Did you have a good Christmas? 01/03/2009
Well, for the first time, so did the people of Nepal!
For the first time in Nepal ’s history, Christmas Day has been declared a national holiday, and Nepalese Christians lost no time in celebrating. Our partner, Rishi Acharya, Founding Chairman of the Solidarity International Academy told us that, in honour of the occasion, “The Makwanpur Christian Society organised a Christmas rally in Hetauda on the 25th December in which allthe churches participated. In many churches, people organised a tea party to which they invited the neighbours ”.
Signs of change
Only a few years ago, Nepal was a dangerous place in which to be a Christian. In the officially Hindu country, speaking in public about one’s Christian beliefs was extremely risky. In the 1980s, many Christians were imprisoned for speaking about their faith, and, as recently as the 1990s, Christians in Nepal were unable to demonstrate their faith publicly at events or gatherings.
But how rapidly things are changing! In 2005, CSW saw the first example of public witness in Nepal when Christians in Pokhara held a mass Christmas event. Many Christians fromdifferent churches walked through the streets singing carols and performing a biblical drama. The police originally stopped the procession, but eventually allowed it to continue.
After Nepal was declared a secular state by the restored parliament in May 2006, the demand by Christians for Christmas to become a national holiday grew: public functions were organised to mark Christmas Day, and letters asking for it to be made official were sent to the authorities Christians from all over the country.
Persistence pays off
In 2008, following this movement, the new coalition government declared Christmas an official public holiday in Nepal for the first time, along with eight other religious and ethnic feasts. In previous years, only people belonging to specific Muslim and Buddhist communities were entitled to take holidays during their religion’s festivals. However, pressure from minority religious groups produced good fruit, proving that letters to governments do indeed have an effect!
Nepalese Christians are thrilled by the announcement of an official holiday on Christmas Day. Simon Gurung, the President of the National Council of Churches in Nepal whose advocacy work CSW proudly supports, told me, “We want to thank the government, political parties, human rights activists, religious leaders, the NationalHuman Rights Commission and the media for their support and cooperation. This step by the government has ensured the rights of different religious communities… and will be truly helpful in promoting religious harmony in Nepal”.
CSW has worked to promote full religious freedom in Nepal for over 20 years, and, although there is still some way to go, this good news shows that there is indeed hope for the future!