NEW DELHI, Jan. 1 -- It irks me endlessly when people wish me a "Merry Christmas". It's worse when it gets corrupted in the Hindi heartland to "Marry" or even "Mary Christmas"! Despite the goodwill in the greeting, it annoys me. It indicates that such a person doesn't have any inkling of the meaning of Christmas or is just mindlessly following a British custom, a spillover of the Raj.

I don't blame them because we have failed to depict the real meaning of this blessed occasion. At the Christmas Eve service in my parish, the preacher waxed eloquently on how most people associate Christmas with Santa Claus, Trees and Stars. The irony was that the church itself had a lit-up tree in the sanctuary. It also had holly decorations, stockings, et...