The Multicultural Indian Christmas

By mid-December, India begins to glow. Fairy lights spill from balconies, plum cakes circulate through housing societies like sacred offerings, and neighbourhoods hum with an energy that feels festive yet soft, celebratory yet calm. Across the country—from Lucknow to Kochi, Delhi to Shillong—families of every faith now celebrate Christmas in their own way. Not as an act of conversion or imitation, but as an instinctive embrace of warmth, food, family, and the pleasure of ending the year on a gentle note.

Christmas in India has quietly transformed into something beautifully multicultural: a festival shaped not only by Christian traditions, but by Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Parsi, and intercultural households who have made the season their own. It is part borrowed ritual, part home-grown nostalgia, and entirely Indian in its exuberant blending of influences.

A Celebration Without Borders

On a mild December evening in Mumbai’s Andheri East, the Sharmas are preparing for what they proudly call “Sharma Christmas,” a tradition that began accidentally a decade ago with a tiny plastic tree their children insisted on buying. “We thought it would be a one-year experiment,” recalls Ritu Sharma (52), her kitchen fragrant with biryani. “But our neighbours joined, then my sister, then my brother-in-law… now it’s a whole event. The kids won’t let us skip it.”

No one in the room identifies as Christian. The celebration is not religious, but relational—created out of a longing for togetherness. “It’s the only day when all our children, even the married ones, come home without excuses,” Ritu smiles. “That’s festive enough for me.”

Psychologist and family therapist Dr. Suniti Kulkarni says this impulse is becoming increasingly common. “At the end of the year, people crave comfort, closure, and a sense of pause. Christmas fills that emotional gap. It’s cosy, reflective, and generous. Those qualities are universal.”

Food as the Great Unifier

In India, festive adoption often begins in the kitchen. 30-year-old software engineer Ameen Quadri laughs as he remembers how Christmas entered his Muslim household through a plate of kulkuls. “Our Catholic neighbours brought them once,” he says. “My grandmother fell in love. The next year, we made them ourselves. My mother added biryani. Now we have a full feast on Christmas Day.”

For culinary anthropologist Dr. Priya Janardhanan, this fusion is not surprising. “Indian food culture has always been porous,” she explains. “We embrace flavours and rituals without worrying about boundaries. Christmas foods, in particular, have travelled easily—from Goan bebinca to Kerala plum cake to Anglo-Indian roast meats. When these enter non-Christian homes, they become hybrid, intimate, and locally meaningful.”

Across cities, Christmas tables now reflect this cultural blending: butter chicken next to gingerbread cookies, biryani beside roast chicken, elaichi tea served with hot chocolate. Every household writes its own menu.

Cosy Aesthetics

If food is the entry point, décor is the hook. Among millennials and Gen Z especially, Christmas décor has become a form of self-expression that transcends religion. “People love the aesthetics—warm lights, textured fabrics, the whole cosy vibe,” says interior stylist Anmol Mehta, who now receives more Christmas décor inquiries from non-Christian families than Christian ones.

Mehta recently styled a tree for a Gujarati family who wanted it adorned with bandhani-print ornaments. Another client requested crochet snowflakes hand-made by her grandmother. A Muslim family in Bengaluru chose a monochrome palette with Moroccan lanterns woven into the lighting. “People want homes that look festive but still feel like them,” she says.

Social media has fuelled this shift. Instagram’s December feed—gingerbread houses, mantel styling, tree reveals, ‘cozy corners’—has become aspirational cultural currency. The season offers an aesthetic language that resonates with young Indians who grew up on Hollywood Christmas films, Western décor trends, and global lifestyle content.

The ‘Chosen Family’

Christmas has also become a favourite among young adults living away from home. In Bengaluru and Pune, “Friendsmas” has gone mainstream—potlucks featuring tandoori platters, garlic bread, mulled wine, and desi desserts. “We don’t have big extended families here,” says 28-year-old UX designer Rishika Jain. “Our friends become our family. Christmas gives us a moment to pause the chaos and be grateful together.”

The emotional appeal is strong: the year’s end feels like a natural checkpoint, and Christmas offers a readymade framework for connection—presents, food, music, rituals. Many young adults say it gives them what traditional festivals sometimes lack: softness, no pressure, no elaborate rules, just warmth and community.

Local Flavours Shine

Even in regions where Christmas has centuries-old Christian roots, the festival has expanded into something more communal.

In Kolkata, Park Street’s lights draw thousands from every background, turning the city into a glowing pedestrian carnival. “We go every year,” says marketing executive Sanjukta Roy. “We eat fruitcake, listen to live bands, take photos. It feels as magical as Durga Puja.”

In Goa, non-Christian families participate with the same enthusiasm as their Catholic neighbours. “Everyone shares food,”

says retiree Pratap Naik. “Our door is open the whole day. You could walk into any home and be offered bebinca, or even Sorpotel if you’re lucky.”

In Jaipur, the Patel family has started a charming tradition of handmade gifting: candles, knitted coasters, spice mixes, embroidered bookmarks. “We call it our elf week,” laughs 63-year-old Meera Patel. “It’s creative and thoughtful—and very Gujarati. We love any festival, as long as it’s warm and not wasteful.”

Desi Festive Warmth

Cultural studies expert Dr. Rehana Qureshi of Jadavpur University sees India’s multicultural Christmas as an extension of long-existing traditions of shared celebration. “Indian festivals have never belonged to one community alone,” she says. “Hindus have made Muharram tazias for generations. Sikhs participate in Ganesh Chaturthi. Muslims join Diwali melas. Christmas fits naturally into this tapestry.”

She adds that Christmas in India today is not Westernisation—it is indigenisation. “We take a global festival and localise it. We add biryani, marigolds, torans, rangolis, chai. We keep the parts that resonate and reinvent the rest. That is the Indian way.”

Faith, Respect, and Joy

While some Christians worry about commercialisation, many view the cultural adoption positively. “As long as it’s respectful, it’s beautiful,” says Bandra resident Anthony Fernandes (46). “Our faith isn’t diluted because others celebrate. If anything, it feels like a compliment.”

Christmas in India is no longer bound by doctrine. It is shaped by the desire to pause, savour, reflect, and gather loved ones. It is soft, welcoming, and endlessly renewable. As Ritu Sharma in Mumbai puts it, “We celebrate because it makes us happy. Isn’t that the whole point of festivals?”

And perhaps that is India’s true Christmas miracle: a season imagined a thousand different ways, yet united by one simple emotion—warmth.