India

Compared to other religious festivals, Christmas is quite a small festival in India due to the number that are Christians (2.6%) compared to people who belong to other religions. Having said this the population of India is over 1 Billion, so there are over 26 million Christians in India!

One of the largest Christian Communities, in India, is in Bombay. A lot of the Christian in Bombay are Roman Catholics.

Midnight mass is a very important service for Christians in India, especially Catholics. The whole family will walk to the mass and this will be followed by a massive feast of different delicacies, (mostly curries) and the giving and receiving of presents. Churches in India are decorated with Poinsettia flowers and candles for the Christmas Eve Midnight Mass service.

Instead of having traditional Christmas Trees, a banana or mango tree is decorated. Sometimes people use mango leaves to decorate their homes.

In Southern India, Christians often put small oil burning clay lamps on the flat roofs of their homes to show their neighbours that Jesus is the light of the world.

Every household in Bombay displays a manger in their window, (there is a sense of great pride in making your house’s nativity scene the best). Also families go to great lengths to hang giant paper lanterns in the shape of star - these are hung between the houses so that the stars float above you as you walk down the road. Every household also makes sure that they have a stock of home made sweets ready to serve an on-going procession of visitors.

In India, Father Christmas delivers presents to children from a horse and cart.