By Kevin Lambert

Although it isn’t an official state religion, Christianity is the principal faith in Akwa Ibom. Holidays are given and everyone enjoys the time off. The biggest similarity to our celebrations is the midnight mass on Christmas Eve, which Akwaibomites enjoy mightily.
The midnight mass marks the beginning of the holidays, rather than here, where the dictates of the marketplace start things somewhere after the 4th of July.

Christmas in Nigeria is a time for traveling back to the home village. It’s a journey rich with others. Father Pius T.T Ajiki, chaplain for the Nigerian Catholic Apostleate in the Washington Archdiocese, says, "Every Nigerian comes from a village, and most cities appear to be empty."

Drawing by Adeyeye Abiodum, Uyo

Chibuzo Onukwufor, a Nigerian living in the DC area, says, "When you go home at a time of celebration like this, it’s the only time you get to see your relatives. You don’t have time to do anything else. Poor people come to the house – some are known, some aren’t – and no matter how tenuous the family connection is, it is probably worth a couple of Naira."
On Christmas day itself, the faithful go to church for services. Afterwards, most people celebrate with dancing, drumming, and feasting.

Nigeria is a country rich in cultural plays. There are different plays to be performed at different occasions, performed in the town square on Christmas evening. The Ekon play is probably the most popular.

"There are masquerades during Christmas," says Father Pius. "Every tribe has its own masquerade. When I was a child I did them. We would get gorgeously dressed, and the children usually dance. Some ‘creatures’ are wicked. Some dress like the queen of the ocean.
"If they don’t have masquerade, they organize dances."

Gifts are usually clothes, rather than toys, and the kids really look forward to them. On Christmas they visit their friends and show them off. Nigerian children even visit their enemies, or the children of their parent’s enemies. Father Pius: "It is a time of reconciliation."

Gifts for the Poor
Traditionally in Nigeria, Christmas is a time of giving gifts to the less fortunate. "People visit the homes of the poor and bring gifts," says Father Pius. "Others cook for them."
In southern Nigeria, "It is taboo to see a relative begging on the street," says Onukwufor. "It brings shame to the entire family." But poor people are never hard to find.

Food
Only the rich have turkey, which is of course imported. So a traditional Christmas meal in Nigeria is more likely to include beef, goat, sheep, ram or chicken. Other dishes might include jollof rice, fried rice, vegetable salad and some type of stew, and the ubiquitous fu fu. (Fu fu is the starchy staple of every West African’s diet, usually covered with stews or sauces. In Western Africa, Fufu is usually made from pounded yams, sometimes combined with plantains.)

Santa Claus Looks Evil
Some Western images transplant well and some don’t. Pictures of Shirley Temple worked for the Haitian Voodoo goddess of fertility. But Santa Claus didn’t make the jump. He is not a figure one sees on the streets, or indeed, almost anywhere.

"Nigerians think Santa Claus is an evil thing," says Father Pius. "His costume looks phony. They want something really natural, like the masquerade. So they must be peaceful masquerades."
Xmas trees do not grow anywhere near Nigeria, so there are wreaths of palm branches instead. In Nigerian tradition, palm fronds signify peace.

Travel to the home villages can be a rough ride. The lack of a rail system, a lot of bad roads, and the recent troubles in the airline industry have made the journey more of an odyssey than a happy memory.

"Transport and gas go up,’ says Father Pius. "Christmas is the best season for the black market." While we bemoan our rampant commercialism, Nigerians are saddened by the contrast between the message of peace and the state of the nation and the disparity of incomes.
Christmas, as in every Christian land, is a celebration, and parties can get rowdy. But the mood for dancing and rejoicing attracts many people who profit from visiting wealthy city folk. Rural pickpockets seem especially blessed.

It Is Still A Happy Time
Mostly, Christmas represents a time for families to get together, very often compared with our Thanksgiving. It is almost always a happy time. Nigerians, like celebrants the world over, love their families, and Christmas gives them a c hance to interact with them. "If someone has children they are not really poor," says Father Pius. "Extended families take care of their poorer ones. A family in Nigeria from 40 to 500 people, if they are not up to 40 they are not a family yet."

We leave you with the Ibibio phrase for Merry Christmas: "Eiaukabaeisua."