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In India, other religions join in on Christmas

Just 2 percent of the Indian population is Christian, but writer Naresh Fernandes says, “That’s 2 percent of the population of one billion. So that is quite a lot of people for whom December 25th is very important.”…

Arsh Wahi, a Hindu student at St. Columba’s, says his family puts up a Christmas tree every year and stocks up on plum pudding and other Christmas goodies from the fabled Dehli bakery called Wenger’s…

Neeraj Devraj, a soloist with The Capital City Minstrels, says he’s not Christian or religious, but celebrates Christmas with the same fervor he celebrates the Hindu festival of lights known as Diwali, and the Muslim feast of Eid.

“For me personally, Christmas is about getting together with the people you are fond of, people you love,” he says. “It’s great fun, it’s the joy of giving. It’s very Indian … to just celebrate the aspect of being alive and being around people who matter.”

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“For me personally, Christmas is about getting together with the people you are fond of, people you love,” he says. “It’s great fun, it’s the joy of giving. It’s very Indian … to just celebrate the aspect of being alive and being around people who matter.”

Yes, they celebrate at Christmastime, but they do not celebrate Christmas, and they definitely do not celebrate Easter. It’s kind of a hybrid Vijaya Dashami/Diwali. They should just call it Krishnamas or something else. Fills the space between Diwali in Oct/Nov and Shiva Ratri in Feb.

Christien on December 25, 2012 at 5:32 PM

20 million Christians in India – the harvest is plenty but that’s a good start!

22044 on December 25, 2012 at 5:45 PM

They seem to understand the spirit of Christmas better than most Americans.

single stack on December 25, 2012 at 5:46 PM

But do Indians celebrate Thanksgiving?

/Insensitive, politically incorrect, unqualified for illegal alien state-funded college financial aid, admissions candidate to UCLA (University of Comedians Lacking Audiences) …

ShainS on December 25, 2012 at 5:51 PM

Christmas signals just this: that the only true God Himself entered His creation as a creature, took on the full and eternal consequence of our sin so as to remove our offense from Himself, enduring humiliation and finally death in our place, and defeating the power of death, has achieved perfect reconciliation between man and God, gaining in the death of God on the cross the eternal life of man.

This is not subject to celebration by pantheists and worshipers of false gods without their abandonment of their false religions of attempting variously to escape from the sorrows of existence or appeasement of the divine by one’s works of merit, and conversion to the true religion of the God who Himself has perfectly provided our escape from death, by His own good merit in our place.

Special stews and cakes are nice, but they aren’t Christmas.

Scribbler on December 25, 2012 at 5:56 PM

So what the National Propaganda Radio is saying that Hindus in India are not offended by Christmas and that they actually join in the celebration ?
That is so un-American and un-Constitutional too …