Cover image credit: Kevin Sanderson
Growing up and being from a Hindu background, Christmas was not celebrated in my house, and I never got a chance to know what it’s truly like.
My idea of Christmas has always been through movies such as Home Alone, Christmas albums by Mariah Carey, barbeque sessions in Australia and the time that I have spent in Goa during my travels.
Usually during December I am with my family in India, celebrating my birthday which falls on December 22nd, and my cousin's birthday which is on December 25th.
Since this year, I can’t travel and be with the family due to the pandemic, I wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate Christmas in my own style.
In India, 2.3% of Indians practise Christianity - almost 24 million people or nearly the entire population of Australia.
This year I want not only to celebrate the joy that Christmas brings but highlight how a South Asian outside of their Indian heritage would celebrate Christmas.
To me, a perfect Christmas, starts with the decorations.
Decorating the tree my way
What’s Christmas without a Christmas tree? As a believer in sustainability and someone who is currently living on a student budget, fitting a full-sized Christmas tree into my place seems next to impossible.
I was advised that you could rent a Christmas tree, or buy a fake one and store it in your garage.
However, being a typical 'desi', I really do not have space in my garage to store anything as space is taken by books that I haven't read in a long time, gifts that I received ages ago and things I haven't looked at for at least a year!
Renting a tree, on the other hand, does seem better, but then again it seems so expensive to rent a tree only for a few days.
So instead, I decided to go online and be a little creative!
Recently I saw an article where magazines and books were used to create mini-Christmas trees around the house. I thought: Why not have multiple small book trees decorated with trinkets around the house. Like I mentioned, all my books are just sitting in the garage so this would be a great time to get the dust off and take them out!
Reading my Christmas Tree. Image credit: Quirkbooks
The problem with Christmas tree decorations is that most of the cheap baubles are made of plastic. There are also glass ones available, but those are extremely expensive for my budget.
So for decorations, I saw some beautiful Aboriginal Christmas baubles online, to help pay respect towards the traditional owners of the land that we stand on.
Image credit: Innovations Gifts
I also saw these beautiful handcrafted Indian ornaments which you could decorate a mini-tree too.
Image credit: GlobalEmporium1 on Etsy
I also have mini soft toys around the house and jewellery from my housemates that would really sparkle the tree while giving it a personal touch.
Image credit: Tina Suto
To bring it all together, I would love to have a book tree, decorated with aboriginal baubles, and flourished with Indian Ornaments to really showcase my culture while celebrating the spirit of Christmas.
Making a Christmas Feast this year
A big part of any festival is food, and seeing Christmas being celebrated in India for so long, has my mouth watering to create a massive feast that all my friends can enjoy.
For me, the image of Christmas has been created from the time that I spent in Goa and by my neighbours here in Australia who host barbecues; probably two very contradicting aspects of what Christmas should be.
Roast beef is a very traditional Goan dish, and this year I wish to create something similiar. I found this recipe online, it seems very easy, and all the ingredients can be found at a local butcher or an Indian, Pakistani or Sri Lankan store nearest to me (if they sell beef).
I confess that I have tried these kinds of recipes before. I like to pour in a little bit of extra marinade with the roast beef so that it becomes like a curry stew. They don't take that much time, so they seem very pragmatic if you have a busy schedule like me.
I have fond recollections of my neighbours bringing us Indian shortbread called nankatai, which I loved as a kid. Although I am not the best with desserts, all I need to do is roll up cookie dough and let it chill, which seems easy.
Find the recipe for these beautiful biscuits here at Dessarts
I also want to host a barbeque during Christmas and get all my friends over. While the rest of the world is freezing, here in the Land Down Under, we have the pleasure to enjoy a couple of cold ones while eating the world-famous Woolies sausages.
It just seems like an activity full of joy, and as a person living here, a Christmas barbeque is a tradition I an excited to follow. However, in addition to the Woolies sausages, I would love to cook up some tandoori chicken on the grill, or marinated fish with some Indian Spices to show an outstanding balance of cultures.
Throw a Tandoori chicken on the barbie! T-shirt from TeePublic
Visiting the local church: this is the best time
The Christian foundation of Christmas is palpable in a church, and visiting a church is high on my list.
Due to COVID 19, there are only a limited number of seats available, and these get booked out very quickly.
Fortunately, I managed to book one because I got it a bit early, but not to worry if you didn't get organised in time. A lot of sermons are currently occurring online right now over zoom; almost all churches have adjusted to this new form of technology, and it's incredibly convenient. You just need to sign up on the church's website.
I have always loved the soothing carols during Christmas, and I think it's the best part of the festival. I have always thought that the carols are such a beautiful part of the culture, and Melbourne does have a lot of great spots where carols are sung that I'm going to explore.
Image credit: Mitchell Luo
This year due to COVID 19, unfortunately, a lot of Christmas concerts had to be closed. However, I can still go to my local council and check if anything is available.
I know that the city of Stonnington where I live is hosting a Christmas carol session that I have signed up for. They are also publishing this online for live watching.
There are also many great public Christmas trees that one can view during this time of the year.
At Chadstone, I saw the most magnificent Christmas tree last year. This year my friends and I have created a competition on Instagram on who is going to find the best tree in Melbourne.
Enjoying the little things and helping explore the city is in the spirit of the festival, and that is how I want to enjoy Christmas this year.
Eggnogs and "Entertainment” on Christmas Eve
Jaya sharabi loosely translates to drunk on eggnog. Image credit: Nonresident
One of the reasons I want to celebrate Christmas this year is because I have never tasted eggnog in my life, but I have heard that it's "strong", and I really want to see if it lives up to it.
I also want to add a bit of Indian twist to my eggnog cocktail. With the usual white rum, I want to also add some saffron, cinnamon, cardamom powder and pistachios as topping to give it more flavour.
I also plan to use a little bit of coconut milk with the usual sweetened milk and eggs, to create a perfect balance!
Christmas Eve also always has the tradition of watching "Christmas" movies with your family while enjoying the 'nog.
I have compiled a list of Bollywood movies that have scenes or themes from Christmas that I am going to enjoy with my friends.
1. Anjana Anjani: A movie set about two strangers in Las Vegas and shot in December where you can see how magnificent Las Vegas looks during that time of the year.
Set in Las Vegas, a movie about two strangers falling in love starring Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra.
2. Ek Mein Hoon Aur Ekk Tu: A romantic comedy where two protagonists meet on Christmas Eve, and from the poster you just know that this movie is full of Christmas Spirit.
A romantic comedy focusing on an accidental marriage which leads to two strangers discovering their lives.
3. Yeh Jawani Hai Diwani: Probably the most festive Bollywood movie that celebrates everything from Holi, to Christmas to New Years and a great watch for all ages.
A romantic comedy focused on decisions made by youth and a coming out of age story that many people can relate to.
4. Two States: The film has a sequence related to Christmas and does an excellent job showcasing IIM Ahmedabad decorated during such a festive time.
Based on the Popular Chetan Bhagat novel, this story follows the difficulties and the joys between a marriage of a South Indian girl and a North Indian boy.
5. Dilwale: If you love a movie starring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, this is one movie not many people watch, and it has an amazing Christmas eve Church scene where Shah Rukh Khan meets Kajol!
A story focusing on two estranged lovers falling for each other, not knowing the violent past that drove them apart.
I have also looked online on what other activities we can do Christmas Eve, and board games seem like the most fun activity.
All my friends are incredibly competitive, and I found a Christmas Monopoly game on Amazon.
At the end of the day, what can go wrong with great food, booze, movies and board games?
The Next Morning
There is no better way I can start my Christmas morning than to open presents.
I have also signed up on Reddit for a secret Santa. Reddit is a mass-sharing platform where people connect with each other, and annually it matches almost 3 million people from all over the world together for the biggest secret Santa of all time.
I got matched with a person from Ukraine wishing for something of a local significance that he could never buy in his home country. I am sending him a Richmond Lions Jersey with an Aussie rules football.
In return, I wish for a PS4 game, and hopefully, my wish comes true!
My housemates and I are also running our own secret Santa. However, we have limited our budgets to $20 so that we really have to think about what we can get for each other.
I can't wait to figure out what my gift will be! Also, there are a lot of great Christmas sales running right now that I can take advantage of.
Many people also told me to get a photo with Santa sitting on Santa's lap, but due to my age and not making Santa or any other parents in the line be uncomfortable, I think I’m going to skip it this year.
A big part of Christmas in India was also visiting your neighbours and sharing food. Rather than carrying cookies, I'm going to try to incorporate items of culture significance to me in my visits.
All my Australian friends always want to see what homemade curry tastes like, and this is the best time to showcase my culinary skills.
In British culture, curries are part of Christmas, and we can reverse-plagiarize a little to make them our own again.
'The Curry Guy' has 130,000 visitors to his blog. Cultural re-appropriation challenge accepted!
Use this time to make the festival your own
This is what my perfect Christmas looks like, and it is completely fine if you don't want to follow a single step from this. But I'm curious, what does your perfect Christmas look like?
Some people would want a more orthodox Christmas, while some would prefer Chinese takeout rather than cooking a feast, and that's completely fine!
The spirit of Christmas is to be together with your friends and family, and use this opportunity to shine a light on this.
There are only a few times in a year where everybody gets a vacation, so it's crucial to stick together.
Make sure you use this year's Christmas not as an excuse but as an opportunity to spend time with the ones you love, and I'll let you know how my first Christmas turns out.
Nishant Kulkarni is a freelance writer based in Melbourne, and a regular contributor to SAARI.
