Kolkata's diverse Christian communities share unique Christmas traditions

For us the 25th of December is like any ordinary day Some get invited to their friendsrsquo places or go to church It all depends on the individualsrdquo Marie Stephen one of the last remaining Armenians of Kolkata tells us from her home in Chowringhee The Armenian Church celebrates the birth of Jesus on January 6th in accordance with the Julian calendar a day which also commemorates His baptism by John the Baptist through the ceremony of the ldquoBlessing of the WaterrdquoDavit GevorgyanMarie tells us of the church services held on the 5th and 6th which are ldquovery ritualisticrdquo of the use of the holy anointing oil of the Armenian Church called the Holy Muron which is composed of olive oil rose water and 48 herbs and flowers and of how as part of the service a Godfather is designated for the Cross which is dipped in water and drunk later from small cups ldquoIn the early days when there was a large community of Armenians there would be a luncheon at the Bara Club in Queenrsquos Mansion on Park Street and a tea party later at the Armenian Sports Club on Mayo Road When there were a lot of children we would also havefancy dress competitions and magic shows and then they would put on Armenian music and the boys and girls would dance right up to eight orsquoclock We would also have food items like kuku pulao and dolma and there were Armenian bakeries such as Minas bakery specialising in traditional Armenian sweets like gatha But now most of the women who used to cook have died others have sold out and immigrated to countries like Australia so there is catered food from outside serving regular farerdquoJohanne Mantosh who runs restaurants like The Scoop New Empire and whose family owns the iconic single screen theatre New Empire in New Market celebrates Christmas with familyMarie and her brother Saco who were born in Kolkata and studied at the 200yearold Armenian College amp Philanthropic Academy on Mirza Ghalib Street tell us of how their fathermdashoriginally from Baghdadmdashemigrated with his family to Calcutta in the 1920s and later married their mother an Armenian nurse from Jerusalem The Armenian community which invested in the building of schools and chapels in the city and was known for its entrepreneurship and mercantile interests has now dwindled to less than 200 members Davit Gevorgyan who has lived in Kolkata for the past 21 years and has recently acquired a sports management degree from the George Telegraph College in Sealdah speaks of how the older people in the Armenian community in the city are very small in number and celebrations are resultantly lowkey ldquoThey just come for Christmas service on the 6th and to the Sports Club after and then return to their homes But there are refreshments dances and games and we get gifts from Santa toordquoMarie Stephen and her brother Saco a freelance journalist are one of the few remaining Armenian families in Kolkata Their great grandparents were victims of the Armenian genocide of 1915 PicPritam SarkarFor Miranda Wu a fourthgeneration Chinese Catholic motherofthree the Christmas eve dinner is focused on family with an elaborate homecooked meal consisting of continental dishes like asparagus bacon wrap glazed spareribs chicken with apricot stuffing baked fish in chimichurri sauce radish pomegranate salad and blueberry panna cotta and homemade ice cream On Christmas day Wu whose family has been involved in community service over the years organises an IndoChinese breakfast for about 250 churchgoers at the Mary Immaculate Chapel in Tangra with items like momos prawn chips sandwiches and samosas ldquoWhen I was younger it was the Anglo Indians and the Christians celebrating But now everyone celebrates Everyone is in that Christmassy kind of mood Thatrsquos a huge changerdquo she sharesDaniel JohnsFor Josephine Huang owner of Eau Chew Kolkatarsquos oldest surviving familyowned Chinese restaurant the years have brought on many changes ldquoWhen we were younger we used to go visit relatives on Christmas Now all that has stopped Nobody comes visiting Younger people now have their own groups and want to do everything on their own Everybody has their own work Everybody is very very busy nowrdquoJosephine Huang with guests at Eau Chew Kolkatarsquos oldest surviving familyowned Chinese restaurant originally started as an eating house for Chinese immigrants working in the cityJohanne Mantosh who runs restaurants like The Scoop New Empire and Miss Ginko in Kolkata and whose family owns the iconic single screen theatre New Empire in New Market speaks of lavish Christmas meals with turkey and honeyglazed pork walnut cakes kalkals and rose cookies For her Christmas in Kolkata has always been about the spirit of celebrating together ldquoThere was the Christmas bazaar in the heart of New Market where you could hear Bengali people you could hear Muslim people crying out lsquoChristmas tree lorsquo And I used to just stand in the corner and admire that sense of unity because it wasnrsquot about a religion it was about a tree and how adorably you could decorate it and enjoy the spirit of Christmas Now I see more awareness of what Christmas is more amplification Everyone has a Christmas tree everyone is playing secret Santa The Bengal Rowing Club whose members are primarily Marwari has one of the biggest Christmas carnivals in the whole of the cityrdquo She also mentions the popular Allen Park celebrations in the city where the entire stretch of Park Street Allen Park St Paulrsquos Cathedral and other adjoining areas remain illuminated till January 1 and there are carols parades live music and food stalls for locals and touristsMiranda Wu a fourthgeneration Chinese Catholic in Kolkata celebrates with family with a dinner on Christmas Eve comprising continental dishes On Christmas day Wu and her mother organise a IndoChinese breakfast for about 250 churchgoers at the Mary Immaculate Chapel in TangraDaniel Johns an AngloIndian from Kolkata who has recently moved to Chennai and will spend his first Christmas away from home reminisces about Chinese sausages from Kolkatarsquos Chinatown the Kalimpong choir which comes down every year the Assembly of God Churchrsquos annual Christmas production Songs of the Season traditional Christmas lunches at the various clubs cakes from Nahoumrsquos and Saldanharsquos and the celebrations at Bow Barracks ldquoIt is possibly the most unique thing about the city where a community comes together in their area to celebrate They set out chairs make a stage put up lights The performance is also all local Itrsquos from the community and for the community Thatrsquos unique because the Bow Barracks community isnrsquot the most affluent but it doesnrsquot stop them from really celebrating Christmasrdquo says JohnsldquoCalcutta is unique in the sense that when you walk down its streets you have that feeling of Christmas in the air Everybody sort of wears Christmas on their sleeves Therersquos a tree therersquos holly there are carols playing if you pass by the shops I feel that as compared to other cities there is a louder declaration of the fact that we are celebrating Christmas Itrsquos a small city which is closer knitmdashso thatrsquos why that warmth is a little more in Calcuttardquo