Christmas is an annual celebration of the birth of Christ, characterized by gifting, being around friends and relatives, and making beautiful memories. We asked 5 Nigerians to share their most memorable Christmas experiences with us, and this is what they said:
- Martha, 23
Most memorable should be the year I left secondary school. My family did a photoshoot, got Christmas hats and my brothers taught my dad how to play assassin’s creed. It’s the full house playing scrabble and video games once a year that makes it memorable. We all lived in different states in the country, so everyone coming together made it very special.
- Fatiha, 21
Every Christmas apart from this one is memorable for me. My cousins and their parents are Christians, and they come from Ondo State every Christmas to their holiday home in Akure. I am their favourite cousin, so I tag along. The Akure home has everything in abundance. We eat, watch Korean dramas, have fun on the balcony (great view) and talk. It’s one of my best days of the year.
- Chinenye, 24
Christmas has always meant too much cooking and stress and other annoying things at home for me, and I’ve never been that into Christmas. Last year was the most memorable. I was with Chima, my boyfriend, my little sister her boyfriend, and my friend, Lily. I made rice and chicken, and she made Afang. We had ice cream and cake, wore Christmas hats, took tons of pictures and played like little kids.
- Damilola, 23
Christmas 2007. My childhood had great Christmases, but this one stood out because it was one of the first we spent away from home. We went to my maternal grandma’s house. It was one of the few times my mom and her siblings from the same parents could be together under one roof. It was also the first time I met my cousins, and I instantly clicked with the first son, Segun, even though he was three years younger than I was. I was comfortable. This memory sticks out because it’s one of the few memories I still have of my time with my cousin before he was killed in the university about two years ago.
- Faith, 20
In November 2018, my uncle, who is a tanker driver, had an accident in Nassarawa. He was our favourite uncle, the type that dashes you money for no reason. He even sent me ₦5k last Monday. This uncle also has diabetes and treating him cost us so much. So we went from hospital to hospital trying to get him proper care. He wouldn’t stop bleeding. At the hospital, we were told he had intracranial haemorrhage. He was bleeding in his brain.
He had a surgery on the 23rd and woke up on the 24th. We were so happy ehn, Jesus. We sent him fruit salad and chicken that night.
On the 29th, his words started slurring, and he complained of a migraine when he tried to talk. They took him back to ABUTH, and we were told the bleeding was on the other side of his brain too, that the first CT scan only showed it on one side, so they had to do surgery and drain the blood on the opposite side of his head. Haa, that was how we went for surgery again. And he came out all fine. I was glad.
You can enjoy more Zikoko Christmas themed stories here.
