CHRISTMAS; THE GHANAIAN WAY

This article was published on Dawuro GH (http://dawurogh.com/news/guest-featurechristmas-the-ghanaian-way/)

So, Christmas is here again! A wonderful season, an always memorable period. The atmosphere changes during Christmas. A moment set aside to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Though there are a lot of conspiracy theories formulated to dispute that 25th December isn’t the birthday of Christ, the focus of many people doesn’t base on that, because whatever be the truth, it unites us, makes us see old friends and boosts business.

How one celebrates Christmas depends on his/her town of residence, age and other factors. As a child, I couldn’t wait to get my “bronya’ outfit, you know, the T-shirt with its matching shorts and a cap, completed with a tight-fitting belt and my favourite, a sidekick.

Our parents & grandparents would say “oh, good old days”. I keep asking, were the days really that good? Well, at least not better than ours, right? I mean, we have the best of pubs, lounges, clubs, and other hangouts. In the 80s, believe you me, things were affordable. The celebration started right from the room to the streets. People designed their halls and abodes with Christmas decorations, filled large bowls with Piccadily gems and refrigerators were stocked with all sorts of beverages. Chicken were slaughtered, the best of stews were prepared and expensive gifts were exchanged. The fear of walking in the streets in the night wasn’t existent, so they had fun all night long in the clubs, discotheques and theatres. The children weren’t left out as they would visit the zoos filled with all breeds of animals. They had their own parties. The balloons, knock-outs, water pistles… oh man, the good old days, truly. Not to forget the response to church bells and sing-alongs to Christmas carols.

A lot has changed now. Unless your pocket is blessed, you may stay in your bed all Christmas liking people’s pictures on Facebook & Instagram (IG). It’s worse when you have no vehicle, and no good friends with cars. It’s hard to impress your girlfriend when you’re on the average. Don’t get it twisted! The pubs get fully occupied from 24th to 30th December. Parties get so heated up that people stay up all night. You’ll be astonished that at 5am party bouncers still remain on duty. Bottles get cracked, sausages and kebabs get limited, pools get dirtied and snooker sticks never rest. The screams of hit songs don’t fade out. Huge concerts are staged where reigning acts excite fans with exhilarating performances. I don’t think chicken will ever be set free during X’mas… well, we can’t help it, as it makes salivating soups & stews. Selfies and video snaps shared amongst friends on social media such as Snapchat & IG only give an indication of how the general X’mas steeze is like. On 31st, everyone submits to God at various churches as we cross over to the next year.

Amidst the dumsor and economic hardships, we shall have the best of amusement. Don’t forget to text your loved ones, spend good time with some of them and go to church. Merry Christmas!