CHRISTMAS IS IN THE AIR

Christmas is more than just the chilly mornings and airy dryness that the season has come to be identified with. There is more, first being that it marks the end to all nonsense as Jesus died and took away the non in the sense.

Also, it marks a new beginning to many things and offers a hint of positivity; relationships often take a more serious outlook like ending in proper marriage or engagement, friends and enemies finally get to congregate even if for the wrong things, and we revisit old memories. For someone like me, Christmas always reminds me of past time, of a childhood spent looking like a lost waif as we raided fruit tree after fruit tree. It was a time of unbridled happiness, and we trekked the length of the whole village barefoot like we had no worries.

 Also, Christmas is a time for assessment. A facebook friend of mine made a post a few days ago asking people to reflect on their 2019. Most people had lots of things to share, while some were only grateful for life, for second chances, and for friendship. It brings on this mood, Christmas, and it just does not end here. We would also end this season with promises to do better, it doesn’t matter if we never keep those vows or not. You consciously learn to check and balance your life once the mention of Christmas becomes rampant. If you do not do this, be sure that older siblings and extended relatives will do this for you. They will stop at nothing to remind you how your friends are all getting married and innocently wonder why you still use an iPhone 5.

On a darker side, Christmas is for capitalists. I mean it is the only time of the year when people can confidently inflate prices of goods and not feel guilty about their choices. I still wonder what makes every commodity so expensive during this season, so more demand equals more money from our purses? And it doesn’t just stop here, most sellers consciously hoard the best for Christmas, because they know you want the best, and would stop at nothing to get it. Not just the commodities, everything else learns fast and triples too. Bus fares, petrol, airtime vouchers, even cigarette sticks. The answer to every confused inquiry you would make at this point will be answered with something as ridiculous as, “don’t you know it’s Christmas?”

I know quite alright. I know that Jesus died and the devil
rose in the form of Capitalism garbed in red, green, and white. 

Most importantly, all this madness often ends in the village. Isn’t it wonderful that you can spend everything you’ve struggled to save all through the year just during Christmas?

Besides, it is the perfect excuse for extravagant souls like moi to spend and not feel like I’m overdoing it. Count the different state governments too, imagine a grown-man with the tag “governor” spending something like 10 million Naira only on Christmas décor. Mad oo!