Merry Africhristmas!

Merry Africhristmas!! Africhristmas was celebrated on the 21^st of December at Fatty Kunda. I explain to my family a few days before what my christmas’ in America are like and that I wanted to celebrate one with them. They were so excited, my mothers’ declared that it was an official holiday and they were not going to the fields, they worked of course, washing clothes by hand and cooking but there was no field work or cracking of peanuts on africhristmas. We woke up and greeted each other, wishing one another a ‘happy Christmas!’ Bori started dancing because she was excited that she got the day off. They made boiled yams for breakfast, and were sitting around enjoying one another’s company when I brought out a dish of ‘american breakfast.’ I had cooked oatmeal and added local peanut butter and sugar with cut up bananas on top….we all sat down on the mat crowding around this bowl and passed our 3 spoons between 10 people each taking turns, teasing one another about who took the most slices of banana. The bowl was empty in no time. We relaxed for the morning, sitting and talking with visitors who came by the compound, each asked ‘why we were just sitting?’ which started the whole conversation about American Christmas and why we bring a live tree into the house and put lights on it. My American mom had sent me a Christmas ornament to make my Christmas a bit brighter, the Gambian Family was so intrigued by its beauty; they keep asking to see it. We played with the kids and listened to some Gambian radio. For lunch, I surprised my moms’ with 2 packages of spaghetti, a half kilo of onions, yams, and bread. So they made a spaghetti, onion, yam, maggi, and oil sauce which we enjoyed by breaking off little pieces of bread and soaking up the oil and using the bread as a scoop. They were teasing everyone that the meal was so good, because oil was dripping down the length of their elbows- this is a sign of wealth, prosperity, and celebration- but the World Food Program gives my family all of the rice and oil that we consume, so it’s a different type of wealth- international food aid prosperity. Then I brought out my little gifts for them. The kids got a brown bag with some ‘mintis’ in it, they each got to reach into the bag 3 times and pull out a surprise candy- one thing I treasure about Gambian children is their ability to share. Tia, the 3 year old, got a whole bag of biscuits and he went around and shared with each person until the bag was gone- and they do this without being instructed. Each of the women got a black plastic bag with an American necklace, a Gambian bracelet and some soap. Nymandin did a whole dance for her soap and started talking to Isatou, the baby, that she now had soap when she took a bath. Baboo, got a can of condensed milk, attaya, and the monthly contribution of money that I give to my family a few days early, he was so happy that he had to go around the corner to see everything that was in his bag. A new sister, Nyamdin’s oldest child, Kaddy came from the city and she got bracelets, a necklace, and a new t-shirt, she immediately went to take a bucket bath so that she could put it on and show everyone.  A Happy Africhristmas, it was a moment of perfect simplicity, joy, peace, and family.