Nigerian Christmas---Gladys Onoh

GLADYS ONOH

ENGLISH 100

9/26/2011

 

                                                                        Our Christmas

Most countries celebrate Christmas, but the way they celebrate it varies from one country to another, specifically the Nigerians. The way they celebrate their Christmas is very exciting. Christmas in Nigeria is a very big occasion because of how we celebrate it with family and friends; we tend to exchange gifts, presents. Colorful and memorable weddings are also done during Christmas. Nigerians love events and celebrations, because this is mostly one of the ways they usually get acquainted to people especially their families. However, Since i moved to America my Christmas has been quite different from the regular Christmas that I am used to in Nigeria.

Everyone in any part of the world, especially those who don’t reside in Nigeria, have to travel down to the Nigeria in order to celebrate the Christmas with their family. Every family has to prepare a big meal with different dishes. They have to cook traditional meals like soup and garri, with goat meat, ram and chicken. After making the food, they invite other people for a big celebration, which usually lasts all day. Everyone will party, eat, and meet people both new people, and see people they haven’t seen in a long time. The celebration is always fun. Christmas cannot be celebrated that way in America because in order to make most of the food, we need fresh food. Unfortunately we usually don’t get to find it in Nigerian stores and most of the food we find isn’t fresh enough; so it will make the food not taste the same.

The next day family and friends come together to exchange gifts and presents. Towards the end of the day, everyone goes out to the town square to watch the masquerades perform. The masquerades of different characters and colors will come. They dance and play games, then, everyone throw fireworks. This is one aspect of Christmas that people always find interesting because that is the only period that masquerades usually perform;  it is always very exciting. Due to snow and cold weather, Nigerians in America can’t celebrate their Christmas the way that it is been celebrated back home because the masquerade wouldn’t be able to perform in cold weather, and people can’t stand out in the snow to watch it because it will be very uncomfortable. 

Weddings are another important part of the Christmas season in Nigeria .Wedding is always exciting; most weddings in Nigeria are done during the Christmas period. Wedding are still done during any other period, but the Christmas period has the highest rate. Most of the reasons why it is been done then is because at this time is so that most people will be free or have chance to attend the celebration. Ordinary times, people have to go to work and that will make them give too many excuses why they can’t attend the wedding. Weddings are also a big celebration in Nigeria and they are usually done for three days; first will be the traditional wedding, which everyone dresses up in traditional way and if everything will be done traditionally. The second is the bachelor and eve day when the bride and the groom have the last night as single people. On the third day is the white wedding. The fact that Christmas always includes so many weddings is one of the unique things about Nigerian Christmas that I miss in America. Nigerians still have their weddings done in America but most of the time is limited to only two days instead of three because people wouldn’t be able to attend all the three parts of the wedding. In America everyone is always busy with work or school, so they have limited time for social life. To this effect, many Nigerians prefer going back to Nigeria to have their wedding.

In American, it is quite different because on Christmas days it usually snows especially in Chicago, which limits people to the amount of fun that they have. This makes Nigerians not be able to celebrate their Christmas the same way that it has been celebrated back home. This results in high rates of Nigerians travelling back to Nigeria during Christmas. I really miss the regular way of celebrating Christmas.