The former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity durong Dr Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, Reuben Abati has added to his voice to the thousands of prominent personalities who are wishing Christians a good celebration.
Examining how Nigerians used to celebrate Christmas, Abati stated that “Christmas looks so different these days from what it was when I was growing up. It is so different it is almost unrecognizable. In this same country, in the 70s, Christmas was a season of celebration, but also of spiritual upliftment, joy abundant, hope, reaffirmation of faith in the certainty of Salvation, and the ritual of that which begins, and that which ends, as a New Year beckoned.
READ ALSO: XMAS: Saraki Preaches Spirit Of Love And Peace
“We were brought up on a steady diet of Sunday School lessons, and so Christmas and Easter were very much a part of our growing up. We always looked forward to Christmas with excitement. It was that time of the year when we all wanted to act one role or the other in the re-enactment of the drama of Nativity.”
The Senate president, Senator Bukola Saraki said the spirit of love and peace during Yuletide season are the necessary ingredients needed in order to put Nigeria at its rightful position among the committees of nations of the world.
Reuben Abati
In analysing the nitty-gritties of how Christmas should be celebratedreuben , the former spokesperson of Dr Jonathan explained how everyone rejoiced and enjoyed the goodness of the season whenever Christmas comes.
Abati said: “The preparation for this drama, which was usually staged during Christmas service, to the sound of melodious songs and priestly excitement, was the high point on Christmas Day of the celebration of Christ The Lord. Weeks earlier, the church organized Christmas Carols. If you made the special choir, you felt as if you had won a lottery. Everyone was a songster of sorts, belting out Christmas Carols in both English and the local language. Parents singing. Children singing. Everyone dancing. The feel-good mood was so intense. You could run into people on the streets and the standard greeting, be they Muslims or Christians, was Merry Christmas! The official church Carol team went from one church member’s home to another to deliver the good tidings of the season and to announce the coming birth of the Saviour. Christmas strengthened our sense of community, and our Christianity and faith as well.
“It was also that time of the year for the reinforcement of family values. People whom you had not seen for the whole year travelled home from their stations to be part of Christmas. You got the chance to meet cousins, make new friends, and sing till you almost went hoarse. I wasn’t much of a singer or drummer- my friends used to laugh each time I missed a note or a beat and we would spend weeks afterwards mimicking each other. In short, Christmas was real fun. But it was relatively a simple, inexpensive celebration, year after year. Our parents did not have to borrow, or go bankrupt, or agonize, for Christmas to be meaningful.
“We got one or two new clothes and shoes: those were the usual Christmas gifts. On Christmas day, after church, lunch didn’t have to be anything extra-ordinary: it was no more than rice and chicken. In those days, chicken was a special delicacy, reserved for Sundays, or special occasions like birthdays or Christmas, very much unlike now that every child acquires the taste for tasty chicken from the womb! On Boxing Day, we either visited friends or stayed home, and played with firecrackers and bangers on the streets. Those children who could not afford bangers were not left out. They improvised with local devices made by blacksmiths. That contraption produced even better effect.”
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