A brand new Christmas
Inasaucepan, onmedium heat, bringtoaboil3cupsof milk, acuporsoofheavy cream, 3inch-longcinnamonsticks, vanilla(bean/pods orvanillaessence) anda teaspoonofgratednutmeg. Switchofftheheat. Separately, beat5eggyolks andsugaruntilthickribbons form. Slowlywhiskinthehot milkmix, untilsmooth. Add rum/bourbon/brandyand stir. Refrigerateovernight. Beforeserving, foldinthe stifflybeateneggwhites. Garnish(gratednutmeg, cinnamon, orchocolate; feel freetoimprovise).
Thisisarecipefor eggnog, the “traditional” holiday drink, atanyrateinthe English-speakingworld. Downingaglassinducesthe kindofwarmtorporso suitedtoreflection, which, withcelebration, ispartof thedeepdesignofallfestivals, especiallythosethat markanewyear. Agood placetostartisthequote markson“traditional”.
Festivaltraditionsarein apermanentstateofslow flux, subjecttotheprocesses ofevolution, cross-breeding, mergersandamyriadof socialandeconomic currents. SoChristmashas severalorigins, asdoes Diwali, oftenreferredtoas India’sequivalentofChristmas. Nosinglemythgoverns them. Diwaliisa convergenceofpractices amongdifferentfaiths, nota consensusofmeaning.
Thissuggeststhatmost festivalsthatarepartof religioustradition, arealso connectedtoolderfolk traditions. Thus, Christmas iseventuallyChristian, but itstraditionsandorigins wereseveralbeforethey becamesingular. Christmas loreisanamalgamofthe traditionsofseveral countries; evenYule (Yuletide, remember?) isa Germanic, pre-Christian festival, andthelongbeardedappearanceof FatherChristmas/Santa Claus/Sinterklaasmaywind backtotheNorseOdin(or laterderivationsthereof). Andsoonandon.
Festivalsareco-opted intonewerreligionsasapart ofanembrace-and-extend strategyadoptedby religiousleaderssince religionsalsocollaborate withpower.(Though differencesindegreemay distinguishSemitic religionsfrom, say, the Hindufaith.)
Thepointisthatsince thesefestivalsareneither non-religiousnorexplicitly liturgical, theyaremuch freertoevolveorinvent themselvesthanreligious rituals. Theco-optingof festivalsbylarger, powerful religiousmovements, orby differentcommunities, may leadtoacertainuniformity ofperformance.
Inmodernity, though, commerceandmediaare likelythemostpowerful forcesthatbothstimulate re-inventionandcrystallise festivaltradition. Indiaisnot astrangertothesenewly synthesised“traditions”. TheSantoshiMatacult appearedspontaneouslyin the1960s, spreadbyloreand wordofmouth. Butan iconography(appearance, dress, texts) areproductsof printcapitalism (posters) and, to coinaphrase, entertainment capitalism, with the1975 blockbusterfilm, JaiSantoshiMa.
Andsoitis witheggnog(the recipeaboveisJamie Oliver’s, oneofthe13.5 millionpagesansweringto “eggnogrecipes” onGoogle). Therecent, often commercialoriginsofmany Christmasritualsiscommon knowledge. Thefigureof Santa(asafatman) issaidto beaCoca-Colacreation, and thecurrentuniform, the “SantaSuit”, dates toHenryNast’s workforHarper’s magazine. A newspaperillustrationofQueen Victoriawitha Christmastreeis saidtohaveignitedthepopularity ofthecraze, withartificial trees(1930) beingintroduced byatoothbrush manufacturerputtinga sparemachinetoprofitable use. Christmascardsdateto SirHenryColewhohadthe firstsetprintedwitha commonmessage, andsoon andontoeverydetail.
Consumermediaculture hascreatedanexact, and universallyagreeduponset ofsymbolswithwhichwe celebrateand, especially, consumethefestival. Design, throughmedia’s powerofmultiplication, facilitatesthecreationof thesesymbols. Theyare bornfromother, older imagery, byrepeating, and re-usingthemandfixing theirshapeinspecificways.
Theexamplesabove(to whichaddflyingreindeer sled, gifts, hollyandmistletoe, alldrawnfromvarious traditions) aretheworkofa legionofillustrators, advertisers, songwritersand tunesmithswhohave fashionedacommercialised, consistentandlargely transnationalfestival. Ared, greenandwhitepalettein certainproportions instantlyspellsChristmas, if itisacertaintimeoftheyear. Gradually, lessandless figurativedetailisneeded.
ThedeityGanesha similarlyisanall-weather icon, madecompact, portableandviral. Ganesha transcendsaffiliations. Even minimallyreligiouspeople collectGaneshafigurinesas showpieces, ortheymight jostleforspaceonthepooja rack: notheological specificityapplies. Apainter downonhisluckcansurvive bychurningoutafew. Again, hispopularityallows theeliminationofdetailand extravagantsimplification ofform. Fittingly, communistChinasupplies bothGaneshasand Christmasdecorations. One village, saysBBC, has600 factoriesthataccountfor60 percentoftheworld’s supplyofthelatter.
Butthegraphicplaneis notthesolesiteof simplification. Festivals themselvesareradically simplifiedintoaprecise choreographyofsymbols andrituals, drivenby commerce, notby community. Thisobjectifies themintwosenses. A symboliccodewithasetof visual, physical(even edible!) objects; andinthe senseofmakingit objective—ticktheseboxes (weartheSantaCap, stuffa stocking) tosatisfythe conditionsofperformance.
Inthissettingit’shardto achieveanauthentic connectionwiththefestival withoutescapingintothe armsoftheMassorthe mandir. ADiwalitiedto crackersoraChristmas markedbyasadmallSanta sweatingunderhiscotton beardpicturetheworldthat thecommunications industry— anddesigners, too— havehelpedfabricate. Thesymbolsincreasingly substitutethething, insertingthegaudy, trivial anduniversally-unrejected inplaceofthepersonal, fulfillingbuteffortful. Abit likeaneggnogpowder(just addwater).
Season’s greetings anyway.
In modernity, commerce and media are powerful forces that stimulate re-invention and crystallise festival tradition
Itu Chaudhuri runs Itu Chaudhuri Design, a design and branding firm, in New Delhi; itu@icdindia.com