We All Need Christmas

It is Christmas time and I always feel a little extra spontaneous. Maybe it is because of all the vibrant energy in the air. So, my sister and I asked a few people what Christmas means to them? I felt every bit the teacher putting everyone on an assignment. I thought it would be nice to create some Christmas warmth here at ‘Faith’. It felt wonderful to see everyone’s responses and their special Christmas pictures sent to me. Read on to see how everyone from our community came together to express the significance Christmas holds for them. Our wonderful Christine leads the way.

Christmas, of course, means the birth of Christ, with Midnight Mass being the highlight. After Mass you meet and greet your loved ones, friends and all the ‘foreigners’ (Indians) who have come home for Christmas with their new found accents, some honest enough to tell you that India is still home no matter where they live.

On returning home, Baby Jesus is put into his crib, wine, cake, snacks, and sweets are served.

For many the essence of Christmas seems to be side-tracked by the festivities that come with it, but isn’t it all part of the celebration?

Sweet making, spread over a week; decorating our home is a highlight in my house when the kids help me with a ritual of tree trimming and placing other favourite and familiar ornaments and treasures that only come out once a year…while listening to our favourite Christmas music.

Planning and making the grand feast, usually Continental, with East Indian Sorpotel or Vindaloo and Fugias, and absolute must, when all our dear family get together is something that is shared by the best cooks in each family, followed by our family sing song, and of course shopping till you drop to find that perfect gift.

In the past few years, we have opted for Secret Santa among my children, where we only have to choose and buy a gift (or gifts) for one person. Of course, no one knows who’s got who on their list!

At our family/ clan lunch we also buy 1 simple gift per person and wrap it in newspaper so all look the same, place it in a huge bag, and give everyone present, numbers to choose. No 1 gets the best pick of the lot and the others get to ‘ steal’ someone else’s gift. Great fun.

In the eve every lady dons her best outfit/ gown to go to the Christmas dance, where coming home at 5 am is the norm.

Ever since I had my 1st child, 35 years ago, followed by 2 more, the Christmas dance is just a distant memory.

Even though they are all grown up, and my husband has passed away, I’d gladly skip the dance to babysit my granddaughter and let my eldest go out instead.

Hectic, joyful, fattening and just plain fun is what Christmas is all about. May it bring you peace and joy too.

-Jennifer Teacher Jenny

Christmas is such a special time for us as Christians.  It is the birth of our Lord and Saviour

JESUS.     

Just as we all celebrate our birthdays with family and friends with delightful goodies n food, we do for our Lord and Saviour who sacrificed and suffered so much for our sins by dying on the cross for us. 

The build up to Christmas is therefore a whole month of preparation of prayer, re-enactment of our Lord’s birth by building a crib, caroling, dancing, sweet making, planning of elaborate lunch n dinner menus for that very special birthday on the 25th December.  Love Midnight Mass which binds us all together as a Christian community! Love love love the build up to Christmas and the banter n fun of the immediate family.

-Shamira

For me Christmas is a time where things stand still for a moment and we get to share the love and joy of being surrounded with family and friends! A lot of time is spent with the family from making sweets, to decorating the house, to mass, to family lunches – during the rest of the year we got lost in our busy schedules that we take our family for granted.

-Daniella

Christmas to me is Family and this picture says it all. hearing mid night mass with my family and spending this beautiful day with them is all I can ask for!

-Annabelle Ferrao

Christmas is that time of the year where you let go and let love flow. Where the spirit of Christmas overcomes our failings of selfishness pettiness etc. Etc. Christmas reminds us of how we are meant to be. The challenge is to make every day of the year Christmas.

-Clement

For me, It’s definitely one of the most wonderful times of the year 😀

Christmas is HOPE to sustain me and LOVE to uphold me. It brings me JOY and PEACE.

–Sabitha

As a Christian, to me, Christmas symbolizes ‘HOPE’.  I believe that Jesus was born to bring hope that in and through HIM, all things are possible. 

–Annabelle Fernandes

Christmas is togetherness, with Family and Friends! It’s bright, warm, sparkling Bandra streets with decorated homes, Christmas stars, bunting and more.

And it’s celebrating the birth of baby Jesus….

I love Christmas!

-Deanne

Christmas to me, is so many things, but above all its sheer Joy. Joy that once again we are alive to celebrate the birth of Jesus; we gather with our family and friends to share these cherished moments, and these moments make up the whole month and not just one day.

Christmas begins with the slightly better weather (sadly cannot expect much from Mumbai, so I take what I get). The early morning ‘chill’ to the Christmas carols playing in your head, the ‘sweets making fiasco’ which turns into an evening event, roaming around the city looking at the twinkling fairy lights, the ‘what to wear for Xmas mass’ life challenging decision 😂, decorating your house like you do every year with something new and mostly old, Christmas cards now turned into WhatsApp messages, the endless search for the ‘perfect’ Christmas gifts (again not much of a thing now since we are constantly shopping all year round), and I think I can go on and on…I know that Christmas is not just for Christians but for everyone; everyone celebrates in their own way and that’s what makes it the most special time of the year. Merry Christmas and a Happy December to you! ❤️

–Schinella

Christmas is that time of the year where you let go and let love flow. Where the spirit of Christmas overcomes our failings of selfishness pettiness etc. Etc. Christmas reminds us of how we are meant to be. The challenge is to make every day of the year Christmas.

-Tony

Christmas means celebrations, gifts, warmth, and a vacation. It means showing love and buying gifts for the people you love.

–Jeraz

My fondest memories of Christmas always revolve around the lead up. I don’t think I remember any Christmas party or event as vividly as I remember the lead up to all of them. It could be a cumulative effect of years of “getting into the spirit of Christmas”. So, my favorite memories include wowing at the first hints of Christmas lights outside a jewelry store on the streets of Bandra. It includes picking out outfits with my mum and sister for Christmas mass. The taste of that first sneaky bite of sweets has always been more memorable than the box served around on Christmas day. And most memorably it includes all the creativity in the weeks of December. I remember years when my sister and I tried out our own handmade jewelry venture at the Christmas Bazaars, spending nights before Christmas elbows into glitter and glue guns. From experimenting with cookie designs to caroling down the streets, trying a new gift wrap design to deciding which ornament looks best where on the Christmas tree, my favorite Christmas memories include creativity, color and lots of connection. I’m sharing some paintings from a lovely Christmas artistic streak I had one Christmas a few years ago 🙂

–Danette

To me Christmas feels like Neverland. You tend to leave all your troubles and indifferences behind. The fun begins right from decorating the house, listening to Christmas carols and to enjoying the actual day with family. It’s a day where all those beautiful memories of how you spent Christmas over the years comes back. Lately, it’s also about creating those wonderful Christmas memories for my 2-year-old and getting him to experience the joy of Christmas

-Chezereen

Christmas for me is the Most Wonderful Time of The Year.

It’s the season of giving n family& friends and of glad tidings and good cheer!!

-Neale

Christmas for me is the prettiest time of the year. With every street of Bandra lit up and homes beautifully decorated it just makes me feel warm from within. Also, with another year almost coming to an end it brings hope of a new year filled with good health and happiness and in my heart belief that wishes of all my loved ones will come true…

-Kashmira

Christmas gives you a moment to reflect on the year gone by, fill your heart with warmth and come closer to friends and family. I believe Christmas is a feeling for everyone in different ways and like this Christmas song, we all need Christmas.

So, here’s to you and all you do
Let’s raise a glass to all that’s past
And to the future, long may it last
Oh, let it last

And may the light shine on you
And trust your hopes to see it through
Forever after, let it be true
For me and you

We all need Christmas
We all need someone to need
Open your heart and let love breathe
This Christmas