The allure of the Festive season

"Letter from South Africa" is Omoseye Bolaji's regular weekly column published in the Nigerian newspaper, True National News. The column comes out every Monday, and is circulated all over Nigeria.

December 21 2009 edition

LETTER FROM SOUTH AFRICA

The allure of the festive season

With Omoseye Bolaji


Yes, the festive season has arrived now, and the celebrations and special ambience will resonate around the world for a few weeks. It is a period that has come to assume the patina of merriment.

How well I remember when I was a youngster based in Ibadan (Oyo State). We knew only too well at the time that Christmas in particular came but once a year and how we enjoyed and savoured the occasion! It was about endless merriment, hilarity, poignant moving songs, crackers and fireworks, and general camaraderie.

The highlight for a number of years back in those days was visiting Father Christmas. In those days the vestiges of the multinational supermarkets (Kingsway, Leventis etc.) still lingered on for some time. Visiting Father Christmas was such an exhilarating delight then!

At the time, we kids could hardly contain our excitement knowing we would be riding on the train for children, then entering a dark intriguing grotto; and then wonders of wonders, meeting Father Christmas himself who would give us sundry gifts! Such was the situation at Kingsway in those days. And when it was all over, the children would be gripped with the transcendental excitement and afterglow, describing the train journey, the almost frightening darkness and meeting the great man (Father Christmas) himself.

Of course we were young. Very young. Not for once did we consider such unedifying possibilities that maybe this was a "capitalistic, elitist" charade; we just knew that it was a great highlight of our lives. Until we outgrew it all.

Hence all over the world now, the magic and allure of the Christmas period persists. For the young in particular it is still a much anticipated period. For much of the western world (eg Europe) the period is concomitant with cold weather which does not dampen much of the enthusiasm.

From a neutral point of view, and even for many cynics, the so-called festive season is a time to relax after (generally) working throughout the year, take a break, let their hair down, relax with the family, re-charge the batteries as it were.

Christmas time in South Africa is a splendid time indeed, with the gaiety and camaraderie all around. A striking sight at around this time in the shops, especially the supermarkets (Shoprite/OK, Clicks, Pick and Pay, Spar etc) are the lovely ladies working there dressed as charming Father Christmas or Santa Claus)

Congenial festive season music, people gaily dressed, Christmas trees, lurid decorations and buntings, teeming masses of frenetic, joyous celebrating people (called jabulani here) …that’s the quintessence of the festive season for you.

Even in the smaller, or small shops Even in the smaller, or small shops “Father Christmases” are redolent. I remember some years ago, a friend of mine who runs a Photography agency in South Africa was celebrating Christmas in his own way. Apparently he had bought the special Father Christmas clothes, but the gentleman who should have been Santa was nowhere to be found; and as the outfit in this case necessitated an omotelele (lanky) Santa Claus, my friend begged me to be Santa Claus for a few hours!

I flinched initially, but soon obliged. It was a completely unexpected scenario for me dressing up as Father Christmas, mingling with kids and handing out all sorts of gifts to them; the children were full of enthusiasm and glee, adumbrating how I used to feel as a kid going to Father Christmas. Though alas, this time there was no train for the kids!

As youngsters we have countless dreams, aspirations, ambitions desires etc. With this in mind, I must admit that never had I imagined ever being Father Christmas one day!