India, Dec. 25 -- The celebration of Christmas and the Gregorian New Year is a more recent phenomenon in India and are a British legacy. Obviously, the more recent globalisation of our world, the mass media and a much more interconnected world have also played a major role in promoting these two events.

In most Western Christian cultures, the Christmas meal consists of two meals - the dinner of the December 24 evening and the lunch of December 25. Both these meals are traditionally enjoyed in the intimacy of private homes and great care and attention is given to their preparation which can, in some cases, take several days. This includes the selection of the menu, purchasing of the ingredients, the actual cooking, setting a festive table...