Christmas 2026 क्रिसमस

Why Christmas is celebrated

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, whom Christians believe to be the Son of God and the saviour of humanity. Along with Easter, it is one of the two most important Christian festivals. In 2026 Christmas falls on Friday, 25 December. In Hindi it is often called Bada Din, the big day.

For believers, the heart of Christmas is the idea that God came to live among people as a humble child, born not in a palace but in a cattle shed. The festival stands for peace, hope, love and generosity, especially towards the poor. Over time it has also become a shared cultural festival in India, enjoyed by people of every faith, with lit up markets, cakes and holiday cheer at the close of the year.

History and story of Christmas

The Gospels of Matthew and Luke tell the story of Jesus's birth. According to Luke, Mary and Joseph travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem for a Roman census. Finding no room at the inn, they sheltered where animals were kept, and Mary laid the newborn in a manger. Angels announced the birth to shepherds in nearby fields, who hurried to see the child. Matthew describes wise men from the East who followed a star and brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

The Bible does not give a date for the birth. By the fourth century, the Church in Rome was marking it on 25 December. One view holds that the date gave a Christian meaning to Roman winter festivals held around the solstice. Another holds that early Christians worked it out from the date they believed Jesus was conceived. Some Orthodox churches that follow the older Julian calendar celebrate on 7 January.

Many familiar customs came much later. The Christmas tree grew out of German traditions and spread widely in the nineteenth century. Santa Claus draws on Saint Nicholas, a fourth century bishop in what is now Turkey, remembered for secret gifts to the needy, blended with Dutch and American folklore. Christianity itself is very old in India. Tradition holds that the apostle Thomas reached Kerala in the first century, and Indian Christians have kept Christmas for many centuries.

How Christmas is celebrated

Preparations begin with Advent, the four Sundays before Christmas, when churches light one more candle each week. Homes are cleaned and decorated with paper stars, lights, a Christmas tree and a crib, a small model of the stable with Mary, Joseph, the baby Jesus, shepherds and animals.

On Christmas Eve, families attend midnight Mass or a late evening service. Carols such as "Silent Night" and "Joy to the World" are sung along with hymns in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Konkani, Khasi and many other Indian languages. In the weeks before, carol groups visit homes in the parish, often with someone dressed as Santa Claus.

Christmas Day is for visiting, feasting and sharing. Plum cake and rich fruit cake are the signature bakes, with dried fruit often soaked weeks in advance. Kerala homes serve appam with stew, Goan families prepare a platter of sweets called kuswar, including neureos and bebinca, and many North Indian Christian homes cook biryani and kebabs. Gifts are exchanged, and churches and families give food, blankets and clothes to the poor. The festive season runs on through New Year and, in many churches, until Epiphany in early January.

Christmas across India

Goa's churches overflow at midnight Mass, and villages hold dances and hang giant star lanterns. Kerala homes put up paper stars and cribs, and the state stays in a festive mood all week. Mumbai's Bandra and Kolkata's Park Street are lit up for weeks and draw people of all faiths. In the North East, especially Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, entire towns celebrate and churches ring with choir music.

In Uttarakhand, Christmas week coincides with the peak winter tourist season. Christ Church in Mussoorie, built in 1836 and among the oldest churches in the Himalayan region, holds services and carol evenings, and hill towns such as Mussoorie, Nainital and Lansdowne fill with visitors. In Dehradun, churches hold midnight services and bakeries sell plum cakes through December. Mission schools in the Doon valley stage nativity plays before the winter break.