As soon as schools close and offices shut down for the festive season (that’s what we call the Christmas holidays on my side of the world) most roads lead to the Northern part of the country.
Ok, ok, you’re lost. I would be too if I were you. Let me back it up a bit, give you a little background. The most developed part of Botswana is the Southern part of the country, so it only makes sense that most of the people naturally gravitate towards that part of the country in search of greener pastures.
So, back to my Christmas story.
People are heading back home and the atmosphere is festive! Children expect gifts of new clothes and maybe toys. Some kids only get new clothes during this time and it would be a travesty for a parent to come empty-handed. Without Christmas clothes, what would you wear to the football (soccer) tournament or the traditional choir competitions?
It is a time for families to reunite and celebrate together. I wouldn’t say we have Christmas traditions in the Western traditional sense, but we have ours. For one, rice is a must! You cannot have Christmas without rice!
The Christmas lunch is the main event: some families slaughter cows or goats, chicken is expected; don’t even try to negotiate on that! A Christmas meal is not complete until it has rice, seswaa (pounded meat), stew, salads (we go all out!), and ginger beer, we call it gemere! There is always an aunt who is the go-to person for the making of gemere and you do not mess with her if you don’t want to spend Christmas thirsty.
Even though the tradition of singing Christmas carols is starting to take off, those aren’t the Christmas songs we typically sing. When we sing “Christmas” songs we usually mean a song released towards the festive season by one of the popular artists. It almost always has nothing to do with the Christmas story, but for that year, it would be our Christmas song!
Extended families come together without fail each year, cook good food over fires, pray together and celebrate. In most cases, we spend time as a family in the morning until lunch. After lunch kids put on new clothes, adults bathe, and everyone makes their way to the football pitch or choir competition, depending on where in the country you are.
These are some of the things I’m looking forward to this Christmas season. In the comments below, share one of your Christmas traditions!
Merry Christmas from Botswana!
Reba serves as a Revelation Wellness Ambassador in her home village in Botswana, Africa. She has a ministry for children called Reset Active, where she uses games and movements to teach them about God’s love. Reba has a heart for kids to know how loved they are by the Father.
Revelation Wellness Ambassadors take the good news of Jesus to under-resourced, marginalized, and vulnerable populations through fitness and wellness. Ambassadors take God’s message of love into the entire world, but specifically to the poor and the least of these — people often overlooked and marginalized due to the physical and spiritual poverty they are experiencing in life. They teach people how to get physically and spiritually fit for their God-given purpose — to love God and love people.
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