I mentioned in my previous post that I have not been home for almost four years but this does not in any way disrupt the normal family tradition that we always observe every December.
No matter how good or bad the year turned out to be, my family has always observed Thanksgiving on every first sunday after Christmas day. It was a tradition that have been in existence before I was born and we intend to pass that tradition to our generations yet unborn. This Thanksgiving is for the whole Okoyeigwe family. Okoyeigwe was my late grandfather who I never met. He has 7 children of which my father happened to be the first son. Things were not rosy for him and his wife but God blessed them through their children. Okoyeigwe died early leaving his wife behind. My grandmother made it a point of duty to provide a big he goat for Thanksgiving every December.
This made her to be extra careful in rearing her goats. In all of our village, my grandmother's goats are the most healthiest. People often come to ask her the secret of her healthy looking goats. If I tell them the secret they will probably not believe me. My grandmother will prefer to starve if her goat have not eaten. This will compel us to enter the bush to get the most beautiful palm fronds for her goats. There is nobody in the whole Okoyeigwe family whom my grandmother have not subjected to entering the bush in search of food for her goats. She will always make sure we clean the goat pen on daily basis. These goats got to know how they were loved by my grandmother thus they started misbehaving.
My grandmother will carefully select the biggest and healthiest he Goat for our family Thanksgiving. Infact by October she already knew the Goat we would be taking for Thanksgiving. It's always a thing of joy to her. We also used to add two bags of rice,tubers of yam, eggs, bottle waters and some cash gifts along.
When my father who was her first son died, I thought it would break her Spirit and not be in the mood again but she put her grieve aside for the thanksgiving. Seven months later her second son died too. I was devastated for her and this too did not in any way made her to stop the usual Thanksgiving every December. As the oldest member of the family she leads the Okoyeigwe family to the alter to thank God for being God. In sickness, death, loneliness, happiness, joy,and sadness God remainth God.
When my grandmother eventually joined her ancestors, her daughter Ebere took over from her. She takes good care of the goats just as she would have wanted her to. The goats reproduces so well and they remained as healthy as they were when my grandmother was alive. All these four years that I wasn't around for the Thanksgiving, my brother usually send us the picture of the goat that was selected for thankgiving in our family group chat and we will contribute money for other things that will be needed for the Thanksgiving. It dosen't matter if they have enough money to cater for all the items already, it's always a thing of joy knowing that despite being physically absence yet your impact will still be recognized. Last year I sent them twenty thousand naira to buy Turkey for the Thanksgiving. My brother told me that there was no need as they have enough already but I insisted because I know that nothing is too much for God and besides most of the things that we use for Thanksgiving are being given back to the less privileged and the widows in the village.
