttlers Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu will headline host India's largest-ever contingent of 21 players at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Super 750 badminton tournament, starting here from January 14.
Bahadur Singh elected new AFI chief, Mehta secretary
The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) has ushered in changes after Adille Sumariwalla finished three four-year terms as president.
Cannot ever rule Djokovic out of title race: Sania
DESPITE entering the Australian Open field as No 7 seed, Novak Djokovic's lowest since 2018, former Grand Slam champion Sania Mirza believes that one cannot count the experienced player out yet.
HIL: Lancers secure first win of the season
KALINGA Lancers secured their first win of Hero Hockey India League (HIL) 2024-25 as they hammered the Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers 6-0 at the Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela on Tuesday.
Last Chance Saloon For Sharma, Kohli?
Focus will be on the duo when ODI squad for England series is announced in the next few days
First MOC meeting of year discusses LA 2028
THE first Mission Olympic Cell meeting of the year was held at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium on Tuesday but there were no serious discussions about Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) weeding out or additions.
Misbranded cigarette smuggling into India causes annual revenue loss of ₹21k cr
SMUGGLING of misbranded cigarettes from south-east Asian countries into India causes an annual tax revenue loss of ₹21,000 crore, apart from helping finance terrorism, India's biggest cigarette manufacturer has cautioned in a letter to the Union finance ministry, sources said.
CoinSwitch to Launch ₹600 Cr Recovery Plan for Hack Victims
CRYPTO platform CoinSwitch has launched a ₹600 crore recovery programme to help users impacted by cyberattack on WazirX.
Microsoft to invest $3 bn in India, to train 10 mn
To strengthen cloud and AI infra, will train people in AI skills