Hope it is not too late to say Merry Christmas? Hope we all had a swell time, and ate loads of delicious meals? Still in the spirit of Christmas, I have decided to share my two cents on an issue I consider important.
Yesterday, I was present in the room, when my little niece was asked to say three things about the season. Her answers were; 'the presence of snow, gifts under the Christmas tree, and a message to Santa Claus. Sure enough, these answers elicited chuckles and mild laughter from all present in the room. But it got me thinking - the idea of Christmas here, has become too westernized. My niece was right in her answers, those things are peculiar to Christmas. But the problem is, not in this part of the world. And if we continue like this, we are sure to lose the true 'Naija Christmas'.
What is the true Naija Christmas you may ask. And to respond to that, I would require that you do some form of questionnaire. Look around for a young adult, or a middle aged person, and ask what Christmas was like for them as a child. I can be the first responder to your questionnaire.
Christmas celebrations as a child was different from that of this generation. Now, we are determined to emulate western culture and traditions of Christmas. Then, we looked forward to celebrating in our own way. Travelling to our villages, families spending days together in the villages and masquerade displays, were a few of the things that we yearned for. Speaking about travelling to the village for Christmas, I cannot remember when last I did that.
And not just me, a lot of people do not do that anymore. Those masquerade displays we loved to watch as children, annoy a lot of us now. It is not as bad for us, as it is for the children now. At least, we got to experience those wonderful things. The children in this generation, do not get the chance to. Rather, their idea of Christmas has been influenced by cartoons, and the desire to appropriate western culture.
The good thing though, is that there seem to be others who share this same thought that I do. Ex BBN housemate Maria Chike, put out a post on her Instagram, speaking up on this issue. She challenged those who copy the western style of celebration. However, rather than her post having the desired reaction, it brought a lot of criticism to her. As usual the people used the popular quote 'let people live'. What we should know, is that there is a difference between trying to dictate to people how to live, and pointing out a problem. I and by expansion, Maria, are trying to bring to light a problem.
This, sadly is just one of the effects of our constant neglect and denigration of our African culture. And it goes to show that every part of our culture is being affected. Our preference for all things western is erasing the African ideologies and way of life. At this rate, we might as well be second hand Europeans/Americans living in Africa.
An Endangered Christmas
By
Jefferson Nnadiekwe