How the Mizo population in Kerala celebrates Christmas

Christmas celebrations of the Mizo community in Kerala under the auspices of Kerala Mizo Association

“I miss home this time of the year...it will be so festive there.” This is Saizampuii Sailo talking about the Christmas festivities back home in Mizoram. A student of the Civil Engineering stream at the College of Engineering Trivandrum (CET), she has been celebrating Christmas, or Krismas as they write it, in Thiruvananthapuram since she came to the city three years ago.

“There are 16 of us from Mizoram at CET – 13 boys and three girls. A few have gone home, the rest of us are here,” says Saizampuii, who is now in the fifth semester of the course.

It is time to say Christmas Chibai or Merry Christmas for the small Mizo community in Kerala which has been gathering in Thiruvananthapuram every Christmas under the auspices of Kerala Mizo Association formed in 2009. There is also the Trivandrum Mizo Christian Fellowship that was started in 1986 by nine Mizo students of CET.

“There are around 80 Mizos in Kerala as per our records; Thiruvananthapuram has some 40 of them. Our people are working in the hospitality sector — hotels, spas, restaurants, salons etc. Not all of them turn up for the gathering because it is a busy time of the year for them. The number has come down in the last few years. A few posted at the Air Force station have been transferred,” says Wilson Vanramhluna, president of the Association, and chairman of the Fellowship.

“Last year around 70 of us had gathered and the year before, almost 100 had turned up,” says Wilson. Besides CET, Mizo students are studying at the Rajadhani Institute of Engineering and Technology, Attingal, and TKM College of Engineering in the nearby Kollam district. There are 27 students at Rajadhani Insitute and four in TKM and most of them come to Thiruvananthapuram on Christmas day. Although three Mizo students are doing their post-graduation at the Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, they hardly get time to be part of the celebrations, rues Wilson.

“What Onam is to Kerala, Christmas is for us. In Mizoram, the season starts on the first day of December. As Christmas nears, offices will remain closed and there is a festive mood everywhere,” Wilson adds.

In Thiruvananthapuram, the celebration is only on December 25. The Association has rented a chapel at the Kerala United Theological Seminary, Kannammoola, also known as Kannammoola Seminary, where they hold a special service on Christmas morning. “Normally we have the service on the second Sunday of every month. On Christmas day, after the service, we sing traditional songs in the Mizo language. Since a majority of them are youngsters, it is quite an energetic music session,” Wilson says.