Suwilanji Nambaya erzählt über Weihnachten in Sambia…
Christmas celebrations in Zambia
By Suwilanji Nambaya
Lusaka, Zambia
It is that time of the year when both children and adults are in a festive mood.
Almost all places like malls, offices and homes are being decorated with Christmas trees and other kinds of décor.
Christmas is celebrated in different kinds of ways according to religion and beliefs.
Some years back when I was growing up, we believed that Christmas was the day you get to wear nice clothes and eat good food.
Our parents would make potato salads, grilled chicken served with rice or pasta and they would give us new nice clothes to wear. There was nothing like Christmas trees or santa claus giving free gifts to children.
The normal routine of celebrating Christmas in Zambia is by going to church and having a good meal afterwards. According to Christians, Christmas is believed to be the day that Jesus was born. What happens at church is that children or young adults perform plays about Mary and the birth of Jesus, poetry, plenty of Christmas carols are sang and other churches have a party.
Nowadays, due to the advanced technology and new acquired knowledge, Christmas is celebrated in a more different way. People now take each other and their families for movies, dinner, they exchange gifts, play games, tell stories and all kinds of other forms of
entertainment. Mostly people go out for wine and beer and go for dancing in night clubs. The other party decides to spend time with
their families and follow the normal tradition of going to church. Till date, due to the cartoons and movies that children watch,
they tend to wonder why they never have santa give them free gifts. In turn, they trouble their parents for gifts and sweets, but not all
parents can afford to buy gifts or take their families for an outing.
For others, Christmas is just like any other normal day where you get to eat nshima with okra or beans. Those celebrating will be done with Christmas the minute they have had their bulky meal :D.
Personally, I take this festive season to be the best part of the year because I get to celebrate three things; my birthday which I
already celebrated on the 5th of December, Christmas and new year’s eve. As can be seen I am one of the happiest people during this month and season because I get to get special treats and gifts using my birthday as an excuse :D. This time around, I plan to go for dinner with my best friends on Christmas eve and attend a church service on Christmas day.
This is how Christmas is celebrated in Zambia but others may have a different experience according to family background and
beliefs.
S.Nambaya
