MY CHRISTMAS TIMES IN SCHOOL…..

25^th December… Christmas day…. This day has got immense memory in my life….. I still remember those school days. May be on 22^nd or 23^rd of December we used to have Christmas party in school. Small play of birth of Christ and Christmas carol competition were the highlights. I studied in a convent,,, Convent of Jesus and Mary’s Sarvajanik High School. So for the play almost every year I used to be shepherd. This was great experience. I also remember being Shepherd for play in Corlim church on Christmas night mass. I did the role of shepherd till I was in 7^th standard in Church for midnight mass.

Also had become one of the three kings for some years for the play organized by parish youth of Corlim

Being born as Hindu still had great Christian influence in my life… Most of my friends are Christians and of course apart from our holy books I have Bible with me… which I make a point to read sometimes …..

Now let us go back to school life… For Christmas we used to have crib and star competition. Crib competition would be class wise and star making competition would be individual wise. The fun which is unforgettable is the making of crib. We would go to the nearby jungles to cut bamboos. Some of them would go to cut the dry grass which is required to make crib while some make way to the paddy fields and collect marshy soil. The preparations start three days prior to the Christmas party. Always there would be small arguments among the classmates to implement the idea. The greatest part is that there is no religion difference. Students from all the religion equally took part in making the crib. Above all was the support of their parents. The parent, irrespective of the religion never said their children to stay away from such activities. This was a pure sign of communal harmony of Goa.

As we start making the crib we divide among groups each group having some responsibilities. One group would be responsible for decorating the classroom for Christmas party. The sweets were made by the students or their parents on behalf of students. The ingredients required were purchased by contributing some money among ourselves.

The idols required for the crib would be generously brought from home by any of our classmates. The passion to win the first prize unites us and work together. Each one of our classmates contributing for the cause.

Everyone used to come as early as possible on Christmas party day to inspect whether the crib was intact and whether the decoration of the classroom was good. At 8:00 am the assembly starts followed by Christmas carol competition class wise. Christmas carols like Silent night…. Joy to the world… Rudolf the red nosed reindeer and so on. Then there would be Christmas play where I would be shepherd. After that we return to our classroom for Christmas party and then follow the announcements of the result of crib competition. The result of hard work… as far as the 1^st place were concerned, we won it three times,       1^st when we were in std 4^th, second time when we were in std 7^th and third time when we were in std 10^th . In the std 8 – 10 category, always std 10^th won since after that we say bye to the school. The judges always gave std 10^th   the priority after which no one would be sure whether we meet again in the future.

On Christmas day I remember going to my friend’s house. Have the afternoon lunch there and remaining day enjoy playing…

I think I missed out various moments of the Christmas times at school….

goanz