Over the years, the vibe around the Christmas season has waned greatly. The hype has reduced and now it is difficult to have as much fun as we used to do in the old days. Now, with everything so expensive and insecurity on the high side, it is extremely difficult to have it the way we used to when we were kids.
This is beyond a problem of money because even if you have all the money in the world, insecurity would still be an issue. And the main point of Christmas is about coming together to share love and remind everyone that they matter. If people can no longer come together like that, due to the state of the world, then a huge chunk of the Christmas spirit is missing.
But then, there have been really great days indeed. There were times when we celebrated Christmas, we had a really good time and we enjoyed the season. And there is one that sticks out of my memory. To me, it is one of the best holidays I have ever gone on. And it happened during the Christmas season.
This took place the first time I traveled to my village. Growing up, we didn’t really travel all that often because if every member of my family had to travel, the cost was always on the high side. But that year, we had to do it. All of us made our way to the village.
That was my first time coming to the eastern part of Nigeria, before that I had only known Lagos, Ogun state, and Ibadan which I had visited occasionally. So, everything was an experience for me. It was the first time I was seeing a lot of things I had only just read about. Like the famous Lagos-Ibadan Express road (although it ended up being a stretch of road that didn’t seem to come to an end), the River Niger bridge that led into the Eastern part of Nigeria.
Throughout the journey, I was awake and soaking it all up. During such long journeys, it was normal for people to fall asleep, but not me. Everything was calling to me at once and I could not see them all at such a time. And then, thanks to the driver, we had good music all through the journey. He must have been a fan of Flavour because it was his songs that were playing throughout the trip.
Settling into village life was quite difficult, but it was not much different than city life. As a matter of fact, it was the same, except that here everyone seemed to know about us while we knew no one. Only my parents knew who was who.
Back then, it was not unusual to see a stranger walk up to you and ask, “don’t you know me? I’m your third cousin from your father’s mother’s Maternal home.”
Hehe… I’m just kidding. But it’s usually something along those lines.
Still, we had the best experience during that time indeed. The harmattan was strong but it didn’t stop us from having fun. We went to visit the lake in my village, although it had almost dried up around then due to the harmattan. It’s a seasonal body of water that flows only during the rainy season. And then, we also watched the community football tournament. It took place over a couple of days and we didn’t miss anyone.
There was even a time we went on a tour of Owerri town, visiting various destinations. And ended it at a restaurant where we ate our fill. Driving that day was quite a miracle because there was no traffic. If you are someone that travels to the east often, then you will know that Christmas time is one time when the traffic is actually at its worst.
And then, when Christmas came, we had a blast. My mom cooked really delicious meals, I can’t even recall just how much chicken I ate that day. The fun started right from the Christmas vigil and on till Boxing day. I was just having back-to-back fun. Every single one was a hit! And we didn’t enjoy alone, my parents had visitors, and we also went to pay visits as well. And as they visited, we served them the same way when we visited they served us food. So, it is safe to say that I was always full during that period.
The high point came during the masquerade festival also called Mmanwu in Igbo. This involved various masquerades coming out to perform and show off their skills. There, we also had a great time as we ate goat meat peppersoup and washed it down with soft drinks. I had a great time, shouting and running from the masquerades, and by the time we returned home I just wanted to sleep.
Nothing much happened after that, and we had to return to Lagos because we had to return to school. But the events of that particular holiday had stayed rent-free in my head. It is easily one of my best holidays so far. I have had other good ones, but I’ve not yet seen anyone where I enjoyed myself to that point.
No one knows tomorrow, I might end up having an even more interesting Christmas this year. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed. But until then, I will keep on trying my best to have a good time with what I’ve got. I’ll keep on being grateful for what I have and when I have the opportunity to be happy and celebrate, I will do it with all my heart.
It’s the least I can do.
Thank you for reading. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below, I would love to know what you are thinking. Till we meet in the next post.
This post is inspired by the third topic of this week which is Best Christmas Memory. Feel free to try it out.
