Christmas nostalgia fills the air

While Christmas present and Christmas future is what you raise a toast to, for many Hyderabadis, it’s a gentle, warm Christmas past they want to hark back to — the old traditions, the people, the way festivities were. The merrymaking this year is laced with a tinge of nostalgia for most Hyderabadi Christians.

Swaranjit Sen, Chairman, AP Tourism, who completed 20 years in Hyderabad this year, recalls how good and warm those initial Christmases were, “I came here in 1989 and I still remember how much fun Christmas celebrations were back then. The parties were cosy, personal and more about meeting friends, having a good time and sharing joyous moments together. But now that flavour of Christmas is lost — it is more businesslike where you shake hands, greet people and rush out. They have lost that hearty quality.”

Meant to be cosy and warm, when tight-knit families come together, Christmases lack the intimacy, feel many. DJ Sharon, who has fond memories of celebrating Christmas with her family, talks about how the festivities have evolved. “Families are too busy to take time out and celebrate Christmas together. Pressing work commitments and the fact that most people seem to settle in different countries, makes it difficult. Earlier, the preparations for Christmas would begin at least two weeks in advance, but now it has been reduced to a two-day affair. In fact, I haven’t even put up a tree yet, as I’ve been so busy with work!”

The commercialisation of the festival doesn’t help either according to Baba, lead singer, Native Tongue, “I’ve been brought up to believe that Christmas is about the joy of giving. This should be done out of love and not charity. But these days, people are preoccupied with getting the best discounts and sales, rather than focussing on the real issues like sharing and caring, making it lose its real essence.”

So organise an old style Hyderabadi Christmas this year — jazz crooning, Christmas carols on the stereo, egg-nog, mistletoe and your closest friends and bring the best part of Christmas back.