Christmas is celebrated in several parts of the North-East with carols, dances, bonfires and potlucks. A nip in the air brings young and old together, often around the hearth, to sing, pray and prepare special treats. Family as well as community feasts, hosted by local churches or residents, mark the calendar. Pork tends to be the meat of choice, apart from rice cakes washed down with tea.
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For a family in Manipur, this is the season for feasting on the much-loved raphei hoksa, which sees a whole pig, including the head and intestines, being braised overnight with either ground Sirarakhong or hau chillies in the traditional Longpi pot, handcrafted black stone pottery ideal for slow-cooking meats and lentils. The family unwinds with red tea and sweet hau khamui, a deep-fried sticky rice cake. The youngsters of the family explained that they grew up in Manipur, and Christmas feasts are imbued with memories of the fireplace. Belonging to the Tangkhul Naga community, runs Hill Wild, which works with farmers to showcase artisanal products. “The fireplace is always special, as it is around here we sit and relish the most out-of-the-world tender pork,” they share.
In Guwahati, shops are now brimming with the festive mood of Christmas, with shopfronts decked out with stars and bells. Adding to this, Ranjan Majumdar, Executive Chef, Mayfair Spring Valley Resort, Guwahati, says Bhappa Pitha has been a childhood Christmas essential dish for him. ‘Long before elaborate desserts or modern additions found their way onto the table, this steamed rice pitha, made with white rice, freshly grated coconut, jaggery, cardamom, and a pinch of salt, marked the festive season for us. It is a dish we associate with winter mornings, patient preparation, and flavours that haven’t changed over generations. Bhappa Pitha isn’t about indulgence or presentation; it’s about comfort, seasonality, and respecting a recipe that has endured simply because it never needed improvement, and surely, you could not agree more. Its genuine significance is found in that shared rhythm. One person soaking and grinding rice, another grating coconut, and a third minding the steamer. More than just food, it illustrates how participation is the foundation of such festivities. Because Bhappa Pitha is remembered, performed, and passed down year after year, it is non-negotiable at Christmas.
On Christmas Day, a traditional supper consisting of pork, fermented bamboo shoots, seasonal greens, and chutney is served in the towns and villages of Nagaland after the morning service. These kinds of congregation-organised feasts are typically served as part of a buffet or given out in banana leaf bundles. The familiar smell of doughnuts evokes cherished memories. A crunchy snack made with all-purpose flour, butter, baking powder, sugar and eggs, deep-fried in ghee, it is a Christmas favourite of the Ao community. Traditionally, these would be prepared over a wood fire and be accompanied by rounds of piping hot tea. Today, the tradition is played out in modern kitchens. The Christmas doughnut is one of the best-kept secrets of Naga cuisine. It is dark brown in colour, with a sweet powdery bite, unlike the pillowy-soft doughnuts most of us are used to.
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While in Aizawl, Tetei Lli and her family celebrate Christmas with sticky rice and their choice of traditional food. It can be anything and everything. ‘Then, early morning or in the evenings, we drink red tea, which is infused with jaggery and is also distributed to anyone who celebrates with us.’ Another family tradition that Lli loves is the fried chicken on Christmas Eve. And truly, who doesn’t love fried food during Christmas? Everyone does!
The highlands of Mizoram reverberate with the beats of the khuang, a drum that is an intrinsic part of local celebrations. Apart from church services, Mizos indulge in a lavish ruai, or community feast, a day after Christmas. Fatu, a local chef of sorts appointed by the church, is assigned to chop the vegetables or slice the meat and cook the feast. This division of work is typical of community feasting, where a fatu’s role is critical.
All the way in Meghalaya, Tanisha Phanbuh of Tribal Gourmet mentions there are multiple types of churches and the celebration is different in each, but she’s from a Catholic church where, after the midnight mass on Christmas Eve or the early morning mass on Christmas Day, the people are served tea, coffee, biscuits and cakes. This happens only twice every year, once during Christmas and the other is Easter.
She goes on to say, ‘In my house, we love to make the food and have people over. We bake the cake, cook the food, our close friends come over, rest of the relatives also come to the house for the feast.’ She also shares how many people don’t just stay at one house; they go house-hopping and eat bits and pieces from each home.
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‘At our house, we make the cakes ahead of time. 1 month ago, the fruits and other ingredients were soaked, and the cakes were very, very boozy,’ she laughs. Many families even go out for picnics and cook the simple traditional Khasi favourites at the scene. It’s all about community, family, having fun and the vibes. She signs off by saying, ‘When I was a kid, I used to go to these clan meetings with my grandparents that would take place during Christmas, and then a community feast would commence.’
No matter which side you go on in the North East during the Christmas week and season, every household, every individual and every single person, irrespective of who and what they are, celebrate Christmas with food and recipes that are easy, simple, memory-soaked and represent unity in one and all.