Abstract

            The essay discusses the cultural significance of Christotsava in Santiniketan, a unique tradition of commemorating the birth of Christ in the form of prayers, chants, hymnal songs, and readings from the Bible. Even as the inception of this annual bilingual ceremony at the Upasana Griha on Christmas evening cannot be definitively ascribed to a particular historical date, the essay argues that this special event has over the past century acquired a special place not only in Santiniketan’s alternative calendar of faith-inclusive, season-centric, communitarian cycle of festivities but also in the Bengali cultural calendar as a whole. To substantiate the reasons for this phenomenon, the author draws upon Tagore's own writings to analyse closely what status Christ had come to command in Tagore’s humanist ethos and why he considered it crucial to keep Christ’s contribution to the ethical evolution of mankind in focus. In the third and final part of the article, the analysis moves to the form, sequence, setting and symbolism surrounding the actual conduct of the devotional congregation and what broader cultural ramifications these take on in the diverse social scape of Bengal and India.