Back in the days, when Christmas still christmas-ed and in my family, we spent every end of the year holiday in my hometown, there were so many things we did on Christmas day. Then, almost everybody in the extended family had a tradition of being present at the family house on Christmas day. It was a must to spend it with our grandparents.
On christmas mornings, we (the kids) are usually the most excited because it's that morning every member of the family is complete. There are family members who stay very close to the town so it's that morning we all get together. But for those of us that stay quite far away, we get there days before 25th and meet each other. One thing I looked forward to on Christmas mornings then, was the complete reunion. Then, the next thing was the bread and tea in the morning. Everybody's first meal was always bread and tea. We ate bread and tea before going to church.
What's Christmas for kids without new clothes named after the celebration itself? Flaunting our Christmas dresses, glasses and shoes was another fun thing. For us, that slept over at the family house, our dressing was usually after eating. When you were done dressing and took a step out of your room, the cheers from aunts, uncles and other cousins who were done dressing was enough to leave you feeling ecstatic. Preparing for church was fun for us but I'm definitely sure, was stressful for our moms. Holding a kid down to put on his or her socks when he or she can hear the sounds of other kids playing from the other end of the door must be so hard. Anyways, it all added to the fun of Christmas day.
We go to church and our family alone, occupies about two seat rows in the church. Kids and parents. We'll go to church, have a family Thanksgiving for the year and then we go back home. The real Christmas celebration begins in full swing when we get home. That is the time our mothers take to the kitchen. That is the moment we go and change into our second Christmas clothes for the day. That is the time our fathers begin to set up the music, canopies and chairs for the celebration.
Yes, we hold a mini-party in our family house every Christmas. But before the party begins in full swing, the rice must have been ready. And because according to our grandma, it is a way of fostering togetherness, all the children have to eat from the same plate. To achieve that, rice is served in trays. There's this stainless wide tray that was found in many Nigerian homes then. That was what was always used to dish the food for us children. There were two sides to eating- the teenagers and the younger kids. Each group, a minimum of eight kids, dedicated a tray to themselves. You must be thinking the whole area will be a mess? Of course, it was. But it was all in the spirit of Christmas and our grandma loved seeing the kids eating together that way.
After eating, the remaining thing for the day is the party, which is usually the last part of everything. From traditional songs blasting from speakers, to the scent of rice being dished out to guests, permeating the air, to moms taking their kids around to greet other towns people present at the party, there wasn't any specific thing that took place at that party. Just eating and drinking. The best part about these parties is when the guests gradually began to leave. The dance floor is left to us the kids to make do with whatever we want. Those who were born to murder dance floors take things up. We even organize competitions among ourselves on who is the best dancer among us all. This is the most stressful part because after all the eating, the smiling and everything you did earlier, you'll still want to partake in the fun which is dancing with your cousins. The songs were just irresistible. After the whole celebrations, you were left with no option but to bathe and sleep. Some kids would even be so tired that while bathing them, they're dozing off.
Christmas during those times, for my family was so fun and I really loved everything about the celebration. It's been over four years since I attended one of these celebrations because yeah, things happened and things changed. Now, I just sit at home, scrolling through different TV channels, dishing plates of rice and coleslaw at intervals. But that has been our extended family's tradition over the years at Christmas. I've loved everything about it and I've looked forward to experiencing Christmas that way, year after year. The partying, the family reunion and of course, the food.
Do you have one or know someone who has a Christmas tradition? Share with us in the #hivenaija community. Find out more about the prompt here
Merry Christmas and a happy new year in advance 🎄❤️
Images are mine