Christmas

It’s funny how we come to associate one thing or another with a particular event.  To me Christmas is supposed to be accompanied by cold weather (usually snow), Christmas music, a tree and baked goods.  Here in Kenya, although it is a day of family get-togethers, a holiday, it doesn’t seem like Christmas to me.  No cold weather.  In fact, it is in the 70s (I think).  No familiar Christmas tunes.  No evergreen trees…not even a plastic one.  No baked goods. 

On Christmas Eve, there was no children’s re-enactment of the Christmas story, but the girls and I plaited our hair.  On Christmas, we celebrated the day by spending all morning preparing food with 3 different fires and a jiko.  We made about 100 chapati, rice, potatoes, sukuma wikii, peas, beans, mandazi, and a few other things, slaughtered a goat and a chicken (something I did not witness, but the cries reached the kitchen), and cleaned the place despite the rain in preparation for about 50 family members who were coming.  The sun shone as the visitors arrived, but poured down as we carried plates of food from the kitchen to the house (to the sitting room and bedrooms) to be served.  It was a busy, but enjoyable day, that like most celebratory events in Kenya revolved around eating, drinking tea, and giving/listening to speeches.  Hope you had a merry Christmas.  Happy New Year!