Though Christmas is celebrated throughout Kerala, irrespective of the religious beliefs practiced by the people of this land. Christianity is one of the religious belief systems widely followed by many people anywhere in Kerala. Christmas is not just a religious festival for the people of this land. The people of this land celebrate all festivals whether it is religious, harvest or social. Celebration is part of their daily life.
Christmas is celebrated in all its glory and colour mostly in the middle part of Kerala. For, it is here many people who practice Christianity live. Though, there are different sects of christians live here, almost all sects celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. It is told christianity arrived here in the 1st CE itself through St. Thomas, one of the apostles. Later, in the following years it was spread by many other Europeans. It was accepted by many people throughout Kerala. Presently it is one of the most influential group both in the society and politics.
Christmas is celebrated in various ways. For the religious people it is time to enhance their spiritual freedom and for many others it is time to celebrate their life little more. We can witness more festive activities related to x’mas in the middle part of Kerala. Places like Kottayam, Thrissur, and Ernakulamare having more actions during this time. It is celebrated in the churches mostly by the religious people. There are plenty of programmes conducted as part of it in different places. It is time for many family get together. As the schools and colleges are closed for ten days during this time, people visit their families from far away places. They conduct many programmes in front of their houses itself. Inviting friends and relative to their houses to celebrate this moment of joy, many families spend their vacation happily.
Along the coastal area throughout Kerala there are hundreds of Christians mostly fishermen community who practice catholisism, who find it a time for family meetings and to conduct many other important functions in their families. Churches are the main centres of activities for Catholics. They assemble at the church premise to get engaged in the activities held by the church. From Thiruvananthapuram in the south of Kerala to north Thrissur all along the coast we can witness the celebration in full swing during these days. Decorating x’mas trees, presenting gifts to others and making feast and sharing it with others normally people celebrate it.
It is held high even by the malayalam film industry, During the Christmas holidays many Malayalam movies get released. It has been a custom for many years followed in this industry, as they find it a guarantee for the box office success of the movies released during this time. It helps many other industries to flourish. Tourism is one such industry which flourishes during Christmas vacation. Wish everybody a merry X’mas and happy New Year.
