It’s been a fair amount of time since I blogged, I know. Happy 2011 to all. In case some of you missed it, on Christmas Day last year I wrote a post for the3six5 project. With heavy snow across the East Coast of America at the moment, maybe you’d like to see it (or revisit it, as the case may be), here. The sentiment stays the same, in any case!
Christmas for me has been just one of the many events that my family has celebrated since I was a little girl. That may sound strange to some: how can it not be the most eagerly awaited festival of the year, as it probably is for most of you? The answer lies not so much in the religion I was born into – I am a Hindu – but more in the spirit of multi-culturalism that my parents cultivated in my sister and I right from the beginning. I was born in the UK, and as far as I can remember Christmas was celebrated by my family in much the same way as it is in most parts of the Western world. Even today, though my parents live in India, my mother makes the traditional Christmas roast chicken, Yorkshire pudding and Christmas pudding every year, though hardly any of our neighbours, even those that are Christian, do.
In India, God takes many forms. Within the one country there are so many different religions that growing up I learnt to appreciate Hinduism, Islam and Christianity equally. I am not particularly religious though. I believe that all religions, in essence, preach peace and goodwill amongst mankind. I find it particularly disturbing, therefore, when I see and hear about the tragedies of terrorism that have scarred people the world over recently in the name of religion. At Christmas, I’d like to take the opportunity to celebrate the good instead.
This Christmas, my husband, some friends and I have rented a cottage in Wales and are spending the holidays together. For my part, I’m making sure we have some proper Christmas food (including the turkey), and Christmas crackers for everyone. We’re far away from our families in India, but I’m determined not to let that spoil Christmas. Our friends have become a part of our family, as I’m sure is the case for a lot of you, and after all, isn’t Christmas about spending time with loved ones? The cottage may not have a roaring fire in the fireplace, but it’s a cheery white snowy Christmas for us. It couldn’t be more perfect.
Merry Christmas, peace and joy to one and all.
About the author: Anjali Ramachandran likes storytelling, robots and bright colours. She works with social technology company Made by Many in London, can be found tweeting as @anjali28 and blogging at One Size Fits One.
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