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

Having spent more than half a decade in Thiruvananthapuram, 34-year-old Trinidad and Tobago citizen Shad Gobinsingh’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. 

Shad Gobinsingh (right) with foreign students from Lesotho, Botswana, Benin, Vietnam, Gambia and two Indian students during a Christmas celebration
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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.” 

Feasts and festivities

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. 

Josefine Radtke with her husband Akhil G Kakkur and son Nanda
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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.

Margot Michaud, director of Alliance Française de Trivandrum says, “In France, we prepare salmon and there will be different types of meat. Sometimes champagne might also be served. Then we have foie gras (the popular French delicacy made from duck or goose liver) served on toast. We’ll add a bit of sugar to it which is then caramelised,” she says. For dessert, they have a long pastry called bûche de Noël also known as yule log. 

Margot Michaud(centre) with members and staff at Alliance Française De Trivandrum Christmas celebration
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NIRMAL HARINDRAN

Marina Matioyoli, 64, from Rome, who runs a homestay in Kovalam with her husband Mauro Sarandrea, serves her guests Italians sweets such as panettone and pandolce (types of fruitcakes), pandoro ( Italian sweetbread) and crostata with fruits ( an Italian tart) as part of the festivities which last three days, from December 24 to 26. Marina’s specialty of pomodori con riso, a south Italian delicacy with rice and sauce stuffed inside a tomato is also served to the customers with other staples like pasta. 

Panettone prepared by Marina Matioyoli
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The couple has been in Thiruvananthapuram for the past 19 years now and has lived in different parts of the country before that. While the couple ensures an enjoyable holiday for their guests, they spent years in their youth working during the holidays. Mauro, 65, says, “You always spend Christmas with your family. Working in tourism, meant working during Christmas. I was 20 or 21 when I started working. My parents and I missed five or six Christmases.”

Italian couple Mauro Sarandrea and Marina Matioyoli
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Nainu Oommen

Mauro recalls, “We celebrated what we could. We have always had the habit of giving gifts. When I was a kid, I waited for Christmas for gifts. Even now, my wife and I exchange gifts.” The couple has two sons back in Rome with the rest of their families. “On Christmas day our phones don’t stop ringing,” says Marina. 

Margot, who has been in the city for over a year now, hails from Lyon in the eastern part of France and embraces the carol culture in the city, a tradition slowly fading away in France according to her. She says, “I see a lot of groups practising carols in churches. The tradition is very much alive here.” 

Shad and other several other international students attend English services and join religious festivities among other things. Apart from meeting up for a meal or play games or song and dance, these students have also been donating food to the less privileged two or three days before Christmas since 2020, says Shad. 

Spending his last Christmas here in the city before he heads home, Shad says, “It’s not just about drinking, partying and chilling. It’s about love, togetherness and being there for someone. During the year you might be living your own life but around this time, you feel a sense of belonging.”