For Barbara Voss, consul general of Germany in Kolkata, celebrating Christmas away from home has been about exploring the city’s festive season.
Now marking her third Christmas in the city, she speaks about family traditions from Germany, discovering Kolkata’s culture and finding comfort in food, faith and shared moments.
Christmas away from family
The German Consulate General’s Christmas market drew over 1,000 visitors and featured 45 NGOs selling their products
“Usually we celebrate Christmas in Germany with our family and then it’s all about getting together and exchanging presents and having something nice to eat and drink,” she said.
Life in Kolkata has altered that tradition for her and her husband, Franz Kemper. “Here in Kolkata, we have now spent our third Christmas, and of course, it changed because we don’t meet our family, but we are used to celebrating between ourselves and that’s very nice as well,” she added.
Park Street and the spirit of community
What she has come to enjoy is how Christmas is celebrated in the city. “We like it very much that you have the Christmas festival on Park Street and Bow Barracks, and we visited that already and listened to some of the music,” she said. For her, these gatherings carry a deeper purpose.
Faith and shared traditions
Food remains central to Voss’s Christmas celebrations
Christmas in Kolkata also reflects a broader sense of inclusion. “The bishop is inviting all the representatives of different faiths, so that’s also a symbol of Kolkata, that everybody celebrates the traditions of the other faith,” she said. Church visits are part of her celebrations, but the interfaith participation leaves a lasting impression.
Lights, ornaments and the city in December
The festive look of Kolkata during December is something she particularly enjoys. “What I especially like is all the lighting in the city, in Park Street and other places, and all the Christmas ornaments that are now put up on the streets. That’s what feels really special here about Christmas in Kolkata, that everybody celebrates it,” she added.
A Christmas market at the consulate
German food traditions remain central, including gingerbread, Christmas stollen and spritz biscuits
The same spirit was evident at the German Consulate General’s Christmas market earlier this month. “It was really great to see how the people celebrated it,” she said. “We had more than a thousand visitors and 45 NGOs putting on display and selling all their goods, and it was really a very great festive atmosphere,” said Voss.
German food on a Kolkata table
Food remains central to Voss’s Christmas celebrations. “When it comes to traditions from Germany that we brought here, of course it’s also about good food and about gingerbread and Christmas stollen and spritz biscuits,” she said. These were made at home and sold at the market. “Everybody loves mishti here, and we are in the sweetest part of India,” she explained.
Raclette, Glühwein and a shared table
Drinks are part of the festivities too. “We prepared some Glühwein, some malt wine, which was appreciated very much,” she said. At home, Christmas dinner revolves around raclette. “That’s something where you have a small oven and you can more or less prepare your food yourself,. It’s a lot about potatoes and cheese and vegetables and some seafood, and it’s a very nice event for everybody,” the consul general concluded.