If you are a genuine believer in Christianity, today you will already have prepared to host a sumptuous meal for your family to eat after church service, maybe slaughtered a goat, all along humming the half-remembered lyrics to yuletide carols.
If you are a Christian only in name, you have already streamed Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” making the gracious lady even richer, or the more traditional carols belted out by the a cappella group, Pentatonix, without a single instrument in sight except the mouth of the enormously gifted Kevin Olusola doing the Beatbox.
Christmas is the season for family reunions, which is a good thing. It is the day for those who don’t connect often – because of the rat-race – to do so and make merry.
Among them are men and women who don’t give a hoot what the festive season symbolises, but since everyone looks forward to a time when they don’t have to work, they too are happy to join in.
Everyone loves a holiday except those who are living in abject squalor and couldn’t give a hoot about such festivities, or those living under the dark cloud of insecurity and starvation in the lawless north. People struggling for sheer survival don’t have time for celebrations.
And then there are those of us who are ensconced in distinctly Eurocentric practices which have neither Christian origins, nor much sense. I have yet to understand what importance Father Christmas (Santa Claus) has in the lives of Africans considering that the white gentleman wearing a red coat and a flowing white beard is only well-steeped in Western Christian culture.
How the fellow who moves around using a pack of reindeer to pull him in airborne sleighs ever slunk into our consciousness remains a mystery. Right now, pitch-black Santas are busy on shop-fronts enticing children to blackmail their parents to enter and buy stuff.
One day soon, we really have to rethink such alien traditions which are steadily creeping on us. Another one is the Christmas tree which symbolises nothing of value to Africans.
On occasions, I have donated small fir trees to my neighbours from which to hang multicoloured plastic balls, small candles, and tinsel which is meant to represent pure ice. Never mind that ice is totally alien to the tropics; we seem to have swallowed such drivel without much thought, and things are getting worse as time goes by.
Looks like the myths surrounding Christmas will be with us for a long time, and this for a good reason: we African lost most of our own long ago.
But then again, people have to find ways to leaven the dreariness of daily existence, and one way is, in most cases, as good as the other. It is a life characterised by an ever-rising cost of living, incessant political intrigues and drama, as well as greed and corruption on an unimaginable scale.
They would like to forget the double-speak of their political leaders whom they elected with goodwill but who readily betray them and their aspirations. It would, therefore, be unfair to deny people any opportunity they can get to lessen their troubles even if it is for one day or even one hour.
One way to forget about the tribulations of existence is to escape to another world “where troubles melt like lemon drops” in the words of the immortal Israel Kamakawiwo’ole song, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.
In any case, such obeisance to foreign culture is way better than over-indulging in alcohol and unprotected sex, wanton gluttony and violent crime while celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ who, according to the Bible, came to the world to save humanity from such excesses.
There are worse things than tolerating a mythical character that drops gifts for children down the chimney in the middle of the night.
Christmas is also the season of renewal when you shed the old and re-invent yourself. This explains why during this period, people buy new clothes for themselves and families, as well as expensive perfumes for their loved ones who may not necessarily be family.
Those with the means also arrange excursions to exclusive beach resorts at the Coast, in Naivasha, Nanyuki and even Zanzibar for those who have the means to get away from it all.
Promoting domestic tourism in this manner is a time-honoured practice during which you regain your peace of mind while creating jobs for hoteliers and everyone else in the hospitality industry.
In the meantime, this festive season has also come with a bonus: For the first time ever, the World Cup was held in December and the past three weeks have been glorious for football lovers.
Of course, in such things, there are always losers and winners and many a chap’s heart was broken when the French lost the cup by way of penalties.
I was highly amused by one soccer buff whose heart was with France, but who wanted Lionel Messi to make some kind of historical statement. I told him he couldn’t have it both ways and I was proved right. He was inconsolable.
