Andrew
Rosenthal Mutakati
Times like these get me wandering once again, back to the seasons of my youth, when we attached importance to this special day, which has been commercialised across the world.
This was a day when we would be resplendent in new apparel, tuck into more than generous portions of food and dance to sweet music the whole day.
This was the day when we would walk up to girls of our dreams to state our missions to be with them for life or just to plant kisses onto their cheeks, and, of course, under Dutch courage.
Parental control was a bit relaxed during this time, hence the mischief and endless adventures that may need a whole series to talk about.
Everyone looked forward to Christmas because no one would be sent to the fields on this day.
But how did Christmas originate?
Christmas is celebrated on December 25 and is both a sacred religious holiday and a worldwide cultural and commercial phenomenon.
For many years, people around the world have been observing it with traditions and practices that are both religious and secular in nature.
Christians celebrate Christmas Day as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, a spiritual leader, whose teachings form the basis of their religion. Popular customs include exchanging gifts, decorating Christmas trees, attending church, sharing meals with family and friends and, of course, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive.
December 25 — Christmas Day — has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1870.
Christmas is largely a day when people meet, eat, drink and make merry.
Growing up in the dusty streets of Glen Norah, we loved Christmas to bits, and up to this day, I have many tales to tell about the adventures we had on this day.
I recall inviting the ire of my mother one Christmas, after a few friends and I beat up a child of the same age who had visited our neighbours.
His crime: He had danced to our radio, and we felt obliged to defend our territory from the intruder whom, in our lexicon, we referred to as “mueni,” “forinezhi,” “settler” or “munyumbi”.
Christmas was a day when people would sustain life-threatening injuries because the adventures and experiments were just too many.
This period also shaped the outlook of the first quarter of the following year, as some people would spend too much, only to run into debts that were too huge to settle in a short space of time.
This time of the year we are in also saw many girls failing to report for school the following year after experimenting with sex and ending up in the family way.
People also risked life and limb during Christmas after taking unnecessary journeys and ending up in fights.
Gentle reader, there are so many tales of yesteryear that we should never repeat.
Let us do all we want in moderation to ensure we continue enjoying Christmas to the fullest.
Inotambika mughetto.
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Bongani Ndlovu
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