Christmas & India

Many would think what has Christmas to do with India. As Christmas is related to Jesus’s birth, it is very much related to India. Still confused ?? OK..Let me explain. Holy book of Christians ( Holy Bible ) says 3 kings from the east went to see infant Jesus, offered gifts & worshipped him. Not much description about these kings was given in the Bible. But it states clearly “we have seen the star & came to worship him”. Who at that time ( 2000 years back )was looking at stars for signs; other than Indians. To be Specific; Indian Astrologers. We know that India had developed a good portion of astrology. Indian astrologers were really very efficient & could predict things from observing stars & their positions. So, there’s a 99% of chance that atleast 1 among 3 wise men was an Indian. Moreover, there’s a place in Kerala known by name “Piravom” which  somewhat means “birth”. Pazhoor padipura is a temple in Piravom which is believed to be nearly 1800 years old & astrologers here are well known. Still people from all over the state and country visit the astrologers in Pazhoor padipura. Rajadhiraja St. Mary's Syrian Orthodox Cathedral (old name, Piravom Valiya Palli), situated in Piravom is also believed to be 1900 years old. It’s popularly known as “Church of the Kings” ( Mostly 3 wise men who went to see Infant Jesus ).

If one looks into history of Christmas Cake also, Indian history is connected. Around 16 th century AD, it became popular to make Christmas cakes ( boiled plum cakes ). These had dried fruits in season & spices .These represented the exotic spices of the East and the gifts of the wise men. Such things were first brought to Europe and Britain particularly, by the Crusaders coming back from the wars.

So, I hope now you can make sense of the title of my post :)