I think it's safe to say that most families in Nigeria share similar traditions in the month of December and I know it's not the same for all families but there are certain things that are similar. For example, a lot of families eat rice and chicken on Christmas day (fried rice, jollof rice, rice and stew, or any other variations of rice). There are also some that decorate their homes, and we can say they are similar in that aspect.
There are also families that go to different outings and events, especially on Christmas week. Back in the day, my parents always took us out on Christmas and Boxing Day to different fun centers in the city such as the zoo, amusement parks, eateries, etc. But these days, they don't even bother anymore since we are all grown up and it's up to us if we want to go out or not. I usually just spend the day indoors as I can't deal with the buzz of those particular days, seeing as everyone picks that day to go out as well.
So then, what are those regular traditions we do in my family every December even till now? Well, we usually treat every day in December as every other normal day except for Christmas Eve and every other day leading to the new year. For as long as I can remember, my mom always takes us to church on Christmas Eve for the night mass and now that we are all grown up, me and my siblings have continued with that tradition out of habit.
It will feel like something is wrong if we don't go to church on Christmas Eve and these days we can choose not to, unlike when we were kids and we had no choice. One thing I enjoy about going to church on Christmas Eve is the rich nightlife that comes with it. There is this man I always buy meshai (stir-fried noodles and eggs) from for the past 10 years. His store is close to my church and he only comes out at night, so Christmas or New Year's Eve is usually when I can buy from him. This guy's meshai is the best I have ever tasted.
One other thing that has always been a norm every December in my family is the food we eat on Christmas day. It has always been white rice and tomato stew prepared with chicken. My dad always buys live chicken and we kill it on the morning of Christmas. Back when I was a kid, my dad used to kill it himself and I just helped him to de-feather it and cut it into small chunks, but these days I do all that by myself with my sister assisting me.
Then on the last day of December, we also end the year in church with the New Year's Eve mass. This one is even bigger than Christmas Eve's own because more people attend the mass and if you're late, you won't even see anywhere to sit. Also on this last day, my dad always prepares catfish pepper soup at night (he doesn't go with us to church) and we enjoy it with cold drinks when we come back from church, which is usually around 1 am 😋
These things I have mentioned are what we usually do every December, the ones I didn't mention are either something we have stopped doing (like traveling to the village every year or my dad buying fireworks for us) or something entirely new that we started recently. This year won't be any different as I'm sure we will still keep up with the usual traditions.
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