WHEN FESTIVALS HOP OVER RELIGIOUS LINES
The New Indian Express Bhubaneswar|December 23, 2024
APPY Christmas in advance, dear readers.
RENUKA NARAYANAN

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.

This story is from the December 23, 2024 edition of The New Indian Express Bhubaneswar.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the December 23, 2024 edition of The New Indian Express Bhubaneswar.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS BHUBANESWARView All
The New Indian Express Bhubaneswar

Three-star Blasters down Mohammedan

KERALA Blasters FC players delighted the home crowd to record a dominant 3-0 win over Mohammedan SC in the Indian Super League at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Sunday.

time-read
1 min  |
December 23, 2024
The New Indian Express Bhubaneswar

The making of fast bowler Boland: Cult hero of MCG

ON a hot Saturday afternoon at the AH Butler Oval, Frankston Peninsula Cricket Club was playing against Camberwell Magpies Cricket Club in the local game on the outskirts of Melbourne.

time-read
3 mins  |
December 23, 2024
The New Indian Express Bhubaneswar

Mandhana climbs another mountain as India beat West Indies

THERE is a famous bridge that connects the city of Sangli with the rest of the world on the river Krishna called Irwin Bridge.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 23, 2024
The New Indian Express Bhubaneswar

ODISHA SWIMMERS MANNATA, SHRISTI CREATE NEW NAT'L RECORD

ODISHA swimmers Mannata Mishra and Shristi Upadhyaya created new national records in 100m breaststroke and 100m butterfly events respectively in the short course KNZ Provincial Championship held at Durban, South Africa.

time-read
1 min  |
December 23, 2024
The New Indian Express Bhubaneswar

Nat'l badminton: Unseeded Adarshini enters semifinals

TAMIL NADU'S Sathish Kumar K, who's the No 1 seed, and Adarshini Shri NB entered the semifinals of the Senior National Badminton Championships in Bengaluru.

time-read
1 min  |
December 23, 2024
The New Indian Express Bhubaneswar

KNOW LINEAR AND LATERAL THINKING

As a result of geopolitical tensions, scheduled general elections in India during the mid-year and in the USA towards the end of the year as well as valuations that had sky-rocketed, volatility during 2024 was anticipated by many of us.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 23, 2024
The New Indian Express Bhubaneswar

IS ALGORITHMIC TRADING FOR YOU?

TECHNOLOGY should expand the scope of human skills. There are things that you can do yourself using your skills. You can use technology to support your skills and create something even more potent than before.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 23, 2024
The New Indian Express Bhubaneswar

Credit card defaults could hurt you badly now

With SC rejecting 30% cap on credit card interest rates, card issuers will now have more flexibility to set rates

time-read
2 mins  |
December 23, 2024
The New Indian Express Bhubaneswar

Banks' profits spike in first 9 mths of 2024

BANKS have raked in as much as ₹2.7 lakh crore in net income in the first nine months of 2024.

time-read
2 mins  |
December 23, 2024
The New Indian Express Bhubaneswar

SC judgment nullified; GST Council fixes Safari Retreats' error retrospectively

The government has 'nullified' the Supreme Court order in the Safari Retreats case that allowed commercial real estate companies to claim input tax credit (ITC) on construction costs for their rental buildings.

time-read
1 min  |
December 23, 2024