CHRISTMAS  FESTIVAL      

इनेप्लिज २०७२ पुष १० गते १६:५९ मा प्रकाशित

tilak shrestha

Namaste!                    Merry Christmas!                 Happy Holidays!

I like Christmas. It is such a colorful festival. People are in good and giving mood. Homes, communities and businesses are decorated with lights and ornaments. Christmas trees, reindeers, sleighs, real or fake snow are the staples. Of course, there cannot be Christmas without – Ho, Ho jovial Santa Claus carrying the bag of toys for children. He is the happy old guy clad in red, white and green suit, white flowing beard, riding sleighs, making toys for children in his castle in the North Pole assisted by his elves.  Businesses have special sales to assist the festivity. And children, aged 5 to 55, do believe in both Santa Claus and Toys. People are nice with greetings, ‘Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays.’ Families and friends have big parties, invite even strangers and exchange gifts, a piece of heaven in the earth, indeed.

santa

The Christmas is mainly celebrated in Christian countries and communities. But its appeal to the basic human goodness has transcended it to other countries and communities as well.  Though it is given as a Christian festival and the day as the birth day of Jesus, it is much older. Its origin is tied to the Winter solstice and human optimism symbolized by the beginning of the day getting longer.  The pre-Christian, Pagan European celebrated it as the day of the Sun. The decorated tree is the symbol of the fertility and the rejuvenation in the nature. It is similar to the pole ‘Yashin’ in our ‘Indra Jatra’ festival in Nepal. Nobody knows which year Jesus was born, let alone the day. However, later Church got rid of the Pagans, took over the festival, declared it as the Christian festival and the day as the Jesus’ birth day. By the way, the Church also took over Pagan title ‘Pope’ and temple ‘Vatican’ as their own. Thus, there are Christian sects which do not consider it as Christian and do not celebrate.

The origin of happy Santa Claus bringing toys to children, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas or Kris Kringle, comes from ancient European folklores and legends. There are many myths associated with it: Odin – Norse God, Sinterklaas – Dutch folklore, Tomte – Scandinavian folklore, Saint Nicholas – Greek folklore etc. Today’s fabled and jovial Santa Claus is the modern American interpretation. Either way, we all children love him.

tree

We are the jovial Nepalese. We promote our culture, respect others, and if good celebrate as well. As usual we add our own color to it. We have a few Nepalese dishes, invite friends and have fun. Let us celebrate the Essence of the Christmas:  ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah’ – let All be Happy, ‘Om Shanti, Shanti, Shantihi’ – let Peace Prevail in the Earth.

Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_claus

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