However you are alerted of the fact, it’s that wonderful time of the year once again.
There was a point in recent Nepali history though when it was unwise for Christians to wish each other a Merry Christmas, out loud, in public. Then in 1991 someone hung up a banner in Lagankhel wishing it to everyone and we winced, expecting a crackdown—which never came, democracy had "come" after all. In conversation with a Hindu friend last week, he recounted growing up in that same period, exchanging presents and inviting family friends over for open Christmas parties. Safety, he said, had never been a concern.
Much has changed in the past few years. One of the most glaring facts is evident in Thamel where more non-Christians than Christians guzzle bottles of beer and clink glasses of wine come Christmas Eve—apparently celebrating the birth of Christ. I´m not sure how long five star chains have been hosting the mixing of Christmas cakes, but I´m pretty sure few Christians are rolling up their sleeves and kneading the dough there. Never mind that drinking alcohol is strongly frowned upon and Christmas cake is hardly part of the Nepali Christian community culture.
Christmas has come to Kathmandu and it is in full swing. Dhukuti presents its finest Christmas décor and is by far the most delightful window exhibition anywhere in the Valley. Adorable decors aside, last year I was offended to see newspaper advertisements overtaken with alcohol advertisements and party announcements in the name of Christmas. But it’s not Christmas alone, the same is true when Dashain and Tihar rolls around (not Eid and Lhosar, not to the same extent anyway). Religion, it seems, earns quite a fanfare—when it comes to the business and for-profit portion of it anyway.
Talking to a Buddhist friend over a cup of tea during Teej she described celebrating it with her family growing up. She shook her head and said it was a shame Teej has turned into a day to don brand new saris and adorn oneself with gold. Having never celebrated the day I was curious. Under the impression it was a Hindu tradition wherein wives, fiancés and girlfriends fasted for the well-being of their significant other, I didn´t understand her complaints regarding sari, gold and lavish parties. Apparently that´s the new trend and a few aren´t very excited at the new meaning of Teej: shopping.
Then a few months later Dashain and Tihar rolled around and valley citizens were inundated with hoarding boards, television, radio and even websites screaming we were all to shop, purchase and consume. I suppose each national economy needs a boost to rile up consumers and spin them into such frenzy that anyone not laden with shopping bags on the pre-designated few days is deemed insane, and yet in retrospect something is unsettling about it all.
It is increasingly difficult to cling on to the true meaning of festivals when shopping centers tell us to shop, shop and shop some more.
Dashain-Tihar shopping is probably the closest to Black Friday in the US. Christmas, as far as a naive consumer is concerned, is about wearing red and green and drinking in Thamel. Teej, for the same consumer, is about wearing saris and layering every gold item in the house. But it is the months of Asoj and Kartik that are perhaps set aside as the single best time of the year (and some would say the most fitting for even the most fiscally conservative) to purchase anything from a flat-screen to a diamond ring and baby formula.
It´s the 21st century and the most obvious product of development seems to be consumer culture. The more we purchase and the more we waste, the higher up the bikas ladder we supposedly climb (and Kathmandu seems to be doing exceptionally well in this).
Unfortunately for those of us from all religions who try to cling to the true meaning of our festivities it is becoming increasingly difficult; trying to remember what Christmas is really about when shopping centers tell me to shop, shop and shop some more and when my mind is consumed with how to stretch my money out so I can buy a decent present for family and friends. I almost forget the symbolic nature of giving presents to each other. It isn’t about amassing material goods, but a reminder to each other of the gift that the birth of Jesus Christ is.
I suppose it is the same for Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim friends during their major festivals each year. Protecting the true spirit of Teej, Dashain-Tihar, Eid, Lhosar and other important days is now a full-time job and it takes pure girt, determination and planning to celebrate it without suffocating under shopping bags and drinking as though on a mission to wake up with a hangover. Christmas, after all, is about the birth of our savior. Celebrating with our family, church and community via dinners and singing carols is how it has traditionally been done.
The Christmas tree, wreaths, mistletoes and pine greens symbolize life’s triumph over death, through the birth of Christ. Even the red and green serves a purpose; the color green represents the eternal life of Jesus Christ and the red represents His blood, shed during crucifixion to save us. And, yet the worst of capitalism has turned the colors and evergreens to set off the consumer Christmas spirit.
Consumerism is part of the modern human psyche, almost even a natural urge these days, but to those of us who value our faiths, turning into vicious shoppers in the name of our God is a bit ironic. I understand non-Christians enjoying Christmas and appreciating the excuse it offers to drink late into the night of the 24th. This is probably also true for non-Hindus of us who won’t complain about the prices of goods being slashed around Dashain-Tihar. Trust businesses to no longer spare Buddhists and Eid in the near future. There have been some shopping deals associated to Lhosar for a while now, and Eid will likely be expanded from Muslim pockets to the national economy.
Everyone is invited to take part, but through consumerism instead of learning about different religions, faiths, cultures and practices. If we aren´t intentional, we will all only be taught to hit the malls and party. So, this Christmas, if you want to shop and drink, I can’t fight multinational corporations, global branding and shopping deals. But, come Dashain or Lhosar or Eid or any other religion not my own, I’d much prefer respectfully observing rituals conducted in other homes than bargaining in New Road. There is more to our religions than the one which has sneakily come to bind us all together: Consumerism, calm down!
sradda.thapa@gmail.com
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