‘Do they know it’s Christmas time at all?’ No, they don’t! Christmas is a low-key event in Bangladesh. The longest newspaper article that I found on Christmas celebrations here is from 2006. It is interesting in that it contrasts previous Christmases with the one of 2006, when the security situation in Bangladesh somewhat curtailed celebrations.
VSO arranged a Christmas dinner for volunteers in the Bagha Club (see post 10) on the 23rd. We actually had turkey and all the trimmings, as well as fish and chicken. While there was no dessert, I enjoyed the plentiful and tasty food. There was a present-giving ceremony too: I got a small, wooden, carved jewellery box. A lovely surprise!
I worked on Christmas Eve. Although Christmas Day is a national holiday, it also happened to fall on a Friday this year, so it was even more unnoticed than usual. (Friday is the ‘holy’ day and we don’t work anyway.) Nobody in my workplace passed any remark on Christmas. After work on Christmas Eve, I went to an eerily quiet Bagha Club. I was the only person there. Following an exchange of greetings with family by e-mail, I had a leisurely swim in the dark. Floating peacefully, lost in thought, under a moonlit, starry sky was magical. The trees around the pool were softly lit with hundreds of tiny, coloured fairy-lights (from earlier festivities). It was a unique, solitary and reflective Christmas Eve, and one that I will remember.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND A PEACEFUL NEW YEAR TO ALL!
On March 15th 2009 I left Ireland to spend 13 months in Bangladesh as a 
I am especially conscious that I am writing about an Eastern culture from the perspective of a Western observer. The opinions expressed are my own - unless otherwise stated. Should you perceive inaccuracy or misrepresentation, in this regard or in any other, or you would like to add something, I would welcome your observations. Leave a comment below the relevant post(s). 