Christmas Time!
My status on facebook reads Tomi is 'looking forward to a family reunion at Christmas'. These days with the harmattan in the air (for those of you who have harmattan where you are) I can't help thinking about Christmases in the past! Talk of the ghost of Christmas past! I'm no Scrooge but I tell you I can't but wish that I was a child again.
Christmas holidays were always spent in my home town, it was not Christmas if we were not in the 'village'. You woke up in the morning to the mist of harmattan in the air. The hill behind the house was hid by the clouds and the weather was cold. I still remember the morning baths and the big jar of Vaseline which we applied generously if not you looked as white as a 'naija' snow man!
Christmas was a period of many celebrations in my family for there were many anniversaries, there were two wedding anniversaries and two birthday celebrations which were closely interspersed over the holiday period. All the turkeys, chickens and other animals sacrificed during this period would no doubt have had our household tagged with the title of the slaughter house.
Christmas was a period when we went around the neighbourhood distributing food to the neighbours. There was always so much to eat and drink, then it was not forbidden for you to have a whole bottle of coke to yourself instead of sharing one bottle with five cousins/siblings. There was one drumstick per child if you loved that piece of the chicken. It was the one period of the year when we were allowed to light 'knock outs' and 'sparklers'. The 'bangers' as we called them were tinier than matchsticks, these days they are like bombs! There were many presents to be shared. I still remember making my own version of miniature hampers using the empty toilet roll cylinder as an improvised basket to pack 'butter mint, bazooka, nail polish etc.
Christmas was fun. Unlike the summer holidays school work could be kicked under the bed and forgotten. Christmas morning was a whirl of activities for everyone almost always was dressed in new clothes. All the children some christmases were dressed in the same material a la granny who spent the last few days with the tailors ensuring that all her grandchildren were kitted in the best. The adults usually just wore their 'bottom boxes'.
The most exciting thing about Christmas for me was the reunions. Cousins who were not seen in the past year suddenly arrived in the 'villa' at Xmas. The house was full, the grandparents were fairly bursting with pride at the assembled collection of two generations of their progeny! Politics was discussed by the men, the women usually ended up in the kitchen to either cook or supervise the pots filled with the meals for Xmas(poor them!). We children had the run of the compound jumping up and down shouting in our excitement to be heard above the din we collectively made. We could sit up late, watch the last movie on TV and generally constitute ourselves into a nuisance.
I can still remember our last Christmas, as one big family, a few members of the clan were absent! Other responsibilities and unavoidable commitments had taken over we were growiny up. We could never all be together again, for before the next Xmas the cold hands of death had broken the circle, over the next few years, Xmas was celebrated wherever we were, death once again visited and reduced the number by one. The need to be together was not as strong as in the years past! For me last year was the first year in four years I was home for Christmas, work has been where I have celebrated Christmas. Its either I'm suturing one gash caused by some accident or I'm waiting for a Christmas baby to be born. Thanks to a slight shift in my career path I should be home this Christmas I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that all epidemics decide to wait till after the new year to make their appearance!
Christmas past, I remember you with nostalgia, I can only hope that my memories of future Xmases will be as lovely as those gone by. Merry Christmas in advance!
Christmas holidays were always spent in my home town, it was not Christmas if we were not in the 'village'. You woke up in the morning to the mist of harmattan in the air. The hill behind the house was hid by the clouds and the weather was cold. I still remember the morning baths and the big jar of Vaseline which we applied generously if not you looked as white as a 'naija' snow man!
Christmas was a period of many celebrations in my family for there were many anniversaries, there were two wedding anniversaries and two birthday celebrations which were closely interspersed over the holiday period. All the turkeys, chickens and other animals sacrificed during this period would no doubt have had our household tagged with the title of the slaughter house.
Christmas was a period when we went around the neighbourhood distributing food to the neighbours. There was always so much to eat and drink, then it was not forbidden for you to have a whole bottle of coke to yourself instead of sharing one bottle with five cousins/siblings. There was one drumstick per child if you loved that piece of the chicken. It was the one period of the year when we were allowed to light 'knock outs' and 'sparklers'. The 'bangers' as we called them were tinier than matchsticks, these days they are like bombs! There were many presents to be shared. I still remember making my own version of miniature hampers using the empty toilet roll cylinder as an improvised basket to pack 'butter mint, bazooka, nail polish etc.
Christmas was fun. Unlike the summer holidays school work could be kicked under the bed and forgotten. Christmas morning was a whirl of activities for everyone almost always was dressed in new clothes. All the children some christmases were dressed in the same material a la granny who spent the last few days with the tailors ensuring that all her grandchildren were kitted in the best. The adults usually just wore their 'bottom boxes'.
The most exciting thing about Christmas for me was the reunions. Cousins who were not seen in the past year suddenly arrived in the 'villa' at Xmas. The house was full, the grandparents were fairly bursting with pride at the assembled collection of two generations of their progeny! Politics was discussed by the men, the women usually ended up in the kitchen to either cook or supervise the pots filled with the meals for Xmas(poor them!). We children had the run of the compound jumping up and down shouting in our excitement to be heard above the din we collectively made. We could sit up late, watch the last movie on TV and generally constitute ourselves into a nuisance.
I can still remember our last Christmas, as one big family, a few members of the clan were absent! Other responsibilities and unavoidable commitments had taken over we were growiny up. We could never all be together again, for before the next Xmas the cold hands of death had broken the circle, over the next few years, Xmas was celebrated wherever we were, death once again visited and reduced the number by one. The need to be together was not as strong as in the years past! For me last year was the first year in four years I was home for Christmas, work has been where I have celebrated Christmas. Its either I'm suturing one gash caused by some accident or I'm waiting for a Christmas baby to be born. Thanks to a slight shift in my career path I should be home this Christmas I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that all epidemics decide to wait till after the new year to make their appearance!
Christmas past, I remember you with nostalgia, I can only hope that my memories of future Xmases will be as lovely as those gone by. Merry Christmas in advance!
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