A Gujarati Christmas
by Jai Patel
If you’re Gujarati, then you may know the feeling of going to an uncle’s house and receiving an envelope with $21, $51, or $101 in it as you’re getting ready to leave. Where we come from, this is a common cultural practice anytime you visit someone’s home for the first time. You also know the feeling of playing that awkward game of denying the gift as a way of showing humility and eventually being forced to take it as a sign of respect. This is just one among many ways I have experienced generosity growing up as an Indian American. Generous gift giving along with other core values such as hospitality and community are what make Indian cultures special and worth celebrating. During the Christmas season these cultural values usually take center stage without many of us even recognizing it! Granted, growing up in a culturally Hindu home, Christmas had little to do with a religious or spiritual celebration of baby Jesus in a manger. Instead, our experience of Christmas revolved around family and communal gatherings, lots of food, presents for all the cousins, NBA basketball and sometimes NFL games. Now that I’ve become a Christian, I see Christmas anew. I still celebrate Christmas in distinctly Indian ways, including gift giving, showing hospitality, and communal gatherings, but these special practices now have new spiritual meaning for me.
In Gujarati culture, giving generously to our own people is so common and normalized that to acknowledge the gift by giving thanks may even be considered shameful. There have been plenty of times where I have received something from someone and say “thank you,” yet the other person looks at me funny and says, “Why are you saying ‘thank you’? We are family. This is what we do.” Giving gifts of cash, jewelry, or clothing is customary and rooted in tradition. In the past, elders would give gifts of money, clothes and food to close family members or even neighbors, because many folks in India did not come from wealth or did not have much. People often gave gifts as a way of helping others meet current or future needs. Many people simply gave whatever they had even if it wasn’t much. Amazingly, this cultural practice falls in line with how Jesus teaches his followers how to think about giving in Mark 12. While Jesus was people watching and noticing the difference between those who gave from their disposable income and those who gave all that they had, he pulls his disciples aside and says, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything — all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41–44 NRSV)
In Matthew 2, we notice magi, or wisemen, whom God had spoken to via an angel, offer gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to show their adoration and affection for the true King of the nations. These precious gifts were traditionally given to kings or deities in the ancient world, and it is debated whether they were spiritual in nature by symbolizing the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, or whether they were medicinal gifts used to help Jesus in a practical sense.¹ The gifts and magi themselves represent the larger idea that Advent is not for one people group or that there is only one way to worship the King. The magi, who came from the east, brought their cultural expressions in the form of community and gift giving to show their loyalty to Jesus. Gift giving is not merely an act we have to do. Rather, it is a way we can honor and love others as a reminder of the greatest Gift given to mankind. Looking to cultures where community gift giving matters more than individual gift receiving, such as South Asian cultures, can give us a unique perspective on Christmas and offer insights that may be able to help us to worship God in more complete ways. In Western society, gift giving is more about the individual act and subjective according to individual people. It feels more isolated and detached from a community. Whereas, in collectivistic cultures, giving has more to do with the effect it has on the whole group. During Christmas time in Gujarati households, gifts are likely exchanged from family to family, or family to individual, and not necessarily individual to individual. The gift itself is meaningful, but the communal gesture symbolizes loyalty, honor, and moral support.
In Luke 2, we see a display of community and fellowshipping similar to the ways I as an Indian American have experienced all of my life. Joseph takes his pregnant wife-to-be to Bethlehem to register in the world census because of the command from Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus. According to biblical scholars,² Joseph and Mary most likely did not immediately give birth to Jesus once they arrived in Bethlehem but stayed with relatives for a while. Scholars believe that, in typical community-centered fashion, Mary and Joseph were in a home crowded with lots of family, relatives and village members. So much so that there was not enough space for them to give birth to the Son of God in a room in the house but needed to go to a space in the home designated for domestic animals. This biblical scene challenges Western interpretations of Jesus’ birth through the lens of individualism. In fact, the desire within collectivistic cultures to be with friends and loved ones is a more fitting way to celebrate this holiday. In my Gujarati upbringing, being in crowded spaces where dad’s and uncle’s were in one area, the mom’s and aunties were in another area, and the kids were all playing outside was a common sight. Having many friends and family members in the hospitality industry, which caused our lives to be literally surrounded with guests regularly, makes this part of Jesus’ story significant and gives space for people like me to be able to relate and connect.
Growing in our faith and understanding our respective cultures are not mutually exclusive ideas. In fact, learning how to do both honors God and acknowledges the image of God in all people. This Christmas, take some time to consider how your culture and family traditions impact the ways you celebrate the birth of Jesus. For me, having a collectivistic attitude towards gift giving, being hospitable to my neighbor and spending quality time with others are ways I will honor Jesus and celebrate Christmas this year. This year, instead of buying individual gifts for individual people, consider giving gifts as a family. Ask yourself which families in your community may be in need or how you would like to bless them this Christmas. As I grow in my understanding of Jesus, I recognize that my cultural upbringing is not excluded from the story of Jesus’ birth, but can breathe life and light into it by bringing glory to Him.
Jai Patel (B.A. in Business, Communication and Philosophy, University of Texas San Antonio) is a first generation Indian American who is passionate about helping people experience their newfound identity in Jesus Christ and unpack the beauty and complexity of their cultural and ethnic heritage. He has served on staff with Cru, an international campus ministry, as well as a local church, discipling and equipping college students to rest in the finished work of Jesus, thrive in their walks of life, and usher in God’s Kingdom to a lost and broken world. Jai currently works as an editorial assistant for Pax, is getting his MBA at Louisiana State University at Shreveport, and lives in Houma, LA with his wife, Priyanka.
[1] Biblical Archaeology Society Staff, “Why Did the Magi Bring Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh?,” Biblical Archaeology Society, November 27, 2020, https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/why-did-the-magi-bring-gold-frankincense-and-myrrh/.
[2] Brian Wintle, South Asia Bible Commentary (Rajasthan, India: Open Door Publications, 2015), 1329
