KATHMANDU — Nestled in Nakhipot, Lalitpur, Binay church holds regular worship services for Nepali Christians every Saturday. The service is held at at the rented ground floor, and it’s been ten years already. Like every home and place in Nepal, Binay church is no exception to the fact that its members have gone abroad, some staying there, while few returning.
Lisa Dimdung, the treasurer of the youth group and president of the children’s group at Binay church, says their Christmas celebration is simple. She says, “During Christmas, we do a small service and then go out to share the message of Jesus.” Lisa affirms that few have gone abroad from her church.
A day at Binay church during the public holiday, Saturday gives you the impression that Nepali Christians seek a simple life and adhere to a collective living. The pastor turns to his KJV Bible and recites verses about love and Jesus. The small congregation has various programs to get engaged and live a purposeful Christian life. One of the special programs they hold every year is Christmas.
Christmas arrived late in Nepal, and yet it is one of the vibrant festivals in Nepal today. Forget the hocus-pocus and hullabaloo of the pompous malls in the capital city, what most people miss about Christmas is its true celebration by the people who move abroad. Yet Nepali Christians, wherever they go, haven’t stopped celebrating Christmas.
Dr. Philip Tamang attends Binay Church and is a doctor at Kathmandu Model hospital. He studied medicine in Yichang, Hubei province for six years from 2009. He told Kathmandu Tribune, “I used to celebrate Christmas at Tsan house fellowship as they provided services both in Chinese and English.” He added, “There were big churches that held ‘open house’ programs during Christmas where a large number of locals visited the church. I didn’t go to the big churches since they used local dialect only for services and I only know Mandarin.” He added, “I returned home this year and haven’t found much difference in celebrating Christmas in China and Nepal. The only difference is the ‘open house’ service where most of the attendees were non-Christians in Yichang but only Christians attend Christmas programs in our church.”
BINAY CHURCH, KATHMANDU
Nepal is known to the world as the country possessing highest mountains, exquisite natural beauty, trekking routes, diverse biodiversity, and rich water resources. The lynched Himalayan nation now is known for sending hundreds of students, migrant workers, skilled and unskilled immigrants all over the world. Since the opening up of immigration in Nepal, scores of Nepalis have left the country for greener pastures. That exodus has affected Nepali Christians too, who now account for meager 1.5% of the total population.
The number of churches in Kathmandu is estimated to be around 500. Unlike in several countries in the world, the government of Nepal has allowed churches to register officially and even buy lands and construct buildings for their purpose.
Binay Church is one of the several churches in Kathmandu that opens its doors to both Christians and non-Christians. Around 120 committed Christians attend the church and Deepak Gurung is one of them. He went to Dubai in September 2013 for a security guard job and has celebrated three Christmas there. He’s back home to have a good time with his family this time.
Deepak said, “Since Dubai has different rules and don’t give holidays on Friday, we tend to celebrate Christmas the following Friday after the 25th. I am happy to celebrate Christmas back home since I can sing carol songs, visit relatives, and eat home food. There’s no culture of singing carols in Dubai and plus in Kathmandu, we celebrate Christmas the whole month.” He added, “I attend a Nepali church in Dubai since a lot of Nepalis work there.”
The study shows that the number of Nepali workers working abroad has doubled. The trend of Nepalis going abroad for work is a recent phenomenon and people opting for foreign labor in recent years has spiked astoundingly. And why it wouldn’t? In 2008 around 220,000 Nepalis obtained a foreign work permit and in 2015 the number reached 500,000. This sudden increase can be attributed to the high unemployment rate in Nepal, political instability and lack of economic opportunities. Moreover, Nepal’s illiteracy rate and weak education system have also produced a large pool of unskilled workers. They tend to go for manual jobs in Gulf States, Malaysia, South Korea and elsewhere. There’s no specific data although as for how many Nepali Christians have moved abroad or returned.
Nepali Christians lamented the cancellation of Christmas as the national holiday. They were overjoyed when Christmas was celebrated as a national holiday from 2008-2016. But the government suddenly decided to repeal their decision of not making Christmas a national holiday. Christians in Nepal are elated to know that their festival now is celebrated nationally again and it gives them the promise that the other strict laws, including lack of burial sites and the issue of conversion and proselytizing, will be relaxed in coming days.
Christians at Binay church greet me joyfully and give me the invitation to visit the church once again. A few days back, a Christian from Koinonia church in New Baneshwor left me a card invitation to attend the Christmas. I joyfully accepted his invitation and asked about his church members. He smiled and asked me to attend the church service so that I could know many things about his church.
As he zoomed away on his motorbike, I was touched by his acceptance and friendliness. Binay church came to my mind and thought of several Nepali Christians leaving home for work abroad.
On the other hand, Nepali Christians living in Nepal and abroad have complained about social media abuses regarding the government’s decision. Yet many people in Nepal feel that the nation is still tolerant towards each others’ religion, faith and festival.
Christmas is still a national holiday in Nepal. And perhaps this helps Nepali Christians to share the joy of Christ to all.
Updated March 5, 2018
