Christmas Day celebrates the Nativity of Jesus which according to tradition took place on December 25th 1BC, December 25th is a public holiday.
°Infact, the the christians celebration of Christmas was invented by Romans as a way to co-opt and tame the nauseous pagan holiday of Saturnalia which was itself essentially a celebration of days getting longer after winter solstice.
The church in Rome began formally celebrating Christmas on December 25 in 336 during the reign of Constantine. As Constantine had made Christianity the effective religion of the empire, some have speculated that choosing this date had the political motive of weakening the established pagan celebrations.
° However the real story of Christmas Day, is based on Nativity.
The gospel of Luke and Mathew describeJesus as being born in Bethlehem to the Virgin Mary. In the gospel of Luke, Joseph and Mary travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem in order to be counted for a census, and Jesus is born there and placed in a manger.
° Christians celebrate Christmasas the birthday of Jesus Christ, and waft of joy runs through the rest of the world, rekindling hopes and reliving happiness. Joyful carols, brightly wrapped gifts, festive foods, all characterize this day.
° Christmas is the shortened form of Christ mass. Christmas is a time of spiritual reflection on the important foundation of Christian faith. It's also a celebration. It's when christians celebrate God's love for the world through the birth of the Christ: Jesus
° The Christmas story in the bible can be found in a couple of different places, mainly Mathew 1:18-2:23 and Luke 1:26-2:40. Although the word Christmas is never used in the scripture, the word itself means "Christ mass" a day ( and season) to remember the birth of Christ.
Christmas celebration; the case study of Cameroon in Africa.
°In Cameroon Christmas celebration is also celebrated on the 25th of December like any other Country in Africa. The case of this year 2024, Christmas Day Celebration was celebrated on December 25th, 2024. Before this day, many families prepare for this day in advance. In most communities parents engage in njangi contributions geared towards this great day. In most cases members contribution is tailored towards the purchase of items such as: cows to slaughter, rice, salt, Maggi, groundnut oil, savon etc to be distributed among members for the Christmas day celebration.
°On the Christmas Day one can hear the shouts and chanting of Merry Christmas, Joyeux Noël from every lip following the bicultural nature of the Country. This happens just a little after midnight.
°In Cameroon, for many people, Christmas day starts with a special church service and the children, dressed in their best clothes, sing the songs that they have practiced for this special day. After church, the whole family gather together to start a celebration and feast.
°Christmas Day is a public holiday. It is a day off for general population, and schools and most businesses are closed to give people the opportunity to feast without stress.
°However, Christmas morning varies for each household, some willgo to church while others might stay at home to prepare and help set up dinner.
°Christmas decorations go up everywhere, both outside, on the buildings, and and streets and inside the buildings. Towns and cities are lit up with beautiful lights to give it a beautiful look. Christmas carols can be heard singing Christmas songs from every corner. Meanwhile well decorated Christmas trees add to the splendor of this great day.
°On this day, some families have Christmas trees in their homes. Many families enjoya big feast with friends and relatives. Children are off from school and receive presents from their parents and some relatives.
°On Christmas Day, Christmas food is prepared to feed or serve the families, friends and relatives. Some examples of food cooked include: Jollof rice, bean stew, water fufu and Eru, corn fufu with vegetables and khati-khati, rice and stew, Achu and yellow soup, Puff puff and plantain etc. There are also drinks of all sorts bought to entertain those who come visiting, and also serve the families.
°Christmas Day Celebration is a special day celebrated in Cameroon, especially by the children. They get the best out of the celebration and can recount the event to their peers or friends once there are back in school. This Christmas celebration in Cameroon is not limited only to Christians. Muslims friends also join their christians counterparts to celebrate with them. However there are some few christians denominations that stayed aloof during this Christmas day celebration according to their own belief. That notwithstanding, Christmas Day Celebration in Cameroon this year was so amazing.