BENGALURU: I don’t want a lot for Christmas
There is just one thing I need
And I don’t care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree …
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you.
It truly was the happiest time of the year! Christmas for Bengalureans meant doing everything that makes us feel warm and happy inside spending time with family, catching up with old friends, eating good food (and plenty of spirits, of course).
Melt-in-your-mouth rose cookies, galgals, plum cake (with raisins soaked in rum) and succulent roasts make it to dining tables, presents line the bottom of the Christmas tree as the Infant Jesus oversees the proceedings from his crib.
Celebrations begin on Christmas Eve, peaking during the midnight mass, which is an ostentatious affair in the city's churches.
Crowds spilled out of the largest churches St Patrick's, Holy Ghost, East Parade and St Mark's, to name a few. The ceremonius placing of the Infant Jesus in his crib was done as the church bells chimed at midnight on Christmas Day.
Christmas trees and depictions of the manger scene stand proud in every home. Christmas Day itself is a time of love, companionship and sharing, as friends and family reunite to eat and drink together.
"Traditionally, we have a nice roast pigling Laithavan, and lots of wine and cake," said Bertha Fernandes, who lives in Koramangala. "There was a full-fledged family reunion at our hometown in Mangalore as well," she said.
Good food is a vital part of the day of course, as everybody's favourite Christmas indulgences make their way to table tops! Plum cakes, kalkals, tukri and rose cookies and rum-soaked Christmas pudding are traditional festival fare in most parts of Bengaluru. "Mangaloreans also eat sannas and pork," said Bertha.
"For us, Christmas starts with the midnight mass, which is very festive and nice," said Timothy J, a student. "That finishes late in the night, so we come home, get some sleep and make sure we're up bright and early on Christmas morning!"
Apart from the decorations and the food, several families organise carol-singing evenings. "For us, it's all about spending time with family and friends," he said. "Christmas means doing things together."
