November goes by quickly and a certain breeze greets us. There is a mad rush in supermarkets and shops as almost everyone tries to do business before everything gets expensive.
Families plan to spend time together and lot’s of travellers return home. Some call it the Yuletide, others call it Christmas. No matter how you choose to call it, this represents a period of love, happiness and giving.
Ghanaians however do not celebrate Christmas any differently from the rest of the world although there are a few noticeable differences.
Christmas in Ghana is fun and relaxing at the same time but there are a few fun facts about the festivities in Ghana. Jumia travel, Africa’s leading online travel website looks at a few of these facts as we anticipate this year’s Christmas.
Christmas tree – Have you ever wondered the significance of a christmas tree? Why do many people have it in their homes and companies at this time of the year. Now this may surprise you. One man, Yves Piaget, spent over £10 million (that’s over $13 million US dollars) on decorating his Christmas tree. The tree was lavishly decorated with 83 pieces of jewellery in Tokyo. In Ghana, more than half of the population don’t.use a Christmas tree anymore.
The few who do, do not spend much on them. You may find only a few rich and luxury loving people buidling giant christmas trees at home. The bulk of fancy christmas trees you may find are the ones at hotels and other companies. Fun fact : 90% of Ghanaians would rather buy chicken than buy a christmas tree.
Weight Gain – Have you ever heard of the term ‘’obolo’’? This is a popular Ghanaian term used to identify persons with excessive weight or those who have gained an appreciable amount of weight over a short period of time. Funny enough, there are a lot of ‘’obolo’s’’ in Ghana when the new year comes. Need you ask why? Christmas is a period where Ghanaians, just like many others all over the world eat excessively.
Maybe not because they want to but just because they have to. There is a general abundance of food everywhere and it’s difficult to maintain a 3 meal a day habbit. You may end up eating between 4 to 5 times with drinks and snacks in between.
Even if you don’t have the means to eat and your family doesn’t prepare regular meals around this time, there is always that neighbour or friend who will invite you over or visit you with an already set buffet. Fun fact : One out of every three persons in Ghana will gain weight before the new year.
No funerals – Not your regular fun fact but since funerals are not occasions of joy and they bring so much sorrow and pain, it is fun not to have them at all during this period. Never will you see a funeral being held close to the Christmas period.
NEVER!!! This is a period when everything that connotes sadness, sorrow and pain is put away and far from us. A period when the only thing we care about is love, joy and happiness. A period when nothing else matters but pure joy and appreciation of life. For once, we leave the pain and sorrow behind to concentrate on the good things in life. Fun fact : This is the only period in the year when Ghanaians do not have funerals.
You will find the Muslim and the Atheist partying with the Christians as much as the traditionalists cooking and sharing with everyone else. Fun Fact : Christmas in Ghana is not for Christians, it’s for everyone.
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Credit : Bennet Otoo, Jumia Travel