Memories of Christmas seasons past

I was reading @JRamona20 article earlier today (read it here) about her memories of previous Christmas celebrations and I was just smiling because I could relate to some of the things she wrote and they reminded me of what Christmas used to be.

I won't be diving deep into my memory, but I will just talk about the ones that were really fun for me and the activities that made it fun.

Image source

Christmas carols

Back then, I was an altar server in church (I am catholic) and during December, we usually go to church members' houses to sing carol songs for them and they support us with whatever they have.

We usually do this at night, and we go from house to house with our drums and whenever we arrive at a house, we usually dance round to the beat of the drums we carry along, before going into solemn mood and sing beautiful carol songs to our host.

Sometimes the host gives us money, while some others give us food. We usually inform the host beforehand that we will be coming so they are better prepared 😉 the carol lasts for about 2 weeks.

Christmas Eve

Image source

In everything, this is the one I miss the most. Until recently, I was the only person in my family that usually goes to Christmas Eve church service (because I was an altar server), and I stay in church with my friends till the next day.

The church service usually ends around 11pm or 12am but I won't go home, my friends and I will be walking around just eating and drinking. We normally make plans before that day and save up a lot of money to finance our adventures for the night.

The first place we visit is where they sell noodles, as well as bread and egg, some of us in Nigeria know it as maishai (I hope I spelled it right 😆). The place is close to my church and it's been run by a northerner, I feel those guys are the best when it comes to preparing noodles.

Image source

After that, we end up at a suya joint (barbecued beef) and we do eat a lot of it till we get tired, then from there we proceed to a place called playhouse; it's a combination of a club, restaurant, and bar.

We get to playhouse and order fried chicken and some drinks, and when we are about leaving we still buy another round of suya (what can I say, I do love meat 😉). The eating spree ends with us going back to the church to catch some sleep, which is usually around 4am.

Christmas day

On Christmas day, I usually start my mornings by sleeping up until 10am, before getting up to take breakfast. The rest of the day revolves around food and drinks until it's over.

My siblings usually go out later in the day to catch some fun but I always decline whenever they invite me because of one particular reason; most of the fun places are always packed full of people on Christmas day.

So I rather have some fun on Christmas Eve, and then stay indoors throughout Christmas day just eating and drinking. Sometimes I visit my aunt who stays in the same city, but the problem with that is there's usually a scarcity of public transport when I am returning home

Closing thoughts

My Christmas has drastically changed over the years and right now I don't even find it fun anymore and that's because my friends who I usually spend it with are no longer living around me, everyone has been separated and gone far from each other.

I still go to Christmas Eve church service, but after that, I just walk straight home because I can't do those activities I do in the past alone, it will be too boring 😆

I have great memories of Christmas even earlier than the ones I mention and I always look forward to Christmas because of them, but things have changed so much lately and it's no longer how it used to be, I guess that's what happens when we grow older.

Are there memories of Christmas from the past that you miss? Please feel free to share in the comment section below 😉

Thanks for reading 💖💖💖

Friday December 3rd, 2021