I can hardly believe it is December. It used to take at least two-and-a-half years for Christmas Day to come around back when I was younger. The Eschastos Brides, Philly Lutaaya and Boney M’s Felis Navidad filled the streets for weeks before the happy event.

Back then we actually grew a Christmas tree for ourselves. Come to think of it, we grew the unfortunate Christmas dinner turkey, too. We hot combed our hair – with droplets of water fizzling and popping with the copious amounts of Morgan’s Hair Pomade. It was risky business, but what were a few burn marks compared to the glory of a beautiful half-afro (Maria) hairstyle for the day? Bedecked in our frilliest dresses and neatly pressed suits, we filed to church to hear magnificently sung carols and a sermon which for once was not too long. We did not mind being in church for hours – it gave the public longer to see us in our Sunday best.

Today, a week to Christmas, I am decidedly underwhelmed. There are no carols playing in the shops. No carol service at the town hall. No Christmas tree in the backyard. No turkeys gobbling noisily in the compound. There is just a sense of surprise that Christmas is here so quickly, and worry that I will not have enough money to spend to show the people I love that I love them. You see, we spend so little time together that we feel we must bridge the gap with grand financial gestures. So here I am, rushing about in search of gifts and cards and extra pennies to buy more gifts and cards; all the time wondering what would make Christmas special for me again.

I was chatting this morning with a friend I have not seen in ages and the subject somehow came round to eulogies – maybe because so many people have died in the past weeks. We spoke about how futile it is to wait till someone is dead before you start saying nice things about them. I thought about how Christmas and death are linked – Christians celebrate the birth of a Messiah who comes to earth specifically to die for them.

While it is still nice to receive gifts on the day, I do not really expect many. Now is the time to make Christmas special for the children; to buy them gifts and watch their little faces light up with the spirit of Christmas. For me, though, the spirit of Christmas will be one of living eulogies. I want to tell as many people as possible how special they are while they are still with me. The greatest gift we have is life and breath – all we need to spread season’s cheer. Have a blessed Christmas.

Published on Sunday December 20, 2009