The festive season brings a wave of nostalgia for Christmas traditions from our childhood. For Nigerians, Christmas is a time for family, friends, food, and celebration. We caught up with a few women who shared their favourite Christmas traditions from their childhood in Nigeria.
Knockout disaster
“I broke my front teeth running from a knockout,” Tobiloba recounts. She broke her front teeth at just 12 years old after her older brother threw a sparked knockout in her direction as a joke. “For Christmas every year, my dad would get packs of knockouts and fireworks for my siblings and I and we would go wild starting Christmas Eve,” she reveals.
However, this Christmas tradition was stopped after Tobi’s unfortunate incident. “My mum was livid and stopped the tradition, but weirdly, it’s still my favourite memory of Christmas from my childhood,” she fondly states.
Amaka’s Igbo Christmas
@thatwanderinggirlll I have so many questions… has everyone japa’d?, abi are all of you doing dirty december in Lagos? The people blocking the road, where are they going to?😂 . . . #igbochristmas #villagechristmas #villageliving ♬ original sound – That.wandering.girlll
“Christmas is always a time for family reunions,” recalls Amaka, who hails from Enugu State. “Our extended family would gather at my grandparents’ house in the village, and we’d have a party,” she says.
Amaka says her favourite part of this long-standing tradition is spending time with her cousins. She said, “We’d spend hours laughing, sharing stories from our escapades during the year and taking turns defending ourselves from our parents and their complaints.”
Christmas symbolises the importance of family and community for her, and she looks forward to making more memories this year.
Precious’ house-hopping adventures
“House-hopping was a big part of my childhood,” says Precious, who grew up in Abuja. “We lived in an estate and we were all friendly. The children would go from house to house during the holidays to get Christmas goodies.”
She adds, “We’d receive food, drinks, and money from parents which made the experience even more enjoyable. It taught me generosity, and now I entertain people around me during the holidays.”
Prayers before anything
“Christmas morning was always filled with prayers,” says Faith, who grew up in Lagos. “My parents are pastors and deeply religious. Their idea of Christmas is to wake my siblings and I early, for a 2-hour devotion session to talk about the significance of the birth of Christ.”
She adds, “I still dread those devotions and that is why you will never catch me in my family house on Christmas morning. I will see them on Boxing Day.”
Akara first, then comes Jollof
“Christmas food is always the highlight of the season,” says Busayo, who spends the holidays in Ibadan with family. “Breakfast is always Akara and Ogi, then Jollof rice for lunch and dinner.”
While Busayo doesn’t enjoy cooking during the holidays, she loves to eat. “The trick to getting away with it is to exert uselessness early. I make many intentional mistakes, so my mom chases me out of the kitchen,” she says, with a smirk.
“The Jollof rice, chicken, and moi moi are always a hit, and I’m not stressed over the holidays,” she adds.
As we celebrate the festive season, reflecting on the Christmas traditions that shaped our childhood is heartwarming. Whether you’re celebrating with family, friends or alone, we hope these stories inspire you to begin your traditions.
