Reader responses to “Merry Geographic Christmas”

A few readers responded to the five questions in the blog titled “Merry Geographic Christmas.” The blog was posted during Christmas holidays, so it is understandable that there were only a few responses. The selections from the responses are posted below with some corrections and comments which are shown like this.

Congratulations to everyone who responded. Wherever there is a link available to the school, they have been provided. Schools are invited to contact TIIGS to set up interesting and fun interactive workshops for their teachers and students on the fun, exciting, and relevant ways of geography education.

In the blog, these were the questions given:

Five things to find out:

1. Where might a white Christmas be possible in India, and why?
2. Why is Christmas during summer in Australia, New Zealand and South America?
3. Could reindeer really be part of Christmas in most of parts of India? Why or why not?
4. Which Christmas decorations in your area are from cold climates and which are from hot climates?
5. What are the typical Christmas dishes in your area?

Here are selections from the responses:

S.Pradheep Raaj, 9th std., Dr.G.S.Kalyanasundaram memorial school, (CBSE), Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu.

1. Where might a white chirstmas be possible in India and Why?  White christmas is possible in Himalayas in India because December is winter for Northern Hemisphere and India lies in Northern Hemisphere so, Himalayas will be covered with “SNOW’
2. Why is Christmas celebrated in summer in Australia, New zealand And South America?  During Christmas i.e.December sun will be in Southern Hemisphere due its apparent migration and southern Hemisphere receives Vertical rays and there is Summer. So, christmas is celebrated in summer in Australia, New
3. Zealand And South America.
4. Could reindeer really be part of the Christmas in most part of India?Why or Why not?  There are no reindeer in India. [They live in very high latitudes, not in mountainous areas. They would be very uncomfortable if they came past the Himalaya in India, because it would be too warm for them.]
5. What are the typical chirstmas dishes in your area? Cake, Murukku, Non-veg items.

Ms. Sabbah Haji runs a small school in a tiny hamlet called Breswana in Jammu & Kashmir. She responded to this article thus:

Geographically, Christmas fits in quite well here in Kashmir. Santa’s red fur suit and boots would be most useful, as would his sleigh, because of the heavy snowfall we receive. Chimneys are a part of every house but they aren’t built in Santa size. No reindeers unfortunately, but they could be substituted with yak or oxen - both sturdy, mountain animals common here. How Santa would deal with the terrain is a different matter though. Not too many plain fields to dash through - we have steep, rocky, terraced slopes, so it would be a bumpy ride. [Santa’s reindeer FLY through the air! ]None of the other Christmassy questions mean much to the kids in the village. No one has seen a cake, forget eggnog, marzipan, turkey or pie. Also, the concept of baking is alien to rural Kashmiris. Hard to bake in simple kitchen fireplaces.

Here is some information about the school: The Haji Public School (HPS) chain was established in May 2009 under the Haji Amina Charity Trust, Doda, a family-run charity organisation looking to improve standards of education in remote and inaccessible villages of J&K. Breswana is our ancestral village, a tiny hamlet high up in the mountains of Doda, Jammu and Kashmir, and the first flagship Haji Public School was started here. It is the first English-medium private school in the entire region. Another branch of the HPS is being established in the academic year 2010-2011 in an adjacent village, and we hope to continue in this fashion.

Here are some pictures from this school:

 Atulit Dasaratha, 3rd grade, Greenwood High, Bangalore

1. Answer 1: We can celebrate white chirstmas in Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Jammu and Kashmir because it snows in these places.
2. Answer 2: They are on the southern hemisphere. And in these countries it will snow in summer because it is cold in summer there. [See the answer by Pradheep Raj above. His answer is correct. If you are not able to understand it, please ask your geography teacher.]Answer 3: Reindeer could not be part of christmas in India because reindeer do not exist in India.
3. Answer 4: Snowflakes, christmas tree - are from cold climate.
4. Answer 5: Cake, candies, cookies and  ice cream are the dishes used in celebration for Christmas in my area.

Kunal Rahul Yadav, 5th Standard Calibre Academy, Chennai

1. A white Christmas can be possible in Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir. It is possible in these places because they are at a very high altitude and because they are very cold.
2. The northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere never have the same season. When the southern hemisphere has winter the northern hemisphere has summer. Only one part of the earth is closer to the sun at a time and therefore gets more heat while the part of the earth that is away from the sun gets less heat. The part that gets more heat has the summer season and the part that gets less heat has the winter season. Australia, New Zealand and South America are in the southern hemisphere. So , if we celebrate christmas during winter they will celebrate it in their summer.
3. No, reindeer can not be a part of christmas in India because they are not found in India.
4. The typical christmas dishes in our area are :
   • Christmas cake or plum cake
   • Chicken or lamb.
   • Kal-kal
   • Rose cookies

Keep reading the blogs at TIIGS and encourage your friends, teachers, and parents to read them, too. For fun interactive interesting workshops about geography,  contact TIIGS.

Best wishes to our budding young geographers from,

Dr. Chandra Shekhar Balachandran,

Director, The Indian Institute of Geographical Studies.