I wish all hivers a prosperous and graceful 2025. It is New Year and everyone is probably busy with activities associated to their country’s custom and tradition. It will be my pleasure to share my New Year activities that is associated to the customs of my country, Nigeria.
So our own preparation for the big day, begins on the 31st of December; when we write a list of food items and get them purchased in order to make fried rice and chicken,
which happens to be my favorite dish and one of Nigeria’s ceremonial dish. The exciting part of it all, is that the meal is always cooked in large quantity because of the expected guests, friends and relations.
We steam just the chicken and puts it in the fridge,
since the food is cooked on the D-day.
Back home, we usually attend church service on that same 31st, It is well known as cross over night. It is a service that Christians are always excited about to attend as it begins by 9pm and ends by 1am. The roads are usually occupied with lots of people on different attires, heading to their different worship centers. It is a service that consist of dancing, worshipping, appreciation to God, hearing God’s word and handling over the New Year to God.
The humorous part of the service is when adults battle with sleep and are awaken by elders. My siblings and I formed the habits of taking a long nap just before the service begins to avoid any sorts of embarrassment.
Once the service dismisses, people disperse to their different homes but the issue remains that cabs are usually scarce, causing lots of people to trek back home.
Just the way Christians head to church, the same way pagans head to club, though, I have not attended one before I can tell from the gist from people and scenes I see on the road on my way home. They drink and dance till dawn.
So there is this particular ritual I still do not understand, I usually see burning tyres at corners of the road, people say it is part of celebration, some say it is to brighten up paths for road users and many other rumors I cannot wrap my head about.
On our way back, we also make lots of phone calls and text people, prophesying into a new era of their lives. Sometimes we send gifts and invitations to celebrate together.
When we actually reach out to at least half of our friends, we head to bed so as to wake up early enough to cook the long awaited meal. Maybe next time I will describe how to cook the meal.
We wake up after good hours of rest and head to the kitchen. After a few hours, food gets ready
and friends, family and guest are served to wine and dine together.
