While most people rarely associate Christmas with Africa, this joyous holiday is an exciting time of the year for many people who call the continent home. In Africa, Christmas is a vibrant celebration that people love and enjoy with family and friends. Forget the snow, fir trees and mulled wine. In Africa, Christmas is all about festive concerts, sunny outdoor feasts and Christmas street parades. For almost everyone in Africa, Christmas is a time to gather with friends and family, go to church and enjoy a big feast - but every country also has its own unique festive traditions.
Christmas is a significant holiday in Africa for a reason. Scholars believe that Christianity came to North Africa in the 1st century AD without any European influence. According to findings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ethiopians, later on, adopted the religion in the fourth century. Christianity became a dominant religion early on in Africa alongside Islam, which was also widely practiced. The two beliefs are still the most prominent ones in Africa today. A survey from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity found that 631 million Christians live in Africa. The highest percentage of Christians in Africa are located in Zambia, with 95% of people practicing Christianity.
With Christians making up almost half of the continent’s population, Christmas is a big deal in Africa, and they sure know how to celebrate. With the religion holding such prevalence in Africa, Christmas is a holiday that many Africans eagerly celebrate. And as Christianity proceeds to grow in Africa, the holiday and its traditions will continue to play a significant role in various African countries and kingdoms.
Common Christmas Traditions in Africa
While the holiday customs in Africa are unique, there are some that you may find familiar. Christmas is a time of year where people in Africa worship, gather, sing, dance, give, and serve others.
Church Services
With Christianity playing such a significant role in Africa, it's essential to the people that the church gets involved in the holiday. In most African countries, church services are the most important Christmas tradition. The Yuletide season is all about honouring the birth of Jesus and you’ll find church services on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Many Africans go to church to celebrate Christmas.
Read also: Celebrating Christmas: African American Heritage
Gift-Giving and Community Service
Gift-giving is a worldwide tradition, and Africa is no exception. For Christmas, Africans love to gather around to give each other gifts. Most Africans like to give each other affordable presents or provide services as their Christmas gifts to loved ones. However, if someone has a little extra spending money, it's not uncommon to see that person donate items to orphanages, churches, or impoverished communities. Another popular Christmas tradition in Nigeria centers around community service. For Christmas, the churches in Nigeria like to organize events for people to visit homeless shelters, orphanages, and struggling families.
Christmas Dinner
As in many places, families love to gather around for a good Christmas dinner. In Africa, this is a tradition that you see people take very seriously. One of the main holiday traditions in Tanzania is the Christmas dinner. In this country, people celebrate Christmas by purchasing a goat or cow in January. These gatherings include a Christmas dinner that comes with goat or cow meat, corn cake or chapati, and meat stew with vegetables and potatoes.
Decorating Christmas Trees
Even if there's no snow, that doesn't stop people in Africa from decorating a Christmas tree to get in the holiday spirit. It's common to see people use handmade decorations, bells, and lanterns to decorate their Christmas tree.
Unique Christmas Customs in African Countries
While some Christmas traditions in Africa are similar to those you see worldwide, certain African countries have their own unique holiday customs.
Eswatini
In the little known Kingdom of Eswatini, the Christmas traditions won't focus on material things since many of the people are experiencing poverty. In Eswatini, people start their holiday at church to worship, sing, and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. And afterward, they love to have a good meal with one another, where they can sit, laugh, and spend quality time together.
Read also: Ethiopian Christmas Traditions
South Africa
The traditions in South Africa are very people-focused. During Christmas, people visit loved ones. However, if people decide to stay in the city for Christmas, they'll typically participate in a South African barbeque called "braai." For these dinners, South Africans go to their verandas and gardens to prepare, organize, and eat.
Kenya
In Kenya, Christmas is considered one of the biggest holidays of the year. The gatherings also include singing and dancing around a fire with family and other loved ones.
Nigeria
Christmas day in Nigeria is long and fun-filled. Many Nigerians start their celebration by going to church to worship. Then, afterward, they tend to have a Christmas dinner.
How would you Celebrate Christmas in Nigeria?
Other Unique African Christmas Traditions
Here are some other unique Christmas traditions you might find in Africa:
Read also: A Cultural Christmas in Morocco
- Fanals in The Gambia and Sierra Leone: A joyous parade is held after the Christmas Eve church service. The locals dance through the towns with fanals - large lanterns made from bamboo and paper in the shape of houses or boats. The fanals are lit with candles inside and carried from house to house to collect donations. In both The Gambia and Sierra Leone, the towns also celebrate with colourful masquerade parties.
- Old Man Bayka in Liberia: In Liberia, you’ll see Old Man Bayka, the ‘devil’ who doesn’t give presents but instead walks the streets on Christmas Day begging you for presents. Also, instead of saying “Merry Christmas” in Liberia, the locals say “My Christmas on you”.
- Genna in Ethiopia: Ethiopia celebrates Christmas on January 7th, following the traditional Julian calendar. Genna is filled with church services, traditional processions, and a feast. The religious leaders of Ethiopia will fast for over 40 days in preparation for this day. The day features vibrant musical celebrations with priests in ceremonial robes performing rituals, including dancing and drumming. A traditional hockey-like game called gena is played in the afternoon, with the community leader awarding a prize to the winner.
- Chisamba dance in Malawi: In Malawi, the spirit of Christmas manifests through the vibrant and energetic Chisamba dance, a cherished tradition among the Chewa people. Bedecked in resplendent attire, dancers move rhythmically to the beat of drums, symbolising communal joy and unity.
How to Say "Merry Christmas" in Different African Languages
As Africa is a very big continent with more than 2000 different languages, here are just a few ways to say Merry Christmas:
- Afrikaans (South Africa, Namibia): Geseënde Kersfees
- Amharic (Ethiopia): Melikam Gena!
- Fulani (Niger, Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, Togo, Guinea, Sierra Leone): Jabbama be salla Kirismati
- Swahili (Tanzania, Kenya, DR Congo, Uganda): Krismasi Njema / Heri ya Krismasi
- Zulu (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland): UKhisimusi omuhle
Christmas Celebrations Around the World
The observance of Christmas around the world varies by country and by religion. The day of Christmas, and in some cases the day before and the day after, are recognized by many national governments and cultures worldwide, including in areas where Christianity is a minority religion which are usually found in Africa and Asia.
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