Christmas season is a period that Christians all over the world look forward to with high anticipation and relish. Although it is a time for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ and a period of sober reflection among Christians everywhere, most people often look forward to it as a time of re-uniting with family members who travel from wherever they reside all over the world to come home and celebrate with their family members in their respective towns. People try as much as possible to save enough money to buy new clothes, shoes, foodstuffs in order to be at their best during the yuletide, since it is an annual celebration.
But it is quite unfortunate that in as much as people will like to enjoy their lives to the fullest during the celebration, the economic hardship which has culminated into scarcity of money, sudden hike in the prices of food items and other commodities, as well as the security challenges in the country, have posed a lot of constraints to their level of celebration.
In spite of all these, Christians are still hopeful and look forward to a fun-filled time with their friends and family members to celebrate using the resources available to them to achieve maximum satisfaction.
Emmanuel Achi, who works with an engineering firm, told LEADERSHIP SUNDAY that Christmas to him is a time of celebration and sober reflection. “Christmas, is a period of celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, Christians all over the world are expected to have a quiet time with their families, have a recollection and think about their lives, in addition to using the period for sober reflection”.
When asked how he intends to spend the period, he said; “I will like to spend my yuletide with my family, by going to church, and after that take them out to a nice spot, before finally settling down to enjoy the rest of the day at home”.
Emmanuel feels everyone must have prepared adequately for this year’s Christmas even in the face of hardship. “Everyone is aware that the period is the time that prices normally go up, so before this time I have already planned for my family and my family; even my company has made some provisions to make our Christmas worth the while”, he said.
He feels the major constraint people will face this season is the problem of high cost of transportation. “The major constraint during yuletide is transportation. If you have to travel by any means, be it air, land or sea, you must encounter the problem of increase in transport fares because the fares are always increased by 100 per cent. But as God will have it, there must be a way out”.
Similarly, David Odoh, a builder, told LEADERSHIP SUNDAY that he was not sure of how he was going to spend his Christmas holiday. “As I am seeing this year’s Christmas, I don’t even know how I am going to spend it because I am just broke, but I pray God takes control”. When asked whether he would be in Abuja during the festive season, he said, “if I have money I will like to travel down to celebrate with my family in the village, but if I can’t raise some money before then I will have no choice than to remain here in Abuja”.
To David, money is the major constraint to his celebrating his Christmas in the manner in which he would have loved to, but he added, “I can still celebrate here even without money because I still have life which is the most important thing, because when there is life there is hope”, he added
Also, Emmanuel Awunah, a student told LEADERSHIP SUNDAY that he intends to travel home to his village in Benue State and celebrate Christmas with his family. “It is quite unfortunate that the prices of things are increasing daily, and if you look around, there is no money to spend. But by the special grace of God we can cope with all of these.
Francis Obah, a pharmacist also told LEADERSHIP SUNDAY that looking at the rush that comes with the yuletide and the difficult economic situation of the country, he intends to celebrate Christmas in Abuja, and probably this time next year he will travel to his village.
“I intend staying around with my family having as much fun as we can. Giving glory to God is the most important thing; we are celebrating the birth of our Lord Jesus, so we will do it spiritually which is the most important thing. The physical aspect and the fun of celebration should even be minimal. We should devote 30 per cent of the season to having fun while the remaining 70 percent should be for sober reflection and spiritual uplifting”, he opined.
When asked if he felt people were ready for this year’s Christmas celebration, he said, “you can’t tell now until the third week of December, that is when you see the level of preparation. I’m sure people are prepared because they make preparation for it every year. As the country is hard, it is good for some people, while it is not for some others, but all the same, the most important thing is life”, he said.
When asked why people preferred to travel out of Abuja during the Christmas, Obah said, “yea, because this city is dominated by visitors, who have come from other states of Nigeria, and so during the Christmas period most people like to travel out of Abuja to their home towns and villages, that is why the city is usually dry and lack fun during the yuletide”, he added.
Obah, however, advised that people should celebrate Christmas according to what they have in their pockets. “The much your money can buy, you buy. If you have been used to killing a cow for example, you can adjust and kill a chicken or goat now that the economy is hard. It all depends on contentment; it should not be a do or die affair. For me I will celebrate Christmas to the extent to which my pocket can allow me”, he said.
To him the only thing that can reduce his celebration is the security problem of the country, especially Abuja.”I will say if God allows me, then the major constrain here is the security situation in Abuja, any other thing can be handled”.
Uloma? Uzoma said life in Abuja has been difficult in terms of money, and she intends travelling to Lagos to enjoy the yuletide with her folks. “ I don’t think anything can limit my celebration this year, I will be travelling to Lagos because Abuja is not a fun place, and the most important thing is going to be with my family. Now that there is scarcity of money, things are very expensive because I am just coming from the market”, she said.
She lamented that money was going to be a constraint to people that would be celebrating Christmas in Abuja. According to her, “Abuja is not really for the low class, even the rich ones are also complaining. But all the same, we look forward to celebrating the Christmas. In Lagos, you can buy things at cheaper rates, and you will still have time to catch much fun than is possible in Abuja.”