Senior citizens remember the happy season when Christmas decorations were made at home
On December 9, 40 students of Life School International at Vettikal near Mulanthuruthy in Ernakulam district lit star-shaped lanterns, which they made from scratch from reed, paper, coconut shell and candle. The participants of the two-day workshop (on 8th and 9th December) were taught to make eco-friendly lanterns by their art teacher Babykutty KC.
Students of Life School International engrossed in making star-shaped lanterns for Christmas during a two-day workshop at their school. photo Credit: Gregory John
Flickering in myriad colors and shapes, star-shaped paper lanterns herald the season of cakes, wine, feasts and family reunions in Kerala. Come Christmas, stars, big and small, are available in neighborhood stores throughout the state.
Decades before stars could be picked up from shops, they were made at home from reed, cane, bamboo, central vein of coconut leaves, dried sticks and colored paper. The task of making Christmas stars was entrusted to the youth and children of the family and the neighborhood.
Students of Life School International working on making star shaped lanterns for Christmas. photo Credit: Gregory John
“To get rid of the pandemic, we organized this workshop and the children took full advantage of it. Students of classes nine and ten and plus two participated,” says Gregory John, principal of Life Schools International.
Recently, 51-year-old Babu Stephen from Nadavayal, Wayanad, made a lantern for a video being recorded by his parish. He explains: “We chisel, split and shape the bamboo into required lengths and tie them with twine or rope to form the frame of the lantern. Two such star shaped frames are made and a hollow is made in the middle, when the frame is joined by small pieces of bamboo, the two are separated.
“One side of the frame is covered with colored paper. The frame behind it is partially covered with paper, leaving a space at the base to hold the burning wick in the coconut shell. He was our star!”
eco friendly decoration
Many senior citizens remember making such stars to decorate their homes. Eighty-four year old Thomas Abraham remembers making lanterns out of dry twigs and sticks othalam (Cerbera Odolum, During his childhood in Edathua in Alappuzha district.
93-year-old Eliyamma George is the time before electricity comes to her homes in Malayattoor, 47 km from Kochi. “We hung kerosene lamps in earthen pots with holes drilled in them. The light cast by the pots looked like a thousand stars had come to our house,” she says.
A student of Life School International making a star shaped lantern for Christmas during a two-day workshop at the school. photo Credit: Gregory John
Sixty-five-year-old Anne Koruth from Thiruvananthapuram, who grew up in Kaviyoor, Pathanamthitta, says her brother will start preparing for stars in early December. She remembers that they used to harvest and collect the required sugarcane before the start of the holidays. “Soon after the Christmas exams are over, we will seriously start making frames. There was a healthy competition in the neighborhood to see who would make the most number of such stars in different sizes to decorate our homes,” she recalls.
old childhood memories
Kochi-based Jose Philippe Alamprambil wanted to revive the joy of handmade lanterns. He remembers teaching his children to make lanterns at his family’s home in Kottayam. “Making those lanterns was a family affair. When my older brothers cut and shaped the bamboo, some of us applied glue. My sisters cut colored paper and pasted it on the frame.”
It was difficult to find silver foil to decorate the stars in Kottayam. He says it was up to the boys to collect it from the discarded cigarette box. The butter paper was peeled off and the silver foil was set aside to be used for the lantern. He adds: “For some reason, colored paper was called ‘Chinese paper’. Either that or white paper was used to cover the frames, with gilt glued to the edges and one from the base of the lantern. The lamp was attached, which was kept hollow.”
Students of Life School International make a star-shaped lantern for Christmas during a two-day workshop at the school, led by their art teacher Babykutty K.C. , photo Credit: special arrangement
In 2017 and 2018, 60-year-old Babykutty, who was then an art teacher at the Labor India Gurukulam in Marangattupalli near Kottayam, conducted two workshops to teach school students how to make homemade lanterns for Christmas. More than 500 students participated in the workshop and made lanterns out of bamboo and colored paper. Candles were placed inside the coconut shell to light the lantern.
Babykutty recalls: “One batch made the stars and the other batch glued the paper. Before school closes for the holidays, we invited parents to watch a performance of ‘Christmas Stars’. Each had the name of the student who made it. I wanted them to understand the joy of making lanterns for their homes.”
An eco-friendly star-shaped lantern made by the students of Life School International during a two-day workshop at their school, led by art teacher Babykutty K.C. photo Credit: special arrangement
Recalling his childhood in Manarcaud, Kottayam, he says that then no child would dream of buying stars for their homes. “The cross commercialization that has happened across all festivals is quite disappointing. I think it has robbed the spirit of the festival. The workshop was organized to revive the joy of making such ornaments to decorate homes and to teach eco-friendly ways to celebrate festivals. ,
As Christmas draws near, Babykutty plans to take the bamboo frame with her to make lanterns to bring to the festivities.
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