I discovered that as the Christmas season draws near, it comes with an aura, in fact the atmosphere smells Christmas, simply put. And no time of the year feels like that. I guess the harmattan(or snow is some regions) is one of the factors that initiates it.
1. WE HAD KOLO
Before the inception of high security safes, vaults, banks and cashless policies, we had what was called KOLO, it is still in existence though. KOLO is a safe where you keep your money. It comes in different forms like burnt clay material, wooden or ceramic but most importantly, a small entry where your money can pass through is included. That entry is the main deal. Reason being that what goes in easily will NEVER come out easily except you break or totally destroy it. So you don't want to put a coin or note today and break your safe tomorrow. That was enough to discipline us.
So, we get a KOLO from around October or November and start saving. Money from our allowances, caah gifys feom family friends and visitors were channelled to that safe. The interesting part is, you may not remember how much you have saved so far. so we get excited to know who has the highest savings. The money is purposely to buy yourself a Chrismas gift. At least you get to have something to open on Boxing Day. But some of us get disappointed because our saving are less. This is because, someone like me, have deviced a special way of getting those notes and coins out when I get impulsive about buying something. It's a special skill. I can teach if you will be humble enough to be a protege. Lol.
2. EXCHANGE OF GIFT
This part is very special to me. In fact, it is something everyone of us look forward to every year up until now. This is how we go about it. Every first of December, we write the names of every one in the family, including Dad and Mum, eleven in total (Please don't ask me about that number. We ain't a football team.lol. But I'll sure write about this in subsequent blogs). So, we wrap each name up and everyone chooses starting from Dad to my younger brother. Any person's name you pick will definitely become who you will buy Christmas present for and you dare not default. So you had better start saving in your KOLO. It was always fun when our elder ones pick we the younger ones since their income was more than ours. But when I get picked by my younger brother or Twin, what should I expect asides biscuits. Lol. But now the story is different, things are better!
3. CHRISTMAS EVE
You will agree with me that no Christmas is complete without the Christmas Eve. It's that part of the season that the ecstasy of the celebration gets heightened. Why is this so? I don't know about you but for us, these are the reasons;
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE MEAT?
My elder sisters and Mum would have gone to the market to get all the things we needed. Preparations would have been on. The kitchen becomes choked with the collision of gaseous molecules sourced by different ingredients and recipes. The molecules collides to fast that our olfactory mucosa(whatever that is) can't help but perceived it and it sends signals through the second cranial nerve leaving with a feel I can't describe as the Satiety Centre in the brain gets tingled. You could almost think you are "fed up" ( my way of saying filled up). You will think that will stop us from carrying out our subtle plans. Since the meats aren't labelled or numbered, you can be sure their numerical value and quantitative analysis will be inconsistent. We will sneak in to the kitchen when no one is watching(asides God, of course...lol) and help manage the situation on ground. It's either the targeted meat abscond, disappears or most often than not, it reduces in size. The later was our best strategy as the quantity will remain but the quality would have been brutally dealt with. Lol.
However, something surprising happens. One of our elder sisters (Sis B), who was very active at the kitchen, gets to know. I don't how she gets to catch us when there no CCTV cameras anywhere so we get to confess but we strategise again. That's my confession. Lord have mercy! You too confess your own. Come and restitute.
SLEEPLESS NIGHT
No sedative can work at this time when our adrenaline in pumping at optimal level. At Christmas Eve, we have special energy. We become restless and often find it hard to sleep. We prepare our clothes, wrap our gifts, practice carol songs, help with some chores and a whole lot more. Gists, jokes and so much fun.
If I say knockout you would probably not understand the vibe. So I'll just call it the local name, BANGER. No Christmas Eve is complete without Banger. We use our money to buy something and then we set the thing on fire. That is a crazy thing to do, right? But, hell no! The sound the knockout produces is the main deal. Some even have multiple sounds. We had fun! Although at some point I learnt that the Government banned it due to misuse. You can be sure it was misused for real.
4. HOW MUCH PROFIT DID YOU MAKE?
This usually should be a lingual franca of business people but we used it during Christmas. My twin, my younger brother and I used to have a competition. The basis for this is to look out for who gets the highest gift of cash on Christmas Day. But we say like it's a business. Lol.
5. CAROL AT HOME
The morning of the D day, we lift our voices to worship God as we regularly do during morning devotion but we add a little something. We have Carol at home. We sing carol songs so tenderly and sweetly. The funniest part is when we opt to sing the "Twelve days of Christmas". You need to come and hear raps when we get to the "Piper piping, Ladies dancing..." and what have you. Our voices go so loud when to the "Five Golden rings" part and we join at that point since that is where our confidence get boosted and morale is high. Lol. Then we go to church to listen to the original and correct version our remix. Lol
6. OUTSIDE THE HOUSE
After all the funs at home and at church, our older siblings do organise some get together for us at amusement centres. I can remember we were regular visitors of NTA 10, Father Christmas. We see the Santa Claus, get gifts, eat, drink and make merriment. We also visit LTV too.
The memories at just so sweet and amazing.
Please let me stop here.
You can also share your Christmas experiences at the comment section. I'll be glad to hear yours too.
Day Five.
My Experiences growing up...stay tuned for more.
Cheers!!!
Comments
And the five Golden rings part... .everybody's morale is boasted at that point... .biko next episode