A Very Strange thing Happened Last Christmas
A very strange thing happened on the Christmas; 2006. That was my first Christmas in the UK since relocating and I got the shock of my life. We had just moved and were barely settled into our modest flat before it was Christmas. That day was quiet, cold and miserable. No one visited us and we didn’t visit anyone either; besides the public transport system wasn’t running. Suddenly, the carol “Silent night, holy night” made absolute sense.
That day, I was forced to remember all the past Christmases back home. It was always quite an elaborate celebration. Preparations would normally start a few days earlier with mass cooking of various delicacies. All children would mandatorily get new clothes and shoes. It was a day of going to Church to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. The one day everyone went, believers and non-believers alike. For some, it was to appease their consciences by making some room for God. For others it was genuinely a time of thanksgiving for the gift of life and the hope of a better tomorrow. Families would exchange dishes of delicacies with children being the couriers. One would always get a tip after making such a delivery.
As children, we always spent Christmas in Tenti, our village. I loved Tenti. The air was always cold and crisp almost like autumn. There was a lot of flat fertile farm land with potatoes and apples doing very well. I also had my numerous friends and cousins who were always in awe of us coming from the big city. On Christmas day, we all wore our new clothes. For most of them, it was the only time they ever got new outfits in a year. It hardly mattered at all to any of us as we didn’t know the difference. We didn’t think the village children were “less than us” in any way. We just enjoyed going round the village and eating all that was offered. The recognised and approved Christmas meal was rice and chicken stew. For most people, it was the only time they had either in a whole year. Christmas certainly wouldn’t be Christmas without rice and chicken stew. Ginger was the spice of choice for many a home. There was never any exchange of gifts. The fun, laughter, time and food we shared were the gifts we offered each other.
Imagine my shock when my children resumed school in January and on the first day were all asked what they got for Christmas. It was as upsetting for me as it was for them. They didn’t know they were meant to get anything for Christmas. I felt horrible that they were made to feel like the “poor immigrants” that couldn’t afford anything. I had to make them realise that although gifts were good, they were not really the essence of Christmas. It was about the gift of Jesus and all He came to offer to mankind. Being in the West also made me realise that Jesus was clearly not front and centre in the story of Christmas. The mention of His name was almost offensive to a lot of people.
To be honest, Christmas gifts were the least of my problems back then. My son was being bullied in school and we didn’t even know. He was being teased about his accent by this white boy and I wasn’t sure if that was racism or just a child being naughty. He reported to the teacher but not much was done. We got to know when he came home crying one day feeling very frustrated. I felt like going into the school to wring the boys neck. Eventually we just had a talk with our son and encouraged him as best as we could. The next time he was bullied, he took matters into his hands. He didn’t bother reporting it to his teacher but simply slapped the boy very hard. I couldn’t believe it. The school called me in for a meeting and surprise surprise, they commended my son for being very “matured” in his patience with the bully for weeks. He was never bullied after that.
The following Christmas, we made sure we had a tree with gifts wrapped and placed under. It made it memorable for our children. Thankfully, now that they have all graduated from school and left home, we don’t give wrapped presents any more. We have become more sensible and just wait for the sales. It just makes more sense.