Hello, everyone.
I welcome you to my blog. It's a few weeks away to the last month of the year, a month filled with so many festive activities that are recognized all around the globe. It is in this last month of the year that many of us get the opportunity to see our family members who are scattered all around the country and world, so most of the time the month of December is one to look forward to, not just for the festivities but at least for the opportunity to make memories with friends and loved ones. Most of the time, people work themselves out from January to November and use the month of December as a recuperation period as they prepare for the new year to resume work.
In my home town there is a celebration called igba uche (traditional retirement). When you reach a certain age, you and people of your age grade are traditionally retired, which means you are now free from getting involved in activities like tax payments in the village. More like you are being relieved from traditional duties; you automatically become one of those considered and seen as the elderly, and people come to seek advice from you. In my hometown, every adult is taxed monthly for a development levy. This levy is used to take care of the town, though lately rumors have it that those in charge no longer use it for the development of the village instead for their selfish desires.
So this traditional retirement is a celebration that happens once in every four years until two years ago when the constitution was adjusted such that it would now be celebrated after every two years because after every four years means a lot of people get too old and too cranky and end up not enjoying their day because of the stress that comes with it, so they had to cut it down. We had a celebration in 2022, but I was indoors throughout and did really notice how it was done, but I feel this is another chance for me to observe tradition and probably be a part of it.
One of those retiring this year is my uncle, so I look forward to the celebration because I have not really been a part of my tradition and culture, and in 2022, when I got the chance, I blew it because I had work, and now I have another shot and will not want to miss it for any reason, so this time around I will be following the celebration from start to finish. Those of us who were born far from our hometown and rarely visit our hometown only know a few things about our cultures and traditions, and the month of December is where many traditional festivities are scheduled to happen because everyone knows people are given breaks from work and school, so this period is best so all who can attend will come and not use work or school as an excuse not to.
