At the outset I am wishing all in the world in general and Christian friends in particular on the occasion of Merry Christmas, blissful, peaceful, healthy and prosperous life. It is pertinent to mention that 2.382 billion people (31.11%) have faith on Christianity, followed by Islam 1.907 billion (24.9%), Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist 1.193 billion (15.58%), Hinduism1.161billion (15.16%) (wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religious_populations).
I have observed all religions' basic teaching and preaching inter alia are brotherhood and help to each other for blissful and peaceful coexistence. In the context of Merry Christmas, we all know every year on 25 December, Christmas is celebrated commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ who in the Christian religion, is also known as 'The Son Of God’. I attended many Christmas functions with lots of cakes, sweets etc., so I always enjoy this Day as I am a foodie. Now –a-days cakes are popular so irrespective of religions, age and gender cakes are prepared /offered on any occasion whether birthday, marriage anniversary, etc.
I wish to highlight a few points on Christmas. Although 25 December is celebrated as Merry Christmas across the World in general, in Eritrea, a country located in the Horn of Africa, with its capital in Asmara, every year on 7 January, Christmas is celebrated with a full joyous mood. Few lines about Eritrea may be mentioned here for the benefit of readers. Eritrea is located on the Red Sea and its coastal location (1000 kilometres of coast)has long been important in its history and culture. The Red Sea was the route by which Christianity and Islam reached the area, and it was an important trade route (britannica.com/place/Eritrea/Religion). Eritrea is a rapidly growing country with a population growth rate of 2.35 percent and an extremely high fertility rate of 4.13 births per woman as of 2019. According to the website, worldpopulationreview.com/countries/eritrea-population, total population of Eritrea was 3,624,417.
I was in the beautiful country for two years, selected by the Government of Eritrea as senior faculty member to teach Economics. During my stint, I could enjoy the Christmas celebration, a wonderful experience for me. It may be mentioned here that Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas Day on 7 January to remember Jesus Christ's birth, and in Eritrea the majority is Orthodox Christian. This date works to the Julian calendar that pre-dates the Gregorian calendar. Anyway, in each zone and sub zone of Eritrea, Government sponsored Programmes were held on 7 January. In 2006, the venue for celebrations was our Institute, that is, Eritrean Institute of Technology (EIT). Many dignitaries including faculty members of our Institute were invited for the lunch. I went about 11.30 A.M. and joined for lunch. In the lunch lot of vegetarian and non-vegetarian items were served also barley beer, known as Suwa. It is made from roasted corn, barley and other grains and is flavoured with gesho, a type of buckthorn. I enjoyed rice, vegetables, fish and beer. For me, the celebration of Merry Christmas in Eritrea was a great experience as it was a foreign country and the date was 7 January not 25 December.
Although I could not go to Eritrea later on, I always remember 7 January and thus feel nostalgic.
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