Through foods, drinks and traditions, foreigners make themselves at home during Christmas in Thiruvananthapuram

International residents from Germany, France, Italy and Trinidad and Tobago in Thiruvananthapuram celebrate Christmas combining local traditions, food, and festivities, with their own customs creating a sense of belonging.

Having spent more than half a decade in Thiruvananthapuram, 34-year-old Trinidad and Tobago citizen Shad Gobindsingh’s most memorable Christmas during his stay in the city was the one in 2022. On the eve of Christmas, Shad and other international students of the University of Kerala, Karyavattom campus, decided to venture out on a “church crawl”, moving from one church to another near their campus. The posse, welcomed by the locals, was greeted with food and drink at every stop of the way. Some locals even took pictures with them. Revelling in the yuletide festivities, the students walked around the city enjoying the lights and stars hung in the area. They walked till 1 am, and reached the beach, where they celebrated with “a lot of chechis” who lived nearby, recalls Shad.  

“There are a lot of churches here, all of them decked up with lights. We will join the festivities there. They have this nice procession with ornaments, lights and a manger. It’s a nice environment to be in,” says Shad, who recently finished his PhD in Archaeology. “People here are vibrant, they are welcoming. Of course, they will be inquisitive about me looking different or sounding different but never in a way that is threatening,” he adds. 

Foreign citizens who have been in the city for years have made this place their home bringing in traditions from their home countries. While keeping in touch with their roots, they are also ready to partake in the local celebrations.

Josefine Radtke from Rostock, Germany says, “I sometimes miss my hometown with my family and my friends during the festive season. It is not that major missing of Germany because this has become my home now.” 

For Josefine, faculty at Goethe-Zentrum Trivandrum who has been in the city since 2013 and for the holidays here for the past few years, Christmas or Weihnachten has much to do with her traditions back in Germany. Married to a Malayali, Akhil G Kakkur, Josefine shares the age-old German tradition of gifting her nine-year-old son Nanda an advent calendar, containing 24 surprise gifts for each day from December 1. The surprises may include toys or chocolates, reveals Josefine. 

Food plays a crucial role in the celebration. A tradition which Josefine still follows in her household, is preparing the Christmas duck. While she enjoys the occasional appam and duck stew she has had from her friends’ places here, Josefine makes it a point to prepare the dish which involves stuffing the bird with plums and apricots. The meat is served with red cabbages, apples and potatoes prepared a certain way.   

For Shad, Christmas involves preparing a Trinidadian-style eggnog called ponche de creme which requires beaten eggs to be mixed with spices, milk or cream and alcohol. “It is a tradition to prepare it on Christmas eve. Once you make it, keep it in the fridge to chill. I cook it and hoard it,” he says with a chuckle.