Enjoying Christmas Festivities The 9ja Way

Caught the Christmas fever yet? Ok, I know a game that might help. Here it goes, “there is no Christmas without Christmas carols, there is no Christmas without harmattan, there’s no Christmas without family and friends.” You can go on and come up with your list. What is Christmas to you? What will make this moment of hope and joy not feel like Christmas to you?

Christmas is like that big film production where the whole world participates in having different roles and functions with elements that buff it. Feeling Christmassy is not necessarily an emotion but a set of activities we indulge ourselves in at this time of the year. That momentary happiness where reality is suspended and universally accepted. It is a time when family traditions are formed.

As a period that many unwind and dine, a period to catch up, there are many subtle intricacies that form Christmas time. From childhood to adulthood, these subtleties influence and set the tone for the Christmas vibes as it is today.
Some activities spike up the Christmas mood and indulging in some of these Christmas activities gets many into the holiday spirit.

Family Reunions and Road Trips
To many, there is no Christmas without family and friends. This family catch up filters the air and memories fashion the Christmas attitude. The season sees lots of hangouts, meeting new people and even knowing family members unheard of. Many have adopted the culture of travelling to their ancestral homes to unwind and dine with close relations. On the other side of the same coin, others explore the world like Dora the Explorer, taking trips to unfamiliar destinations exploring international frontiers during Christmas. This is where we can say that there is no Christmas without road trips. The chit chat, the overwhelming increase of traditional weddings, and the roller coaster of events make up these dazzling moments of Christmas.

Christmas Songs
There is no Christmas without Christmas songs; nothing like a group of carollers to serenade you into catching the Christmas fever.
These are the sounds of the moment filtering through the air to awaken in your spirit the Christmassy feel. There is no Christmas without Christmas songs blaring from your house, on the streets in the mall even in your head, and even though you are not keen on it your neighbour blares some “Feliz Navidad”.

Food And Film Time
There is no Christmas without the festive munch; Christmas meals have a peculiar taste that only Christmas brings. By now, Nigerian homes have begun to display traditional meals alongside that long-awaited Christmas chicken, rice and stew, chin chin, and more that is here again with that taste that takes you home. With the spirit of generosity in the air, most homes are buckled up to entertain guests. Cakes and sweets sweetly find their way into homes as no house goes unprepared for guests as well as a treat for the home. While binging on meals and snacks, another to binge on are films. The family gathering at Christmas to watch films ranging from classics to trending films of choice one after another sparks family fondness, especially at Christmas. Such family activities make the moment a unique one that builds family culture and traditions and in house jokes.

Fireworks and new clothes
*Bangers*, fireworks, disco lights ignite the dopamine rush; children in zest, swirling around with bangers and lit up shoes going from door to door in the spirit of the season. The environment is not left out as homes are transformed into sparkly shimmery spaces. It is the one time your house is allowed to look like a disco hall.

Harmattan
While some are “dashing through the snow,” in 9ja there is no Christmas without harmattan. It cues in the Christmas they know. We have triggers that set the Christmassy feel that is married to frivolous and practical triggers that come at different times.