By Pooja Chakrabarty

A nip in the air greets us as the Christmas season approaches. Scores of people hurry to the stores to do their last-minute Christmas shopping. As with every year, there is much to be done. New clothes have to be bought. Gifts have to be wrapped. The Christmas cake has to be ordered. The tree still has to be decorated. Anybody who celebrates Christmas knows that this is a festival that makes everyone want to “deck the halls with boughs of holly.” Celebrations become the order of the day, and Christmas parties are everywhere.

Yet, amidst all the celebration, it is easy to forget that Christmas is essentially a religious festival. It is the day when Christians around the world come together to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, whom they believe to be the son of God. Thus, many Christian homes try to replicate the birth of Christ in the manger among the farm animals. Most of these depictions include the shepherds who came to pay their respects to the new born and the three wise men that brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh for the young Christ.

However, despite its beginnings as a religious festival, Christmas has managed to capture popular fancy. One no longer needs to be Christian to jump into the seasonal festivities. Christmas trees are seen holding pride of place in the homes of many non-Christians. The festival has certainly moved on from being a religious affair to being a cultural one.

Santa Claus is one icon who transcends religious boundaries. Children of varying faiths flock to the malls to sit on dear old Santa’s lap and tell him his/her Christmas wish list. Fathers don the garb of Santa Claus at the many Christmas parties that pepper the season. Father Christmas, as he is also called, is a big hit throughout the Christmas season. After all, no child can avoid liking this pot-bellied, white-haired vision in red who brings hoards of gifts and greets everyone with “Ho ho ho”.

Just as Santa Claus has captured the hearts of people all over the world, so too, has the Christmas tree. For a long time, people had been using real firs as their Christmas trees. However, the times are changing and we have all become more environmentally aware. As a result, we are seeing a noticeable shift towards artificial trees.

Of course, Christmas would not be Christmas without carols. Christmas carols like “The First Noel” and “Joy to the World” have become an integral part of the Christmas celebrations. Children, on their part, cannot get enough of songs like “Frosty the Snowman” and “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer”. Even as families come together to decorate their homes, these carols help them find that Christmas cheer.

Christmas is a time for merry-making. It is also a time for spreading love and kindness, no matter what one’s religion might be. Irrespective of whether one is young or old, it is impossible to avoid being bitten by the Christmas bug.