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The Anglican Church in Tasmania Search |
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December 2006 |
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Jesus' birthday in NepalGesuko janmadinko din = Christmas Day = Jesus' Birthday. From John and Margaret Cannell As a Hindu country, Christmas is hardly recognised in Nepal. Other than when it falls on a Saturday (the Sabbath) it is a normal working day. Remembering birthdays is western culture. Most older country people could only guess at their own birthdays anyway, although children have a custom of sharing sweets on their birthdays. Our little local church in Dhulikhel rarely held a service other than on a Saturday, so unless we urged the pastor a weekday Christmas Day wouldn't be observed at all. We had to explain how we normally celebrated it. There is no tradition of carols, and if we volunteered to sing one it was received with more curiosity than fervour. In Kathmandu and Pokhara the few big Nepali churches sometimes had wonderful worship on Christmas Day, and John always arranged a special worship service at Kathmandu University (with permission, and usually round exam time) on Christmas Day, with Nepali songs all sung with guitars and gusto and a message about the events in Bethlehem. We would finish with Anzac biscuits which Margaret called Christmas biscuits, and someone else would provide a cake. Students loved it, although culturally they thought it a little odd. When Margaret read the Christmas Nativity story in her village school she was humbled by the fact that it seemed quite normal to the children that Jesus was born in a stable. So were some of them! Away from the cities most women would give birth in the animal shed or a similar outhouse. However, in Kathmandu the shops that cater for expatriates - who have a lot more money - recognise a commercial benefit in acknowledging Christmas and decorate their shops appropriately. Sound familiar? Similarly, the big tourist hotels advertise Christmas events and dinners and wealthier Nepalese are happy to join in and drink more. Away from Kathmandu where the other 23 million people live, it has always been a non-event, but with TV and Christian influence it is becoming a little more observed. We always had local young people round and explained why we were celebrating. Our Christmases in Dhuklikhel were pretty good.
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