From home-to-home and place to place the tradition is the same when it comes to the birth of Jesus Christ. The Christmas season brings people closer to one another in the spirit of sharing.Pembi Stephen –David writes
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From many homes… from several hearts… and flowing from countless lips across the country and the world at large ,are traditional Christmas hymns and songs, heralding and celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. These Christmas classics give the Christmas feeling to its listeners.
The birth of baby Jesus 2000 years ago is the most significant event in all history, because it pours the healing balm of love which has transformed all manner of hearts. Christmas reflects personal behaviours, attitudes, rituals of worship, the selling and buying of a lot of gifts, and public and private gatherings.??
Christmas holiday is marked by the emptying of cities as people return to their ancestral homes to be with family and childhood friends. It is the most celebrated day in the world. The christmas eve is another phenonmenon; a tradition of giving gift, shopping, carols, prayers, poems, quotes and costumes. Christmas makes the world complete. It is a holy season, a very special time of the year when people, mostly Christians, join with their loved ones in sharing centuries-old traditions.
The only blind person at Christmas time according to Helen Killer is he who has not Christmas in his heart. The celebration of Christmas is a high point of the year. From the first of December onwards, it is almost impossible to forget that Christmas is around the corner. Hawkers on the streets, sell Christmas trees, caps and toys. Coloured lights and paper or plastic decorations for many homes, churches, offices and shops. From Ota in Ogun State to Michika in Adamawa State; from Agbor in Delta State to Gembu in Taraba State, markets become busier. Churches all over the country organise Christmas ‘carols’-the traditional Christmas Christian songs. Offices, Banks and clubs are not left out.
According to some Christian faithful who spoke with LEADERSHIP SUNDAY, Christmas is a season of love, care and reconciliation. According to Yakubu Ibrahim, who came to Abuja all the way from Lagos to celebrate with his Christian friends, ‘‘I am happy because it is Christmas I will have the opportunity to hang out with my friends who I have not seen for almost a year now. I live in Lagos but come to Abuja for Christmas to be with my family and friends. It is about the only period of the year that my friends and I share the joy of being alive. We are all busy people and our annual leaves are on different months.’’
As the culture of the International Praise Church, Abuja aka Praise Chapel is, yearly, the Church organise Christmas Carol. Every year, the Church, peopled by preachers, musicians, singers and dancers, set aside a day for carol. This year is not an exception. Attracting over four hundred worshippers, the carol, tagged, “Experience Christmas,” was held at the Radio House Chapel, Garki-Abuja.
December is the 12th and last month of the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of the seven months with the length of 31 days. December starts on the same day as September every year and ends on the same day as April every year. It is the month people, the world over, find time to share their dreams and aspiration for the coming year. Everywhere near the shops in this month no one can fail to have noticed that the retail business is in full Christmas mood.?
Speaking with LEADERSHIP SUNDAY, Mr. Philip Jebu Sohe, a resident of Garki-Abuja and native of Michika town of Adamawa State, observed that Christmas is a home thing. ‘‘If you have not been to Michika during Christmas, you have never enjoyed the celebration. Everyone goes home to be part of the celebration. It is the period when people share love by not only being together but by exchanging gifts. It is a happy day. No one can afford to be sad.
‘‘There is nothing like family and the best of Christmas is when families and friends sit round the table like a family tree all wraped into one another and are surrounded by one Christmas symbol or the other. It is wonderful. There is nothing better than bringing people joy and that is what is done at Christmas,’’ says Brent Matala who was hanging out with his friends in Yola, the Adamawa State capital. “Merry Christmas is the word and that is what keeps the celebration on, we come together as friends every year to pay for the lost good time of our growing years,” he explains.??
For Loveth Chika, a senior Immigration officer, “Christmas songs have their peculiar glory. They evoke this sense of gladness, for both the old and young; throwing them in the merriment mood of the season. The way people are dressed and the way the whole place looks during Christmas is to say the least, awesome. Christmas reminds me of my youthful days, a period when everything falls into place.”??
‘‘Christmas carols are an important part of our lives, especially during childhood. They allow children to express themselves in a fun way while learning about Christmas and its traditions at the same time. Carols represent the joy of togetherness that people feel during this time of the year. They allow people from various cultures and religions to come together and share a common song about the joy of the season,’’ obserbed P.L.de Avila.
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