Christmas in Nigeria
It’s that special time of year and people have been asking us what Christmas in Nigeria is like. Actually, we can’t answer for all Nigeria or even all of Jos, but here are some observations.
- Weather: dry and dusty. This December is warmer than any we remember, getting up to around 80F (27C) inside the house each afternoon. At this time of year we frequently get long periods of harmattan–cool winds bearing fine dust from the desert, sometimes even looking like a heavy fog. Temperatures up here on the plateau may fall into the 60s F (16-20 C) range during the day and lower at night. We may even turn off our ceiling fan at night!
- Travel. Like Thanksgiving in the US, this is the time for traveling home. Here it’s usually traveling home to the village. Virtually everyone considers somewhere else his or her home, just as Joseph went back to Bethlehem though he lived in Nazareth. Of course, not everyone can go home, but many do their best to do so.
- Decorations: modest by American standards, but then Americans may be just a tad on the excessive side
. Christmas trees are not too popular except in more westernized circles, and you cannot buy live trees in this sadly deforested area. Small, artificial trees are seen here and there. Some of the local radio and cell towers are decorated with lights, a nice touch, as are more upscale shops. (The picture above is of our first tree here, in 1991.) - Christmas parties. I’m sure that there are all varieties of parties and I don’t know most of them. But a frequent form of “party” here, whether for wedding, Christmas, birthday, or baby-naming, is like this. Announce a time, say two o’clock. People will start coming at about two thirty, and by three or three thirty the “program” begins. There are speeches, prayers, special numbers, one or more sermons or meditations, thanksgiving and, at some point, food. The Christmas parties we’ve been to usually include singing a few carols, too, but traditional Euro-american carols are not terribly popular when it comes to singing them.
- The food. Various types of food are served at the parties we’ve been to. Spicy hot jollof rice with a chunk of beef or chicken is probably the most common. At the pediatric ward Christmas party yesterday I had some delicious (and hot!) fish stew over rice. Sweets are much less common than in American parties, where sometimes they are about the only fare.
- Christmas day at church. As far as we can tell, everyone in the Christian community (as opposed to Muslim) goes to church on Christmas day. A bit strangely for us, the churches we have attended do not actually do too much to celebrate, maybe singing a carol or two, hanging some decorations. There may or may not be a Christmas message. But then, there are many, many types of churches and denominations in Nigeria and I’m sure their celebrations are all different.
- Visiting is the main activity of the day after church. People go from house to house greeting each other, sitting for a while, and eating Christmas food: rice, beef stew, rice and beans, bean cakes, Coke, just about anything that is a little special. Families also take homemade food to each other’s homes in a gesture of friendship.
- The day after Christmas is Boxing Day, from British tradition. It is a national holiday and the visiting and celebration continues. Among more western-exposed groups gift exchange is common, but I don’t think it’s at all universal. [Nigerian readers, help me out here!]. Children go from house to house asking “Where’s my Christmas” which we learned means basically “Trick-or-Treat”. A sweet, a “mineral” (soft drink), a snack, or a some small amount of money will meet their expectations.
Overall, Christmas here is very moderate, with neither the drama and emotion nor the frantic craziness and commercialism of Christmas in the US. We missed “a real Christmas” at first, but we’ve gotten used to the way it’s celebrated here and appreciate the good side. When we’re back in the US at Christmas, as we were in 2003, we loved that too.
OK, I’ve gone way out on a limb here and blathered beyond my knowledge about Nigerian culture. I hope that some of you Nigerians of the diaspora will add some comments and corrections and tell us what you remember of Christmas. How was it celebrated in your home and community? What did you like, what do you miss, what don’t you miss? It would be great to hear from you all!
Merry Christmas to you all, and please steal a few minutes of quiet at some time to meditate on what it really means.
December 24th, 2005 at 9:47 am
I think you got the picture really good.
Right now my christmas is being spent behind a black linux box in my newly finished room far south west away from my family in the N.delta. But that exactly how it is. Rice + Chunks of beef but mostly chicken(all fried in most cases), Bottle of Cocacola. “my christmas”(usually some readily prepared neat 10 or 20 may be 50 naira notes for the senior kids), and ofcourse you missed out the all compulsury Bangers even though they are outlawed from time to time, i must confess they have become icons of the season.
In my parts masquerades come out on christmas days and those where really the fun part. Down south there’s little dust so the air is usually clear but the hramatan cold still prevails.
Nice post.
And thanks kazey for the link.
December 28th, 2005 at 11:02 am
Got to your site from the bbc article on blogging in Africa.
I must say your summary of xmas events is really good. brings back memories I’ve not experienced (in the Nigerian fashion) for a long time. thanks
Obi
December 28th, 2005 at 5:31 pm
Cool.
Well done and God bless.
January 2nd, 2006 at 5:46 pm
Lead up to Christmas
It’s that time of year again - many missionaries are stopping by their blogs to apologize for being too busy to blog.
In spite of all that, in the lead up to Christmas…
January 5th, 2006 at 12:03 am
I’m married to a Nigerian who God sent to America as a missionary in 1981. He so misses Christmas in his country. We’ve ALWAYS had church on Christmas at the churches we’ve pastored here in America. And they are usually well attended overall.
I was in Jos some time ago, when we went to visit my dh’s family in Owiri, and stopped there to see friends.
February 17th, 2006 at 7:35 pm
I used to live near Jos in a village called Ganawuri - off the highway near Riyom. I spent one Christmas day with some Fulani herders and their cattle - despite the fact that it was just “tuesday” to them - it was an oddly Christian Christmas.
At one point SIM in Jos had some sort of project with the local street children - called, I think, almadjeri. Do you know anything about that? I’ve worked with similar kids in Gambia, where they are called almudos.
February 18th, 2006 at 10:59 am
Yes, indeed, SIM does have a project for street children and other children at risk. It started in Jos but has now mushroomed out to several other locations. They don’t seem to have a true website yet but the Herschels’ blog & website (http://www.therothchilds.org) has a lot of interesting information about it.
December 8th, 2007 at 8:17 am
I am trying to catch up with what christmas is like today in Nigeria and what a good picture of it i just read here.Christmas today is still as has been covered by you and all the comments.Except that the wheather is in most cases not as cold as the previous christmas.God bless everyone this Christmas Amen.
January 2nd, 2008 at 11:49 am
If you want to have a taste of real African Xmas, Calabar is the place to go. No other place in Nigeria adds so much colour to xmas as Calabar, Cross Rivers State. The carnival like atmosphere, the decorations of homes, acquisition of new clothes for the children in particular, the exchange of gifts and pleasantries, the homecoming of relations who live far away and the special gastronomic delicacies are all what “Ukabadisua ” is all about in Calabar. You should not expect any serious xmas celebration in the northern part of Nigeria for obvious reasons. See you next year at Cannan city (Calabar) and you will surely get the TINAPA experience. Happy New Year.
November 27th, 2008 at 4:33 am
You did very well.I really liked it being an eleven year old who’s family is almost Nigerians.This story was really detailed,and it gave me a lot of information for my project at school.Thank-you very much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 17th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
This site really helped me out on my project Christmas aorund the world for school. I think it gave me a lot of information about Nigeria. I picked Nigeria because I thought it would be a good place and it was. So I thank you VERY, VERY, VERY, MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! Wish me luck on my project!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 30th, 2008 at 2:21 am
[...] the town of Jos, lists a few observations about Christmas in Nigeria and this is what he considers the main activity of the day: Visiting is the main activity of the day after church. People go from house to house greeting each [...]
January 6th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
thank you some for this info…it help me out of my chorus paper.. also thanks for leaving the comments, they helped put to.
February 2nd, 2009 at 1:02 am
[...] Africa: Christmas in Nigeria Christmas in Cameroon My Least Favorite Thing: Evangelize a New Village [...]
December 15th, 2009 at 12:02 am
The writer did not give a true picture of Xmas in Nigeria , though he or she tried to consider what may obtain in other parts of Nigeria .That is not a true picture of the common xmas tree in Nigeria .Nigerians decorate their houses during xmas period.Banks, offices , restraunts and homes are well decorated - those who want christmas trees buy the articial type which is very commom.The government celebrates it officially .Xmas period is very festive in Nigeria- many homes play xmas carols , radio and television stations play them too .Christians go to church on xmas day - some go for night vigils on the 24th . In the villages and islamic northern Nigeria which I am sure the writer was , it is low key , moderate or hardly celebrated .Recently ,(just as someone already said) Calabar a city in Nigeria has added Carnival to christmas celebrations .As far as 1930s or 1950s xmas trees and carols existed in Nigeria .As a must , most children get new clothes for xmas and tomatoe stew with chicken is the most common food cooked .Visits are exchanged , those who want to travel to their villages do.The writer was in Nigeria in 1991 till probably 2003 xmas is well celebrtaed in this time and before this time .I thank this writer for his /her effort but it is common thing for Europeans to give a poor picture of Africa .This xmas tree as earlier said is what the writer saw /improvised in the remote area where he/she was and probably did not ask where to get one .Jos is not far from Abuja (if he /she was in a village near Jos , Jos is big and xtian enough to sell xmas tree etc), there ar e xmas trees and decorations there in abundance !
December 15th, 2009 at 5:44 am
Thanks for your additions, Chovwe, describing more about how Christmas is celebrated in the southern parts of Nigeria and more recently. We still live in Nigeria (Jos) and I have never seen a real tree (cut, evergreen), nor has our 35-year old Tiv son-in-law. So, Nigeria is a big country and customs are not the same everywhere.
I’m sorry you seem to think that I was giving a poor picture of Africa. As I tried to explain in the post, I think American Christmas is excessive and extravagant, and I have no problem with the way it’s celebrated in Jos.
December 15th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Thanx Mike for being polite and thoughtful. As an addition, synthetic xmas trees are more common in Nigeria (you may remind your son-in- law or tell him this)–if you have time you may wish to see xmas in Abuja (capital of Nigeria and a northern city which is ought to be a conglomeration of what happens in all parts of Nigeria–maybe you have already being there). Those who want cut whispering pine (looks like the fir) which could pass for an xmas tree–xmas tree is of course optional–even xmas decorations as well. I live in Germany and as such have witnessed xmas in two continents (just like you ). In Germany it is more of a family affair, quiet and some sort of commmercializing is the period present takes place. I miss xmas in Nigeria! Thanx for your understanding and having no problem with the way xmas is celebrated in Jos.
December 15th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Sorry , there are some mistakes in my writeup - I did not
edit it properly before posting.Cheers!
December 15th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Jezzy (f) Re: How Is Christmas Celebrated In Nigeria?
« #12 on: December 13, 2007, 03:45 AM »
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All these Christmas stories are making me homesick.
Christmas like I remember started like around the ending ending of October when all the radio stations would be playing Christmas music,the closer it got to Christmas the more frequently they are played. I grew up in the East so Christmas is always associated in my mind with harmattan season. It would be cold, dry and dusty. In the apartment complex where we lived while growing up, almost every family went to their village to celebrate so the ‘watchman’ used to be compensated well before hand so he’d keep an eye out on our property. People started leaving as soon as school closed for the holidays and the last to go often left around the 23rd or 24th. I remember that at that time our neighbor and my mum would buy a big basket of tomatoes to share. On the way back to our village-which was like an hour away-we saw other cars loaded with belongings and happy children and sometimes an slightly open trunk so the chicken and torotoro could breathe. Lol.
Anyway, by the time we got to the village other cousins would be there or be on the way and it was always a happy reunion for all the cousins and proud grandparents. All the cousins came together and compared clothes, money and stashes of knockout/banger. As soon as we were done greeting everybody, we hit the stream, maybe with little cans to convince the adults we weren’t gong to just play. We always swam till we turned blue in the face and red in the eyes.
Christmas eve, the cooking started. Meat was tenderized and cooked in preparation for frying on Christmas morning. On Christmas eve night, we went to church for the service armed with knockouts/bangers. And even while we were in church we could hear others blasting away the knockouts/bangers, we would become restless. As soon as service was over, we went outside blasting our knockouts/bangers away to the chagrin of the adults. When we eventually stopped running wild and were coralled by the adults, we went home and continued with the knockouts/bangers under adult supervision. If we ran out, doting uncles and aunts and grandparents replenished our stash.
On Christmas day gon gon, the sweet aroma of stew and meat awakened us. The adults would get the older children to help get the younger ones ready for Christmas day service. Before we left for church, we had something light like bread and tea saving our appetites for the feast to come. We went to church dressed in our brand new Christmas clothes, shoes and freshly braided hair for the girls or smart crew-cut for the guys and no matter how great service was we itched to go home. Whenever service ended, we were made to greet more relatives bfore we went home. As soon as we got home, we dined on rice and stew, jollof rice, fried rice, chicken, beef, salad, chin-chin, and lots of fanta (who ever thought of calories or sugar then?). The food would not even digest before we began running wild again with other kids. Visitors, relatives were entertained. Carolers came, little dancing girls came, little boys in masquerades came; they were all shown appreciation with money.
Christmas Naija style is the bomb. If you haven’t experienced it, you should because it does good things to the soul. Sweet memories.
FROM NAIRALAND. COM
December 15th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
What a great description, Chovwe! Thank you so much!
December 27th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Thanks for the post & inclusion of the comments. I have gained a better insight of Christmas in Nigeria. Even here in the US customs & observances vary a great deal from one part of the city to another, even from one church to another. The significant emphasis is that is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.