Christmas is already here, yet I still need a bit of jump starting just to catch the festive mood. Conversely, in years past, you didn’t need that. Once November approached, a few triggers ensured your excitement hormones got dispatched swiftly. Obviously, times have changed and perhaps the dynamics of social life in this era have contributed in creating a different atmosphere. Also, the interpretation of Christmas tends to be subjective. Aside from having a basic understanding of the essence, everybody seems to have their own idea of how it should be marked. Regardless of which end of the spectrum you stand, it’s apparent that back then and now, things are quite different.
As it is with any festivities, music plays a vitally important role in defining the vibe. In our day, you knew Christmas was at hand just from the songs that hit the airwaves. Over here, nobody set that tone better than Ugandan songster, Philly Bongoley Lutaaya (RIP). Even though he’s been gone for more than three decades now, the legend’s iconic Merry Christmas album quite literally became the soundtrack for the season throughout the 90s. Basically, his was the Ugandan equivalent of Mariah Carey’s All I want for Christmas is you, except with more songs, color and substance. Philly’s album was usually on repeat all day long for the full stretch of the season, only occasionally getting punctuated with the likes of Jose Feliciano’s Feliz Navidad. I wonder what sort of Christmas music people listen to these days!
The music pretty much set all the other departments in motion. Next was the decorations. What was Christmas without decor!? First off, to this day, nothing beats that strong woodsy and unmistakable minty scent of freshly chopped organic Christmas tree. At home we had a hedge of those, and each year one tree got sacrificed for the occasion.
Also, I’m not sure if in those days we were simply misers, lazy, or maybe fancy decor ornaments just didn’t exist yet, but our creative minds thought it smart to always use toilet paper in the place of ribbons! And, yep, there was a well-furnished supply of colorful rolls! So, you had linings of white, pink, green and blue toilet paper hanging from the ceiling all over the living room. For using toilet paper, I honestly wouldn’t blame you for thinking that was some shitty decor! But, hey, we didn’t seem to have issues with it. Neither did any guests. To all that, add a ton of twinkly lights, latex balloons and, mehn!—the scent that came out of the house was nothing short of pure Christmas!
That Christmas tree remained in the house for the next six days where it dried thoroughly. On the night of 31st December, it would be set ablaze in the compound to usher in the new year. That was our cheap and tacky fireworks! With each year that passed, the tree hedge shrank and was soon no more. And, so, we learned to sort of improvise and harvest from the neighbors with or without their knowledge. Those trees are not easy to come across these days. Moreover, with the cheap plastic options at the supermarket, it’s nearly impossible to find a natural full-size tree in anyone’s living room!
Where I come from, the wrapping of gifts and setting them at the foot of the Christmas tree for unwrapping the following day was virtually nonexistent. At least not in our household. However, if it did in fact exist in other homes, you can bet that stuff was not even half as important as the day’s kitchen menu. We’ll return to this later!
It’s largely been a universal tradition for Christmas to be spent with loved ones. In the 90s, we mostly spent Christmas with the extended family: cousins, aunties and uncles. Most times that involved traveling within or out of town. As time went by, it became standard practice that we spend the festive season in the village. Celebrations in the village are quite different from what you have in the city. Activities there are more communal than closed in. For example, some random guy you’ve never seen will show up uninvited in the nick of time for lunch, but you can’t send him away cos that’s even rude. When it comes to food, their timing is absolutely impeccable, which’s why in the village, nobody cares about your Christmas decor if there’s no food. Food’s literally the main event!
If you didn’t get to slaughter a full-grown goat, turkey, and some chickens all at once, then that was some other occasion. Cos this day is a meat fest! It was almost policy that tonnes of meat, food and carbonated drinks had to be at our disposal; much more than we could possibly consume. The early morning of Christmas day was the officially designated time for these animals and birds to meet their Creator. It would be a blatant lie if I said I didn’t actively participate in orchestrating their demise. Technically, I’ve got blood on my hands!
From that point on—forget about the manger—the kitchen became the centre of attention! Additionally, in the village, nothing ever went to waste: the goat’s head and hooves made good emolokony sauce for the subsequent days. To that list, add the chicken head and feet! You don’t mess with that stuff. Matter of fact, in those days, granny would insist that you didn’t discard the goat’s skin either, cos she wanted to turn that into some kind of mat or whatever! If you wanted a taste of her wrath, just start a rumor that somebody got rid of any one of those things.
Lunchtime was about eating till your belly became turgid. After the heavy meal, you couldn’t afford to smile anymore, cos that was risky. What if your tummy exploded as you moved your facial muscles!? But that’s not even the worst part. There’s nothing worse than belching that stench of goat for the next three days! Meanwhile, remember the random village guys that showed up at lunch time? Oh, well, once lunch was done, it was a goodbye from them till next time. As for you, the rest of the day was about figuring out what next! Perhaps going sight-seeing if there are sights to see, or taking an evening walk around the village. Good luck with that while on a full tummy!
With time, a lot changed. I always looked forward to spending a quiet Christmas with my mom at her home in Soroti, in the eastern part of the country. And not doing much really, but just being there with her: sharing stories, laughing about anything and nothing; going shopping in town and getting introduced/re-introduced to her endless catalogue of friends. Now that she isn’t around anymore, there’s honestly not much to look forward to on Christmas other than just going with the flow, and perhaps binging on Philly’s Merry Christmas album on iTunes.
Between then and now, it’s certainly easy for me to judge which period was more exciting and fulfilling than the other. That said, whatever you do this season, make the most of it, cos what you do today will make the memories of tomorrow. But above all, take time to discover, reflect on and appreciate the essence of the day. Merry Christmas!
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Em, I’ve not laughed this hard in a long time! You nailed it!
This is by far the most humourous of your articles I’ve read! Bravo!
Haha…thanks for reading! I’m also confident that your TP rolls will stay in the toilet this Xmas!😄
Still trying to figure, what happened to the toilet paper after all the celebration. Mmmgh…! Merry Christmas.
lol very good question! I actually don’t remember. But no way we could’ve binned it. We probably rolled it up & finally put it to proper use.