Celebrating Christmas in Nigeria and other countries in 2015

Unlike so many oth­er holidays that are specific to individu­al countries — Thanksgiving in the United States, Bastille Day in France — Christmas is a tradition that can be seen across the globe, with children of many cultures waiting on the night of Dec. 24 for their own version of the fat man in the red suit. Christmas is cele­brated both as a religious hol­iday, when Christians attend midnight masses and sing songs celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and a secular hol­iday, filled with rushed shop­ping and plenty of eggnog to go around, leaving a lot of room for a wide group of people to find their place around the hol­iday season.

While many symbols of Christmas are associated with the United States — Charlie Brown’s not-such-a-bad-lit­tle tree, Rudolph’s shiny red nose, running over someone in Toys “R” Us to get the last doll on the shelf — many Christ­mas traditions have their or­igins elsewhere, especially in Europe. These traditions have been modified, adapted or just plain ignored throughout the world.

Nigeria: Christmas in Nigeria is a family event, a time when lots of family members come together to celebrate and have fun. Most families that live in cities travel to the villages where their grandparents and older relatives live. Many different languages are spoken in Nigeria. In Hau­sa Happy/Merry Christmas is ‘barka dà Kirsìmatì’; in Yoruba its ‘E ku odun, e ku iye’dun’; in Fulani it’s ‘Jabbama be salla Kir­ismati’; in Igbo (Ibo) ‘E kere­simesi Oma’; in Ibibio ‘Idara ukapade isua’ and its Edo its ‘Iselogbe’. Happy/Merry Christ­mas in lots more languages. Many families will throw Christmas parties that will last all night long on Christ­mas Eve! Then, on Christmas morning, they go to church to give thanks to God. Homes and streets are often decorated. Most homes will have an artifi­cial Christmas tree. Children love to play with firecrackers at Christmas. The church choir may visit the church congregation in their homes to sing Christmas car­ols to them. Christmas cards are sent to friends and fami­ly members. Presents are ex­changed amongst family mem­bers and some families may take their children dressed in new outfits to see Santa Claus. In addition to serving turkey, a traditional Christmas meal in Nigeria may include beef, goat, sheep, ram or chicken. Other dishes might include pound­ed yam, jollof rice, fried rice, vegetable salad and some type of stew.

Christmas day church service in Nigeria

Foods eaten during Christmas in Nigeria: Fried Rice with Turkey/Seasoned Jollof Rice

Germany: The ultimate sym­bol of Christmas is, of course, the Christmas tree, which has its origins in Germany. Bring­ing evergreen trees inside dur­ing the winter had long been a winter tradition and by the 1820’s, the tradition had made its way to the United States by way of German immigrants in Pennsylvania. In some homes across Ger­many, parents are known to decorate a specific room in the house for Christmas, but lock it up so the children of the home can’t see it, according to the BBC. The parents then ring a bell and the children are al­lowed to go in and see for the first time.

France: The French are known for their love of ex­tended dinners of some of the world’s greatest dishes and Christmas is no different. The big dinner in France is actually held on Christmas Eve, and is known as Reveillon. The meal can last up to six hours, and is a sacred tradition around France. Great care is given to the decorations put on the long table, and the menus vary across France. While Parisians are known to dine on luxuri­ous dishes such as oysters, foie gras and caviar, residents of Alsace and Burgundy take a route more familiar to Ameri­cans with a stuffed turkey often seen as the dinner centrepiece.

Ethiopia: Ethiopians actually celebrate Christmas later than December 25. Following the Ju­lian calendar, Ethiopians host Christmas celebrations Jan. 7each year, a day that typical­ly starts with a fast, according to One.org. A church service is then followed by a feast quite different than what is typically seen in the United States. The meal involves stew and sour­dough bread most of the time, and most families in Ethiopia actually don’t exchange gifts, but instead fill it with games and sports.

Argentina: Fireworks and balloons are at the centre of it all during the Christmas cele­bration in Argentina. Children delight in the fireworks most of the time and at night, Ar­gentineans are known to light the inside of paper lanterns and release them into the sky, speckling the South Ameri­can night. Children in Argen­tina put their shoes out to get gifts in them. Some children have adopted this old tradi­tion for modern times, placing their shoes beneath a Christ­mas tree instead.

Mexico: Piñatas hold a spe­cial place in the Mexican con­sciousness during Christmas­time. Piñatas can be filled with everything from wrapped candies to fruit, and are often shaped as the Star of Bethle­hem, which helped the Bibli­cal Magi to find Jesus on the night of his birth. “It’s not re­ally Christmas time until I’m surrounded by hundreds of [star] piñatas,” Joshua Cruz, a third generation piñata maker in Mexico said to the Christian Science Monitor.

*Culled from www.authorityngr.com with added content*