Christmas: How Nigerians Celebrate Christmas
Christmas in Nigeria begins months before the actual day. The average Nigerian begins saving up for the D-day as soon as September starts. These months are usually a terrible time to request money from friends or loved ones as you will most likely get the “I dey find money, Christmas dey come” line. Those that had been spending extravagantly throughout the year try their best to practice frugality.
Money saved is most times blown on the spot during the Christmas celebration. A couple of factors encourage this:
1. Increased Price of Goods and Services
The holidays and festive periods in Nigeria are naturally those times that market women, tailors, and hairdressers. This price increase can be as bad as the price of a formerly #250 product selling for #650. People who offer services also increase their wages to get enough money to celebrate Christmas and buy those expensive goods.
This year the price of goods has skyrocketed due to factors like border closure and insecurity in the country. Nevertheless, for Nigerians, Christmas must be celebrated. In the days before December 25th, marketplaces across Nigeria will witness a heavy influx of customers who are eager to buy goods.
2. The Urge to Impress
During Christmas, it is very difficult to fight the urge to impress. If you’re hosting or attending family reunions, you might be under an invisible pressure to “perform” like others. Money is usually spent on things like:
- Buying Clothes, Shoes and other Accessories: Almost everyone wants something new for Christmas and clothes and accessories have always been an easy choice. These gorgeous outfits are usually worn on Christmas day. These can also be used as Christmas gifts to be presented to loved ones.
- Family Reunions: Great migrations occur during the Christmas/festive period as thousands of persons leave their homes for their hometowns across the country. For them, the end of year celebrations is an opportunity to showcase how much you have been able to achieve throughout the year(monetary achievement and otherwise).
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Nigerian Christmas Traditions
Christmas in Nigeria is a colorful event characterized by high energy and an air of festivity. Little wonder that the days after Christmas can feel drab and colorless in comparison. Before Christmas, most families in Nigeria observe one or all of these traditions.
1. Installing Christmas Decorations
Decorating the Christmas tree, installing Christmas lights, and hanging Holly on the walls are traditions that happen every year. These decorations are put up to give the house a Christmas feel.
2. Repainting of Home and Cleaning of Surroundings
In the weeks before Christmas, most homes undergo a serious overhaul. The walls are usually covered with fresh paint and the house, cleaned thoroughly. This is done to create the Christmas atmosphere and also in preparation for the arrival of extended family members.
3. Stocking the Pantry With Foodstuff
In the days or weeks before Christmas, the homemaker would usually go to the market and buy foodstuff. Perishable goods like tomatoes and pepper could be bought, steamed, and stored for later use. Others like rice and beans are kept. Christmas is not a time for running around the market but for relaxation and since the Christmas celebration runs into the New Year celebrations, plans are made for both.
4. Purchase of Knockouts
There is almost no Christmas without knockouts. People purchase knockouts that are called “bangers” which are lit and make loud noises when they explode.
5. Churches
The day before Christmas or on Christmas day, some Nigerians go to church to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas clothes are usually worn for this service.
6. Carols
During Christmas, carols blast through the speakers. Popular Christmas carols played in Nigeria include but are not limited to:
- Hark the Herald
- Jingle Bell
- Silent Night
- O come all ye faithful
- The First Noel
- Little Drummer boy
- Deck the halls
- We wish you a Merry Christmas
- Felix Navidad
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7. Father Christmas
The difference between Santa Claus and the Nigerian Father Christmas is their personality. Father Christmas is an eccentric being who does not hide but dances in public to entertain thrilled crowds of children. The Nigerian father Christmas also gives Christmas gifts by hand or throws them into the air instead of hiding them in stockings!
Merry Christmas in Nigerian Languages
Hausa: barka dá Kirsimati
Yoruba: ‘E ku odun, e ku iye’dun
Igbo: ‘E keresimesi Oma
Edo: Iselogbe
Nigerian Christmas Food By Region
Christmas Food in Southern Nigeria
Ukodo
Ukodo is a southern Nigerian delicacy that involves adding yam and plantain to pepper soup.
Ingredients
- Yams
- Goat meat
- Dry pepper
- Seasoning
- Pepper Soup spice
- Crayfish
- Dry fish
- Salt.
Steps
- Wash your meat into a pot.
- Add pepper, pepper soup spice, seasoning, and salt.
- Mix.
- Add water and allow to boil
- Cut yam into pieces.
- Rinse and add to the pot of meat.
- Add water and leave to boil.
- Serve hot.
Pepper Soup
Ingredients
- Meat and offal
- Chili Pepper
- Basil leave
- Seasoning
- Onion
- Crayfish
- Salt
Steps
- Wash the meat thoroughly
- Add salt and pepper soup seasoning
- Add chili pepper
- Add onion
- Add crayfish
- Add basil leave(optional)
- Leave to boil
- Stop cooking when meat is properly cooked.
- Serve hot.
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White Rice and Banga Soup
Banga soup
Banga soup is a delicious dish made from boiling palm nuts until a puree is formed. It can be eaten with swallow or rice.
Ingredients
- Banga soup
- Pepper
- Onion
- Dry fish
- Beef
- Vegetable
- Crayfish
- Salt
- Seasoning
Steps
- Wash palm nuts and put them into a pot to boil
- Put soft nuts into a mortar and pound.
- Wash into a pulp and place in a pot
- Put meat and fish in a pot
- Add onion and seasoning.
- Boil until meat is softened.
- Add the banga pulp
- Leave to boil
- Add the vegetables
- Leave to boil for a few minutes.
- Serve hot.
Christmas Food in Eastern Nigeria
Nkwobi
Nkwobi is a spicy delicious dish from Eastern Nigeria, made with cow foot, palm oil, and seasoning. It is an expensive dish usually eaten during festive periods or sold in restaurants.
Ingredients
- 2 Big Cow foot Cut into Small Chunks
- 3-4 pieces of Medium stock fish/ Okporoko/ Panla (Optional)
- 1/2 Cup Palm oil
- 1.5 Cups Ugba/Oil Bean
- 1 Levelled Tablespoon Ground Ehuru (Calabash nutmeg seeds)
- 2 Tablespoons Pepper Soup Spice
- 1 medium Onion ( Optional)
- 3-4 Scotch Bonnet/Atarodo
- 1 Teaspoon Kaun/Akawun/ Edible Potash
- 3 Tablespoons Ground Crayfish
- 3 Knorr Cubes, Preferably Knorr Chicken
- Salt to Taste
For Garnishing…
- Chopped Utazi leaves
- 2 Medium Size Red Onions Cut Into Rings.
Preparation:
- First, thoroughly clean, then wash and boil the cow foot on medium to high heat. Add enough water to boil, then add the whole onion if you’re using any. Add the Knorr cubes and salt to taste. Boil till very soft, then discard the onion. To save time, you can use a pressure cooker for this.
- Add the stockfish into a medium-size pot, add one Knorr cube and salt to taste, and boil till tender. Alternatively, you can just put them into a microwaveable bowl, add water, cover, and heat till it’s tender. When it’s tender, shred into bite-size chunks and set aside.
- Dissolve the Akawun/Potash in a cup of stock from the boiled cow leg. Alternatively, you can just use hot water. You won’t succeed in dissolving all of the Potash, some particles will settle at the bottom….
- Add the scotch bonnet, crayfish, and the ground Ehuru into a blender, blend till smooth…
- If you’re using Ugba, pour the Ugba into a small pot, add water and salt to taste, boil for 3 minutes and set aside…You don’t need to boil your Ugba if you trust the source, however, it’s advisable to eliminate all traces of dirt and germs. Better safe than sorry.
- Place another pot on the hob on medium heat, or just transfer the boiled cow foot into another container and place the same pot back on the hob. Add the palm oil, then add Akawun mixture gradually, be careful not to add the particles/ residue and be careful not to add too much of the mixture, you’ll need the consistency to be thick and not fluid, stir till it thickens considerably. This is called the Ngo sauce…
- Now add the boiled cow leg, make sure the meat has cooled down first and isn’t piping hot….
- Add the shredded stockfish.
- Now, add the blended pepper and crayfish mix, pepper soup spice, and mix thoroughly.
- If you’re using Ugba, strain and add into the pot at this time, stir. Combine thoroughly and leave to cook for 3-5 minutes, and it’s ready….
- Serve immediately, garnish with onion rings, and thinly sliced Utazi leaves.
- Enjoy!
Source: SisJemimah
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Fufu and Uha Soup
Uha soup is an Eastern favorite. It is made with Uha leaves, seasoning, and thickeners like cocoyam. It is usually eaten with fufu and some other type of swallow.
Uha Soup
- Uha leaves
- Smoked fish
- Palm oil
- Onion
- Pepper
- Meat
- Onion
- Basil leave
- Crayfish
- Seasoning
- Cocoyam
Steps
- Boil the meat with the seasoning and onions
- Boil the cocoyam for twenty minutes
- Remove bones from fish and add to meat.
- Add water
- Add oil
- Add pepper
- Leave to boil
- Blend cocoyam and add to soup.
- Add crayfish
- Chop vegetables
- Add vegetables
- Leave to boil for a few minutes
- Serve hot.
Christmas Food in Western Nigeria
Amala and Ewedu
Amala is made from flour realized through blending dry plantain or yam. It is created when this flour is poured into hot water and turned.
Ewedu Soup
This is a Yoruba delicacy. This is usually eaten with some kind of stew added to it.
Ingredients
- Ewedu
- Water
- Crayfish
- Maggi
- Iru (Locust beans)
- Salt.
Steps
- Pick Ewedu leaves
- Wash carefully and place in a pot.
- Add water, Iru and leave to boil
- When the leaves are soft, take off the fire and leave to boil.
- Blend everything (together) with a little water.
- Pour back into the pot and boil for a few minutes.
- Serve hot.
Image Source: Unsplash.com
Christmas Food in Northern Nigeria
Tuwo Shinkafa and Miyan Taushe
Tuwo shinkafa is a Northern delicacy consisting of mashed native rice and some kind of soup. One such soup eaten alongside Tuwo Shinkafa is Miyan Tuashe soup.
Miyan Taushe
Ingredients
- Sorrel leaves
- Pepper
- Salt
- Meat
- Seasoning cubes
- Spinach
- Onions
- Palm oil
- Roasted Groundnut
- Tomatoes
- Pumpkin
Steps
- Blend tomatoes, pepper, and onions
- Put on the cooker to steam
- Boil the meat until soft.
- Peel the pumpkin and add to the pot of meat.
- Leave to boil
- Blend groundnuts.
- Add steamed tomatoes to meat
- Add blended pumpkin
- Add salt and seasoning
- Add palm oil
- Leave to boil for twenty minutes.
- Add vegetables
- Leave to boil for five minutes
- Serve hot.
Merry Christmas in advance!!
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