In the topics we treated as a community this week, we had various talks about this Christmas season. And one of them involved us going back in time, taking a trip down memory lane to the time of our childhood to remember a time we had the best Christmas ever.
While making that entry, there was a particular part of the festivities I had failed to include. And that was Christmas Eve. Many times, people overlook the importance of this day to Christmas itself. It is like the forerunner, ushering everyone into the main deal itself. It is what prepares everyone and gets those who are not yet in the spirit of the season to get into it.
For this Christmas Eve I am talking about, like I said in my post yesterday, it happened in my village. One of the major highlights of the Christmas and New Year seasons is the church services. And most especially the vigil. It is usually so enjoyable and fun, with all the dazzling lights, multi-colored strings of light strung all over the church, beautiful tapestry, and balloons, just to signify the season.
But that year, it went beyond just designing the church. The church built a miniature manger, taking inspiration from the one in the Holy Bible where Jesus Christ had been born in. They built the manger, and then put little statues of baby Jesus, his mother Mary, Joseph, the wise men, the shepherds, a donkey, and even the sheep. I can鈥檛 recall if there had been more.
They designed it so beautifully, putting lights and ribbons, and as the lights flashed and changed colors, it was mesmerizing indeed. That really added to the ambiance of the church, it was creative and it has always remained in my mind. Who knew I would write about it one day?
Well, as the vigil was underway, we treated the day as if it was the very day that Jesus had been born. And we began to do things that we practice in our tradition when a mother just gave birth.
One such practice is giving powder. In Igbo land, when you come to see a newborn baby, you鈥檒l be given white powder to rub. It signifies purity of heart and goodwill, shows you are not harboring any ill intentions toward the baby. Nzu can also be used, but that day in church, we just made use of powder. So white powder was given to everyone and we all rubbed it.
We were all there to welcome the baby Jesus.
One other thing we did was singing songs. If you have been in an Igbo community before, and you notice the women when there is a new birth, you will see that they love to sing one particular song. It is a song that shows how happy they are that both mother and child are in perfect health. But then, it鈥檚 not really a song, it鈥檚 more of a chant. Because one person starts it and the others pick it up. It keeps going like that until they get tired.
Listening to them is like music to the ears, because it is usually a sound of nothing but pure joy. And we did that in the church as well.
And then, to cap it off, we had thanksgiving. In the same way we have thanksgiving after a safe delivery (although that is also based on the Church鈥檚 teachings). This time, everyone came out en masse for thanksgiving. Going to the back of the church and dancing all the way to the altar. There is nothing quite like the feeling of praise and worship going on all around you, to the point that it's deafening and you just have to lose yourself to the music.
It鈥檚 a different kind of highness, I swear.
So, the vigil really went well. We had a great time indeed. And when it was over, everyone on the road was blowing knockouts. People were burning tyres on the road, lighting up the place. The air itself felt charged with the goodness of the season, and when we got home, we didn鈥檛 want to go inside.
It was loads of fun. But then, as years have passed, such an event has not been recreated. At least not to that extent where I had a great time. These days, almost everything that is being done in the church will have a financial connotation and for me, it just kills the vibes. I miss the days when one could just go to church to worship and come back.
But these days, many people are hesitant to go to church because billing sef full for there. But then, no worries. There is still time, it has not stopped me from going to church. And I am still hopeful that one of these days, I will have a Christmas experience that will rival this one.
It would be epic, indeed.
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.
