It’s almost Christmas!

It’s  beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Every where I go….¶¶¶¶¶¶

Hi guys!  It’s that season of the year. The season of love, giving, joy, and anything wonderful you can think of. Quick question guys! Am I the only that thinks that everyone is suddenly nice and wanting to share and give assistance during this season ? On a serious note, this is the time to request for that Louis Vuitton shoes, or Gucci purse better still Michael Khors jacket, you’ve been dreaming to have. You ask with confidence because you know that Santa is coming to town!

On a personal level,  I call it the  season of Christmas. Yea! The season that we as Christians,  commemorate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now some theologians have argued the authenticity of the date, to me what’s important is ,that he was born anyway. Most importantly he is the reason for who I  have genuinely  become today!

This season brings back pleasant  childhood memories, of spending the Christmas holidays in Nigeria. I remember waking up to the smell of white rice and tomato chicken stew, yum! This is after frequent trips to the market, purchasing bags of rice, native hen, crates of mineral, Maggie cubes, curry, thyme, etc,

Understand that the depth of preparation and delicacies served, is determined by the income status of each  respective family. Regardless of the presenting circumstance, the atmosphere is filled with joy and laughter!

As a child, waking up to see what my Christmas dress and pair of shoes looked like, was everything!  Apparently, we woke up excited to see Santa’s choice, lol! Guess who Santa was? I will let you figure that out ♡♡♡

How can I forget Mr. Harmattan, and what is Christmas without you?  In case you’re wondering, harmattan is to Christmas in Nigeria, as winter is to Christmas in most part of the United States. While the winter brings freezing temperatures accompanied with snow flakes, the harmattan brings cold windy temperatures and dust. Bless your heart if your family is dustyphobic; you will be dusting and cleaning the house all day!

Just like most Nigerian households,  the Christmas holidays are spent in the villages with grand parents and relatives. The village in this scenario,  is the origin of your ancestry. In other words, this where your grand parents,  great grand, great great grand parents, etc….originated from. It was also an avenue to learn more about our culture,  meeting our cousins,  make new friends, and participate in the traditional festivities celebrated during this time of year.

Christmas church services in the villages were da bomb! Unlike the churches in the city where services were held in English,  the  ones in the village used our dialect, Ibo, which provided the opportunity to improve our Ibo speaking skills.

Honestly after the church service is over, I couldn’t wait to go to the market square with my cousins, in the pretense of watching some soccer tournament ,lol! This is were most of the traditional festivities commenced. It wasn’t uncommon to see teenagers and young adults hanging out in the near by restaurants. For some, it was a meeting point for that boy or girl, that they had a crush on. I still remember all the guys that I used to crush on, lol!

We absolutely did nothing promiscuous,  just a bunch of kids in their puberty stage responding to the emotional roller coasters of their hormones, chatting,  giggling, about everything, that literally , made no sense. Now we are all grown men and women. Some of us are  parents while  others are patiently waiting to be hitched. How time flies!!

At the end of the Christmas holiday, saying good bye was always the hardest part, lol!  Everyone residing in the village, sadly waved their good byes to their relatives, returning to the city, with the hope of continuing the festive celebrations, in December of the new year. Mmmmm! Memories! Memories!! Memories!!!

What are your childhood Christmas memories? Be my guest and share !

“For unto us a child is born and unto us a son is given” -Isaiah 9:6

Thanks for your time viewing , Merry Christmas!!!!