It was obvious that as a hub of industry, education business and commerce, Calcutta was destined to witness some of the biggest and most extravagant Christmas celebrations as soon as the British East India Company cemented its political position in India by the middle of the 18th century.
How both the civilian and army arms of the European-American society celebrated Christmas from the 19th to the middle of the 20th centuries in Calcutta was recorded vividly by people like Fanny Parks and others. In Bengali, two of legendary feature writers namely Nikhil Sarkar, also known as Sripantha, and Radha Prasad Gupta, also known as Satul babu, have written two excellent articles, describing the socio-political scenario of the Christmas celebrations in colonial Calcutta in the abovementioned period.
Xmas celebrations were big at hotels like The Great Eastern, Bristol and Spence’s Hotel Wikimedia Commons
However, they did not write much about how the festival was celebrated when the British Crown took over the reign of India from the hands of the East India Company after the revolt of 1857.
Transfer of reign
The status of Calcutta under the British rule prevails in phases considering the great impact of change in political and commercial importance that the city won from its rulers. From 1857 to 1911, Calcutta was the capital of British India and no more the capital of landmass conquered by the East India Company, which was nothing more of a multinational business entity. The glory and political importance of Calcutta suffered a big blow in December 1911, when it lost its status as capital of India to Delhi, then a city which was not even a poor shadow of Calcutta comparing to its size, wealth and civic facilities.
The competition between departmental stores like (top) Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co. Ltd and (above) Hall & Anderson was stiff Wikimedia Commons
Though this city was no more the official capital from 1911 to 1947, it unofficially played the role till mid of 1930s, thanks to its extraordinary importance as India’s most enriched industrial hub, the city was at its pinnacle of glory.
Christmas and New Year celebrations in Calcutta till the late-1950s was a cult and no less than a great cultural heritage of modern India. Be it the grandeur in clubs and social institutions, the city used to witness a blast of celebrations in polo matches, gala dinners at the finest restaurants, free flow of choicest wines and food, bakery carnivals, a mad rush to buy imported Christmas gifts and outdoor entertainments like circus, garden parties, cricket matches, horse races, theatre, magic show, river cruise and what not.
Viceroys and Christmas in Calcutta
The city was the venue for the viceroy of India and his big cabinet even after 1911, when they all used to be here to celebrate Christmas. There is no doubt to believe that Calcutta was much bigger a party city than Bombay, Singapore or Hong Kong in those days.
Christmas shopping had only one address — Sir Stuart Hogg Market, later renamed New Market Wikimedia Commons
The celebration, which used to start a week before Christmas, had its first significant flash on the eve of Christmas.
A report published in The Statesman on December 25, 1882, captured the real face of a festive city. The report describes how the city was decorated and illuminated to live up the festive spirit and went on to comment that “since the visit of Prince of Wales to Calcutta or perhaps, since the commemoration of the first anniversary of the imperial assemblage, there has not been such a general display as that of last Saturday night”.
It tells that the every single café and restaurant were crowded by ‘Christmas Pleasure Seekers’ till early morning. Luxury hotels like the Great Eastern Hotel offered huge provision of buffets with cakes and confectionary equally good in flavour and attractiveness. Having said all The Statesman reporter did not forget to mention the presence of tempting farm-fed beef, mutton and pork included in the menu. Big and luxury shops of the city like Moore & Co, Messrs Mathewson’s and Wilson Mackenzie all were lighted up.
The Viceroy House spread
Signor Peliti, the Italian bakery house that had the official contract to supply its produce to the Viceroy House (Kolkata Raj Bhavan now) created giant cakes and recreated Delhi monuments replicas in cake. No surprise that in 1889 before Christmas Eve, the same Peliti would create a 12-foot replica of the Eiffel Tower, which was ‘a guarantee of the elegance of the workmanship’ as per the paper.
Firpo’s on Chowringhee Road had its own reputation for its gala arrangement of festive lunch and dinner during the last week of the year Wikimedia Commons
Christmas markets in Calcutta
How the impact of Christmas festivities used to overcast the marketplaces of Calcutta. To know this, another report published in The Statesman on December 25, 1886, is good enough. It talks about the booming business during Christmas in the newly erected municipal market of Calcutta named New Market, whereas per the report said “there was ample evidences of good business being done” and “there was splendid display of meat, the best, perhaps, that can be seen in any part of India. We certainly do not remember seeing such beef anywhere else in the country”. The report talks on how beautifully festooning and other decorative materials were used in all shop windows specially shops selling plum cakes.
Xmas gifts from London
The Christmas-New Year week was the time to exchange gifts and then Calcutta’s huge Euro-American habitants used to wait for stocks to arrive from London and other European countries. Calcutta had four giant European-managed shopping malls, which were unmatched to any other shops in other Indian cities except Bombay. These four multi-storey massive shops were Whiteway, Laidlaw & Co., Army & Navy Stores, Hall & Anderson and Moore & Company. All these giant shops used to do gala business during Christmas along with all shops in central Calcutta.
Glimpse of old Calcutta Wikimedia Commons
Choicest buys
Among all gifts, the gramophones manufactured by The Gramophone & Typewriter Limited were in high demand. However, music machines manufactured by other companies were also sold during this festive phase.
A ‘New Edison’ model of living gramophone machine was offered at a princely Rs 350 by Dwarkin & Sons in 1925. It tempted its potential customers by saying the product was ‘A gift as beautiful as Christmas’.
Across the world, toys are still considered as the most attractive Christmas gifts and it a surprise to see that Calcutta even at that time was a huge market for toys during Christmas.
Baker & Catliff, a company based at 9 Old Court House Street, used to bring huge consignment of imported toys to Calcutta since 1875 and the practice continued.
‘XMAS 1888 – Grand SHOW OF TOYS – Ladies are invited to bring their children to see our large and excellent stock of Toys’ such was the appeal of Moore & Co in their printed advertisement published in a Calcutta newspaper nearly 137 years ago.
Toy bazars at retail giants
In 1925, other giants like Whiteway Laidlaw & Co. just four days before Christmas claimed to have the biggest Christmas Bazar of Calcutta overloaded with ample stock of toys. It proudly announces in its printed ad that “Even Every Child Knows THE REAL FATHER CHRISTMAS IS AT WHITEWAY’S TOYLAND”. The store decorated its space with a recreation of zoo, dream fairy ship, a real Christmas tree along with a ‘real old father Christmas’. The store started its sales campaign every November by spending huge in print media.
An advertisement for a phonograph and ‘wine-and-dine’ ad at Firpo’s The Statesman
The rival store, Hall & Anderson Limited, situated at the crossing of Chowringhee and Park Street made a bigger wave in the Christmas toy market in 1925, when they claimed that they could offer toys at less than the London prices. From December 21 to 31, they offered a flat 25 per cent discount not only on toys but also on crackers, calendars, Xmas cards and all other Christmassy gifts. They reminded their customers that ‘All goods fresh stock and in perfect condition’.
The Army & Navy Stores at Chowringhee Road (Jawaharlal Nehru Road now) started their marketing in November itself offering a lucrative 100-page Christmas gift book containing vivid details of crackers, hats, caps, novelties and toys. In 1888-89, the Great Eastern Hotel used to sell expensive imported toys during Christmas and even in other months.
This shows out big the Christmas market that Calcutta had.
Of luxury hotels
Grand Hotel in those days used to organise Christmas carnival for children. On December 14, 1925, it organised children fancy dress ball and on December 23, 1925, it organised a carnival with a big Xmas tree.
Calcutta’s central zone was grandest party arena of Asia dotted with endless points of amusement available in all forms.
Luxury hotels like Grand, Bristol, Great Eastern and Continental, elite clubs like Bengal Club, Calcutta Club, Calcutta Polo Club, Royal Calcutta Turf Club, Young Men’s Christian Association, fine dining restaurants like Firpo’s, Peliti and many newly opened cinema and theatre houses all used to offer their own form of Christmas entertainment to Calcuttans.
Apart from luxury hotels like Great Eastern and Grand, mid-ranged hotels like Waterloo Hotel, Adelphi, Universal, Spence’s Hotel, Wallaces etc all used to celebrate Christmas with lavish fair of foods, drink, dance and many more forms of amusements.
Peliti to Nahoum’s and Flury’s
Bakeries and confectionaries in Calcutta traditionally witness brisk sales in the year-end Wikimedia Commons
Legendary bakery Federico Peliti, which had a pan-India reputation, had its restaurant operational at Esplanade Row and by the year 1900, its restaurant operations were under the Grand Hotel of Shimla. Firpo’s had its own reputation for its gala arrangement of festive lunch and dinner during the last week of the year. By the early-1920s, Swiss confectionary Flury’s also came into existence along with Jew-owned old-school bakery at New Market named Nahoum’s. Needless to say all these cake shops used to do brisk business during Christmas and New Year.
The Tagore connection
The Statesman
Various English newspapers used to come out with special Christmas supplements. One would be surprised to know that Rabindranath Tagore contributed a special English poem to The Statesman’s special Christmas supplement of 1940. The poem was printed with Tagore’s signature in English.
Circus and other entertainment
During Christmas, another mass amusement was the circus show. An advertisement published in The Statesman in 1885 showing the presence of world famous Wilson Circus in Calcutta during Christmas–New Year time. The advertisement clearly advised its patrons – ‘Do not deny the little ones’.
Royal Circus started its 1925 Calcutta show from December 12 with 100 animals. This circus had pitched its tent at the crossing of Central Avenue (Chittaranjan Avenue now) and Chowringhee Road. During the festive season the same year, desi entertainment like wresting or kushti exhibition matches were also held in Calcutta. One Banamali Ghose, a student of legendary Gober Babu, challenged one Jaggar Ahir, the reigning champion of Chapra (Bihar).
Love for polo & horse-racing of Indian royals & Europeans
Calcutta was considered the ‘Mecca of polo and horse-racing’ because the world’s oldest polo club, Calcutta Polo Club and Royal Calcutta Turf Club, both used to organise several sports events in December and January. For the attraction of polo and horse-racing members of royal families from various princely states used to gather at Calcutta during Christmas and their regal presence in every evening used to felt in all luxury hotels, bar and clubs. One winter in the mid-1930s, a young king of Jaipur, Sawai Man Singh lost his heart to a young princess of Cooch Behar, Gayatri Devi, who soon became his third wife.
The ‘club’ class
During Christmas in those days, every single colonial club of Calcutta was the place to spot rich and famous who for the sake of ‘wine and dine’ often used to pay their visits. Though ‘No Indian’ was tagged to the clubs, the Bengal Club was unmatched in its glamour to attract top Europeans and Americans. Other British and Anglo-Indian clubs such as the CCFC, Calcutta Club, Dalhousie Institute among others were also famous for their Christmas celebrations.
Calcutta Club, which was established in 1907, to challenge British arrogance in regard of not giving membership to Indians in a few clubs, used to host huge Christmas lunch and dinner sessions and to great surprise, they had several viceroys on the list of their honoured guests.
The club record says on December 26, 1914, His Excellency the Viceroy of India Lord Hardinge had dinner at the club. Lady Hardinge and Lady Carmichael joined the garden party.
On December 28, 1921, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales attended a lunch with 201 club members. Later in the afternoon, he opened the Victoria Memorial Hall, to the public.
On December 18, 1928, Viceroy Lord Irwin attended a garden party at the club and again was back to the same club on the 27th for dinner. The frequent presence of viceroys in Calcutta during every Christmas, even when the city was no more the capital of India, proves Calcutta’s importance as the most sought-after Christmas celebration destination in that era.
One & only destination for winter cricket
Calcutta was the top destination during Christmas and New Year even after the 1947 Independence and there was one unwritten rule to have the Calcutta Test scheduled during Christmas–New Year time so that visiting international cricket teams could enjoy the city’s festive spirit.
However, that reputation was badly affected on January 1, 1967, when an unruly mob set Eden Gardens on fire during a Test match against West Indies.
Calcutta still celebrates Christmas and New Year on a great scale but it has long lost its extraordinary special charm, thanks to its continuous fall from its economic supremacy.