When I was a child, my dad was an atheist and we did not celebrate Deepavali or any Hindu festival at home. However he didn’t mind his brood attending the local church’s Sunday class and bible camps during school holidays – he was of a pragmatic bent and appreciated the free babysitting. So I celebrated Christmas in a fashion before I ever celebrated Deepavali. We also had a Syrian Orthodox family living next door, so I always received gifts of new clothes and got taken to the Mar Thoma Church on Christmas eve where the sombre service was distinctly different from my neighbourhood evangelical church. As a teen my christmases were spent at my ex-school teacher’s catholic home, drinking my first beers and playing mahjong (badly).
I do not celebrate Christmas but the season never fails to remind me of the kindness, hospitality and generosity of the Christians in my life.
Merry Christmas to all.
