I think it's safe to say that most families in Nigeria share similar traditions in the month of December and I know it's not the same for all families but there are certain things that are similar. For example, a lot of families eat rice and chicken on Christmas day (fried rice, jollof rice, rice and stew, or any other variations of rice). There are also some that decorate their homes, and we can say they are similar in that aspect.
There are also families that go to different outings and events, especially on Christmas week. Back in the day, my parents always took us out on Christmas and Boxing Day to different fun centers in the city such as the zoo, amusement parks, eateries, etc. But these days, they don't even bother anymore since we are all grown up and it's up to us if we want to go out or not. I usually just spend the day indoors as I can't deal with the buzz of those particular days, seeing as everyone picks that day to go out as well.
So then, what are those regular traditions we do in my family every December even till now? Well, we usually treat every day in December as every other normal day except for Christmas Eve and every other day leading to the new year. For as long as I can remember, my mom always takes us to church on Christmas Eve for the night mass and now that we are all grown up, me and my siblings have continued with that tradition out of habit.
It will feel like something is wrong if we don't go to church on Christmas Eve and these days we can choose not to, unlike when we were kids and we had no choice. One thing I enjoy about going to church on Christmas Eve is the rich nightlife that comes with it. There is this man I always buy meshai (stir-fried noodles and eggs) from for the past 10 years. His store is close to my church and he only comes out at night, so Christmas or New Year's Eve is usually when I can buy from him. This guy's meshai is the best I have ever tasted.
(this is from last year December)
One other thing that has always been a norm every December in my family is the food we eat on Christmas day. It has always been white rice and tomato stew prepared with chicken. My dad always buys live chicken and we kill it on the morning of Christmas. Back when I was a kid, my dad used to kill it himself and I just helped him to de-feather it and cut it into small chunks, but these days I do all that by myself with my sister assisting me.
Then on the last day of December, we also end the year in church with the New Year's Eve mass. This one is even bigger than Christmas Eve's own because more people attend the mass and if you're late, you won't even see anywhere to sit. Also on this last day, my dad always prepares catfish pepper soup at night (he doesn't go with us to church) and we enjoy it with cold drinks when we come back from church, which is usually around 1 am 😋
These things I have mentioned are what we usually do every December, the ones I didn't mention are either something we have stopped doing (like traveling to the village every year or my dad buying fireworks for us) or something entirely new that we started recently. This year won't be any different as I'm sure we will still keep up with the usual traditions.
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Happy Christmas, you and your family have good memories about December. I hope, you will enjoy the coming event as well.
I certainly hope I will enjoy it too. Happy holidays to you and your family as well ☺ thanks for stopping by
Yeah! Not being able to do the same thing that you are already used to makes you feel that something is missing because they became already part of your usual routine on that month. Happy holidays from my family to yours. 😁
Certainly! We have gotten used to those traditions after many years. Happy holidays to you and your family as well
Yeah, Christmas is just like every other day but the joy of going to another 365 days safely and the holiday are the things that have made the season more beautiful.
I can relate to the Christmas Eve thing and it's always fun so as the New Year's Eve
Exactly, the happiness that comes with seeing another year is part of the major things that makes this last month of the year special. Thanks for stopping by
Oh yes Rice and Chicken during Christmas, I mean a savory dish and rice is really a perfect combo in this kind of celebration right especially you eat it with the family. This is the tradition that we still do even now. Preparing dish to eat together on Christmas Eve. We just stay indoor too during thay time but before we go visit Mommy D's sister and that's where we celebrate Chris. But we don't do that often now, we just stay at thr house and enjoy the rest of the day resting Hahaha.
We also used to visit some of our families that live nearby during Christmas but these days we don't do that often, everyone just prefers to stay indoors 😁 thanks for stopping by Ruffa
Every house have their tradition on how to celebrate Christmas and New Year. Mostly, any variation of rice is the order of the day for both seasons. Though, we usually do pounded yam on New Year as we won't want to repeat rice from Christmas just to have a different taste of meal for the new year.
While we are young, our parents usually force us to attend church but now that we are grown ups, it's choice but we get to get used to it since it's something imbibed in us right from childhood.
We also don't usually eat rice on new year's day (except it falls on a Sunday) and we just settle for any swallow (eba, Fufu or semovita) and I prefer it that way because it's very easy to get tired of rice during that period. Thanks for stopping by