Nigerians don't observe Christmas, they celebrate and announce it with loud music escaping from windows, generators humming like unwilling mass chorus leaders, and neighbours arguing about who cooked the most delicious meal last year. Christmas in Nigeria begins long before the 25th of December. Roads grow restless, and Markets thicken with urgency. Voices rise, not in anger, but in anticipation.
Christmas in Nigeria is not a surprise but an appointment everyone has been preparing for, even those who claim indifference. It originally begins with movement. People often travel as if they are summoned by something older than indulgence. Buses leave cities and Cars are fully loaded with bags, rice, and stories waiting to be told again. To embark on a journey home is not exclusively for logistics and obedience alone, it is a return.
Christmas cooking in Nigeria is not culinary, it is philosophical. Rice is prepared as if guests might multiply unexpectedly. Chicken and beef are treated with full ceremonial respect, while Soups refuses portion control. Cooking Christmas meals is usually a combined effort and everyone is often involved; even those pretending not to know what to do. Christmas delicacies are not about taste alone; it is proof that the year did not defeat us.
In Nigeria, Christmas guests do not ask permission. Visitors often arrive unannounced and are fed anyway.
Hospitality is instinctive: sometimes reckless, but often sincere. Plus the Christmas celebrations suspend all suspicion briefly. Strangers will be seen calling each other brothers and sisters without first carrying out any background checks. Some relatives can also appear unannounced at your house because Christmas in Nigeria trusts that generosity, no matter how inconvenient, keeps society human.
Christmas in Nigeria is usually more cherished by children. New clothes are inspected and worn with pride, even when they are oversized. Nice shoes are tried on with exaggerated walking steps. The firecrackers, also known as bangers or knockouts in Nigeria announce bravery amongst minors, while adults complain about the noise, but secretly enjoy the fun because the children remind them of who they were before life introduced responsibility too early in their lives.
Churches fill up to capacity during the Christmas service. Some just go out of devotion, while others just attend out of tradition. Some people also attend church during the festivities because Hope has been misbehaving all year and it requires supervision. Carols rise with African rhythm, drums challenge the hymns, and praise dancers refuse composure. Nigerians worship as they live life: joyfully, physically, purposely unapologetically, and emotionally.
And when evening comes, the noise softens as the generators are turned off briefly. The atmosphere becomes peaceful as family discussions begin. Old stories and plans that may or may not work out soon become the centre of their dialogue. Some reconciliation sometimes takes place at this point. The Christmas celebration in Nigeria is not just about how easy the year was, it is about the persistent decision to celebrate our survival with good food, enough to forgive the year for one day,
Nigeria’s Christmas is not blind to hardship. There are empty chairs, unspoken worries, and prayers hidden inside laughter. But Christmas does not wait for things to improve, it insists on a pause and says: Eat first, Laugh small, and Survive today.
William Z. Bozimo
Veteran Journalist | Columnist | National Memory Keepe
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