Everyone meet my father inlaw, the only man who choose to celebrate his birthday in a local way with children.
Don't get scared when you see his face covered with white and blue color.
It has been his tradition for over 20 years now.
Every 1st January (the birthday date) ,he will apply white powder and a blue color on his face, gather as many children as possible, and move around the village beating his gong and visiting families.
In return the families will give them a little token (money , drinks or any gift) and at the end of the day, he would share the money equally among the children and himself.
I can't say what inspired him to chose this method to celebrate himself but i love the idea.
This is my second time of joining him to celebrate his birthday and i must say, this year's celebration was fun.
A good inlaw brought a surprise cake and drinks for him , which added color and beauty to the celebration
This year's birthday celebration started in the morning by 8am ,after the morning prayers.
He quickly went outside, wore his old short (he wears the same short every year ) and applied the usual makeover on his face (white powder and blue color)
His two little lovely grandchildren were brought to him and he took pictures with them.
We, as the family members were the first to give him money.
No amount is too small, you just have to give what you have.
I happily gave what i had, knowing that at the end of the day, when the money is being shared, i will get more than what i gave.
That sounds funny but is true.
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When the entire family members were done giving what they had, the little children in the house followed him as he moved from house to house, visiting his friends and well wishers.
Each house has a gift for him.
Some gave money,some gave drinks and others gave what they have.
Grownups like me stayed back at home ,to prepare food for the children and people that will visit after the rally.
We cooked mushrooms sauce with chicken served with white rice.
In the afternoon, some children got tired and came home to eat, while other children from other families joined the queue.
Those who came back were served the mushroom sauce in a large tray and they enjoyed it with bare hands while others used cutleries.
After eating,the children quickly ran back and continued the rally.
By 4pm in the evening, some children got tired and returned home, while others begged him to stop and return with them.
He hasn't eaten anything except drinks offered by those families he visited and people at home were worried but i guess that's his thing, he knows when to stop.
His inlaw had already brought the cake and drinks, and the compound is gradually getting filled with children.
Finally, here he comes, everyone is super excited especially me, because is time to share the money they got lol ...
First thing first, a prayer was made, and the cake was cut.
Every one had a taste of the cake including the suckling children.
Then he emptied his pocket and poured the entire money on the floor, the money was counted and it was announced that they got a total of 78500 NGN, approximately $48.
Children were called by names and by families, and the money and drinks were distributed equally.
Everyone got 500naira approximately $0.310 dollar but my father inlaw got 800naria approximately $0.489 dollar after all the stress.
That got me really thinking, what is his gain in this?
if he was doing it for the sake of money, he would have divided the money into two, take half and shared the remaining among the children but clearly he isn't,
I guess he just wanted to put smiles on the children's faces every 1st January.
At the end of the day, he bought more drinks and shared to everyone.
I did enjoyed myself and above all i enjoyed seeing the children smile .
Before i end this post, i would like to share more pictures with you guys...
If you would love to see his face without makeover, leave a comment and i promise to provide the photo on my next family and friends post.
Thanks for visiting my blog.
Yours faithfully:
@yummycruz1
All pictures are mine unless stated otherwise 😍
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