Editor’s note: For this special edition of Food Musings, Naij.com contributor, Ifeyinwa Nzeka, reminisces about Christmases past and talks about what she misses most. She also discusses what the true spirit of Christmas should be. Share your ideas of this theme in the comments. Merry Christmas.
At some point between Perry Como’s Home for the Holidays and Do you Hear what I Hear, I began crying uncontrollably. What was the matter?
I had been having a relaxing couple of days back and decided to play some Christmas carols, some of which were my late dad’s favorites, which unconsciously filled me with memories of him and the fun times we had during this season when he was alive and well, the tears came rolling. I missed my dad.
In between the tears, I realized If I could have one meal with just one person, anyone, this Christmas, it would be my dad and it would be his lovely and delicious “scientific stew” he made at Christmas when it was the “men’s” turn to do the Christmas cooking, which was usually whenever it pleased him to delight us with his delicacies. And if it was possible to sit down and have a Christmas meal with my dad, just one more time, I will not forget to thank him for the wonderful memories.
READ ALSO: 8 Ways To Be The Perfect Guest This Christmas Season
I subsequently reached out to other people to find answers to the same question I had asked myself… If you could have one meal with just one person this Christmas, who would it be be and what meal would you be having? And what would you like to ask or tell this person?
Chidinma Okpara (Nigerian Lazy Chef)
Honestly, it would be my dad. I remember Christmas with my dad. He always had to have the chicken legs and the butt. He enjoyed rice and stew, but he would eat jollof and fried rice for our sake. I loved eating with him because he shared his meat with me. And his egusi soup, finger licking
Tayo Lekan-Agbaje (fitness guru at FADD Fitness Addict)
It would be my parents, my husband and daughter. Did u say one person? Oops! I am happy I still have my parents alive- reading posts of those who have lost their dads reaffirms my resolve of never taking things for granted.
READ ALSO: Check Out 20 Greatest Quotes About Food
Ruona J. Meyer (award winning journalist)
It would be my dad. He lived for Christmas but died three days to Christmas in 2006. A workaholic, once Christmas came around, he would be like a real child. A total foodie, he would start not with carols, but by talking about the menu with Mother. We usually started with an “English breakfast” which I put in quotes because it was adapted to Pop’s tastes. Bread, bacon, sausages, steamed livers, eggs and mashed fried mackerel fish to which curry had been added. Don’t ask why all this…I grew to see this. Lunch was usually traditional. Ohwo or Banga soup (or both) and starch, which would always be served to Pop in a native pot. Dinner was always available, and could be rice of any kind with fried chicken or peeled beans boiled then fried in stew which he ate with VERY over ripe plantains. The plantains had to be almost rotten or he was having none of it. In between meals he would lay on the sofa and drink Fanta with chin-chin or biscuits from the numerous hampers he received from work or some of the Vanilla ice-cream he usually stocked up on specifically for Christmas. So if Dad were my guest, we would do it all again, including the gifts. I would ask what he thought of my cooking, and my life and career choices.
Nikki Laoye (Nigerian recording artist, singer, songwriter, dancer and philanthropist)
With my Dad. Miss him terribly. Holidays and every other day were always fun with him. Laughter nonstop, mischief mode on overload. And of cos, that correct oyinbo Christmas breakfast with everyone sitting at the table by fire by force… Dad and his Britico ways… Four years and counting without him.
READ ALSO: Check Out 9 “Unusual” Gifts Nigerians Love To Exchange At Christmas
Apart from knowing that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of baby Jesus, we can sometimes lose sight of the true meaning of the season. We find ourselves going through the motions of the Christmas fanfare without much thought but that moment when I broke down in tears caused me to reflect on what the season as a whole truly means.
It is a season of love (in the same way that God so loved the world that he gave his Son…), of coming together (like the shepherds in the hillsides and then the wise men travelling from the East), of giving and finding a way to bring the greatest happiness to others, of families sitting down together around a table to share a meal at Christmas and every member of that family realizing that every hug, every smile, every laugh, every dance, every misunderstanding, every minute spent cooking up a Christmas meal and every breath that we take are blessings and gifts and every moment that we get to spend with daddy, mummy, grandpa, grandma, brother, sister, daughter, son, cousin or friend should be cherished. Remembering that those memories are what counts and we will be unable to turn back time or reset the clock.
So cherish every moment and every meal this season. Merry Christmas!
Ifeyinwa Nzeka for Naij.com
Ifeyinwa Nzeka is a Cordon Bleu trained chef, hospitality practitioner and blogger who is passionate about Nigerian food and cuisine.
The post SHARE: What Is Your Favourite Christmas Family Tradition? appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM.
from Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read on NAIJ.COM http://ift.tt/1mCELEc
via Latest News
Post a Comment