Krismas fo Naija
Few days from
today, it will be Christmas; a Christian festival celebrated worldwide
in honour of the birth of Jesus Christ who died on the cross sins taim
imo riva. Christmas is in the air.
How do we say it in
Naija langwej? Why bother about how to say it in awa langwej? It is
important because it enables us to deeply reflect on our peculiarities
as a people; it provides a ready guide to celebrating krismas fo Naija.
Right now it is
common to hear people say, “Christmas is in the air” which in local
parlance means, “krismas de flai fo evriwie”, “krismas don rich
graund”, “krismas de smel”. The sweet smell of Christmas, like the
monsoon breeze, is already blowing across the country reminding
Christendom of the D-day: December 25.
It is the desire of
all to have a fun filled and memorable Christmas celebration. Since
wishes they say were never horses, beggars were never expected to ride
on them. Therefore, while some are working out how to celebrate
Christmas in style, there are many who are bogged down by thoughts of
the day’s meal and probably how to pay the next term’s school fees.
For this category
of people, Christmas is not a priority on their “must do” list. Painted
differently: as Mista Peter de arenj hau im go tek enjoi krismas, Mista
Josef de krak im bren fo hau im go tek setul im bele an im pikin moni
fo school fo Januari we de kom. As a matter of principle, there are
others who would say they can’t “waste” dia taim thinking about
Christmas because for them, it’s “just another day” that will naturally
“kom an go”. From such people come comments like; “wetin konsain mi wit
krismas?” And the question that usually follows is “hau wi go du am?”
which continues to dominate discussions bikos eviritin get as i bi.
There are some
Christians like the members of Jehovah’s Witnesses who by their
doctrine don’t celebrate Christmas. As we say, evribodi get im stail
bot wi nou se if graund levul, nobodi we no go laik to enjoi.
Simply put, Krismas
fo Naija means celebrating Christmas in Nigeria; home to the happiest
people on earth. One expects nothing but the best from Nigerians
whenever there’s cause for celebration. Irrespective of faith, the
people of Nigeria are usually united in making every celebration truly
memorable.
It is against this
background that on the day of any religious festival in Nigeria,
Christians and Muslims as well as members of other faiths happily
converge with family members in numerous parks, gardens and other
venues with family in the spirit of the season. Only recently, Muslims
and Christians celebrated the Muslim Eid Kabir religious festival in
one accord. As krismas de kom, let’s come together and do what we are
known for; enjoy to the fullest with the fear of God.
If what is good for
the goose, as they say, is also good for the gander, it behoves us to
go into every season of celebration with a general sense of sharing and
feeling of consideration for the less fortunate. In this spirit one
does not have to be a Christian to lend a hand of support to the person
celebrating Christmas. As a Muslim or member of any other faith
supporting a Christian at this time is a very good idea because your
reward would be bountiful. We are basically a socially- supportive
society where one’s true worth is measured by the number of people one
has supported or is supporting. The promotion of our values of
“family-support” is a major reason why we are still the unique people
that we are.
Abeg, no bi
evribodi hol pepe. So dia fo, no foget yo nes door nebo, no trowe fes
fo pesin we yu nou se graund no levul fo. Givers they say never lack.
Happy Xmas and violence free 2011 in advance.
Mr. Oribhabor is a promoter of Naija (Nigerian Pidgin) and resides in Abuja.
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