Christmas in India: Activities and trips

Veronica Di Pilla

 

 
Compared to other religious holidays, Christmas is quite a small festival in India, due to the number of people who are Christian compared to people who belong to other religions. That being said, the population of India is over 1 billion, so there are over 25 million Christians in India.
 
One of the largest Indian Christian communities is in the city of Mumbai. In India's smallest state, Goa, which is in western India, about 26% of the people are Christian.
 
The tourist destinations that you cannot miss are many, but during the Christmas period there are some cities in particular that are worth visiting. The first of these is Goa, to follow the golden triangle and Mumbai.
 

How do Indians celebrate Christmas?
Christmas in GOA

 

On Christmas Eve, Christians in Goa hang giant paper lanterns, in the shape of stars, between the houses so that the stars float above you as you walk down the road.
 
Midnight Mass is a very important service: the whole family will walk to Mass, followed by a feast of different delicacies and at the end the delivery and reception of gifts. In India, Santa Claus or Santa Claus delivers gifts to children from a horse and cart: it is known as "Baba Navidad" in Hindi.
 
Instead of having the traditional Christmas trees, you decorate a banana or mango tree.
 
In southern India, Christians often put small oil-burning clay lamps on the flat roofs of their homes to show their neighbors that Jesus is the light of the world.
 
Traditional local favorites are neureos (small cakes filled with dried fruit and coconut and fried) and dodol (such as coconut cashew caramel).
 

Other travel destinations at Christmas
DELHI AND THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE

 

A perfect idea for New Year's Eve or a great winter trip: until March in India the dry season continues, the temperature is around 20 degrees and it is ideal to discover this huge and fascinating country. Starting from Dehli, one of the most chaotic cities in the world but also one of the most surprising. Here you go from the confusion of Old Dehli to the elegance of the modern area in huge avenues.

 

 

After an hour and a half by fast train from Delhi you can reach Agra: here is the Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world and a monument to love, because it is the mausoleum built in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife.

 

 

After another 200 kilometers you will find yourself in Jaipur, the third point of the Golden Triangle, called "pink city", due to the color of the terracotta with which its historic center and its imposing amber fortress were built.

 

MUMBAI

 

Mumbai is the economic capital of India and the seat of Bollywood (the second largest film industry in the world after Los Angeles). For this reason, once you arrive here, it is inevitable to follow the itineraries between the sets organized in the different centers of the city. It is very likely that you will find yourself catapulted to the beaches of Juhu and Marine Drive: they are among the favorite settings of Indian films, and at the same time they are the most beautiful in this city. Its symbol is linked to the sea and is the Gateway of India: an arch overlooking the port. It is a classic, but it is still one of the stops to make.