You are walking in town going about your business then you hear ‘Mary’s boy child, Jesus Christ was born on Christmas day. And men will live forever more because of Christmas Day….’ Damn! It hits you that the date is 23rd of December. Only two days to Christmas.
For a very long time, we have known that Christmas Day is the day to eat and drink to your fill. For those on diet, it’s their Cheat Day. On this day, many people do not take breakfast. They bear with their hunger until the food is ready.
As a child, Christmas meant new clothes. No one had an issue that the clothes were almost always baggy but the point was that they were new. Christmas was the only day legends like yours truly would really have bath without any resistance or supervision then apply Cowboy, Kimbo or Kasuku cooking fat on their faces until they shine. It also meant Chapati in plenty. Later on, they would dress up in those Dada Denim or 05 jeans. For some, it was the ONLY day they would have Chapati until the next Christmas.
Christmas also meant unlimited supply of Fanta Kubwa in those rugged looking glass bottles in red wooden crates. Woe unto you if you dropped the bottle. Although sodas were not as rare as chapatis, on Christmas day, on this day, their supply was unlimited.
For many people, its the time when they decide to have Family get togethers. This means that for those who grew up in the village, they would get to meet their cousins from Nairobi or Nyairobi as we call it in greek. Cousins from the city were usually considered cool. They would talk in Kiswahili and Sheng, not the mother tongue that village folks were used to. They always have the trendiest items interms of fashion. The highlight after such a gathering would be viewing of the photo album. Another photo would be taken by the village photographer who would be highly on demand that day. The children would prefer having the photo taken while holding their bottle of Fanta.
Christmas for some means the slaughter of the alarm clock. Huh? Yes, slaughter of that Cockerel that has been waking up the whole village throughout the year. For many born in the 70s, 80s and early 90s, Christmas meant availability of Tree Top Orange Juice. It was the best at that time.
Others on that day go to church for mass. At times, the Sunday School or the youth will stage a play based on the Biblical story of the birth of Jesus.
We all have fond memories of what Christmas used to be back then. Today, some still keep the culture alive but for others, it is just a normal 24 hours.
In whatever way you view it, I wish you all but in no way Guarantee you a Merry Christmas. You can add your other Christmas experiences and what Christmas means to you in the comments section.
