The Kerala Story: Against the Noise of Hate

Dec 26, 2025: At a time when several parts of north India have witnessed hostility towards Christmas carols and open intimidation of the Christian community, scenes emerging from Kerala present a strikingly different picture. While carol groups elsewhere were stopped, questioned or even attacked in the name of religious purity, in Kerala the same songs were received with warmth by Hindu and Muslim neighbours, underlining a social culture that continues to value coexistence over confrontation.

In many neighbourhoods across the state, Christian carol groups moving through streets were welcomed into Hindu homes, where families listened attentively, clapped along and offered tea, sweets or traditional payasam. In some places, Hindu devotees singing Bajans in praise of Lord Ayyappa, paused Bhajans, spontaneously shifting to sing Carols. Far from seeing the carols as a provocation, Hindu devotees treated them as part of the season’s shared joy.

Equally significant were moments of harmony involving the Muslim community. Carol singers stopping outside Muslim households were greeted with smiles and encouragement, with residents stepping out to listen or record the moment. In several instances, Muslim families offered refreshments to the singers, exchanging Christmas greetings in the same spirit with which Christians are welcomed during Eid. These interactions, captured in videos and personal accounts, reflected a comfort born of long familiarity rather than performative tolerance.

In northern Kerala, there were also instances where carol groups were welcomed near temples and by groups of Hindu devotees, who responded with goodwill and festive cheer. The exchange of sweets and greetings between communities turned what could have been a religiously marked activity into a neighbourhood celebration. Such moments stood out precisely because they were ordinary — not organised events, but spontaneous acts of acceptance.

These gestures acquire deeper meaning when viewed against the backdrop of rising communal tensions elsewhere in the country. While hate campaigns have sought to portray carols as threats and Christians as outsiders, the Kerala experience quietly dismantles that narrative. Here, religious identity does not automatically translate into suspicion, and celebration does not demand exclusion.

The contrast is telling. Where fear and hostility have been normalised in some regions, Kerala’s streets echoed with a different message — one carried not by speeches or slogans, but by music welcomed across faiths. In these simple encounters between carol singers and Hindu and Muslim households lies a reminder that communal harmony need not be loud to be powerful; sometimes, it is strongest when it feels entirely natural.

By Fr. Suresh Mathew