Confirmation (Indian Style)

Today I had the privilege of attending the confirmation ceremony of Christopher and John (the two sons of my driver Steven). The church was packed with over 500 attendees, 99.6% Indian (There were 3 Americans, including me). All of the children were dressed in white and excited to go through this rite of passage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rite_of_passage).

The two and a half hour ceremony was primarily conducted in English with brief sprinklings of Hindi. At the alter, the cross was wrapped in neon lighting and Christmas tree lights adorned the surrounding area. The sound system would rival any night clubs and the hymns were sung with dance music background beats. It was fascinating to see the similarities and differences of a Christian church service in the east vs the west. The experience also triggered flashbacks to my own confirmation 16 years ago...

The after party was at a gathering hall in Stevens neighborhood. Both Steven and his wife come from gigantic families (Steven noted that he has 70 cousins!). There was great food, music and family bonding to celebrate the two boys confirmation. John and Christopher were treated like kings with thrones they sat in and friends feeding them by hand.

I also got the opportunity to see Stevens home, meet his parents, seven siblings and many of the 70 cousins....I left the party around 4pm however the next morning Steven gave me the recap and noted they partied until 3am. These types of celebrations in India are like a meal after fasting. You savor it...