I am sending out locally made Tanzanian Christmas cards this year to friends & family. I always support local craftsmen, & these cards are exquisitely made from dried banana leaves & Maasai cloth. (Can you see Kilimanjaro in the background ?) I am completely crazy about Christmas/the festive season – it’s my favourite time of the entire year, & has been since I was a little girl. I still get as excited as a child around Christmas, and I’m so glad that the magic is still there for me now, even as an adult !
Growing up as a child in Zimbabwe, Christmas Day was a huge family affair where we would gather for lunch with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins, taking it in turns to host at different homes every year. It was always hot yet we would still serve a full, hot ‘traditional’ Christmas spread and after lunch we would usually cool down with a dip in the swimming pool, as everyone had them in those days.
Back to the harsh reality that Africa breaks families up. It really does. Now we are scattered all over the world – as are every single one of the friends I grew up & went to school with.
Both my & my husband's families are split between South Africa, England, Australia and Zimbabwe. All of us, who used to celebrate together each year, are now on opposite ends of the earth. Last year, some of us met in the UK for Christmas and this year, my parents are coming to spend Christmas with us (as they did 2 years ago). They arrive tomorrow night are here for 6 weeks. (I am so excited I could scream !)
I am very close to both my parents, and miss them terribly. Never a day goes by when I am not in email contact with them, and we talk on the ‘phone or Skype as often as we can. (My Mum probably knows more about my day-to-day life now, than she did when I was still living at home !) The only thing I dislike about living in Tanzania, is being so far away from them – so we try to see each other as often as we can and so far it is working well especially for my daughter who is very close to both of them, too.
A lot of people, due to religious reasons, don’t celebrate Christmas in Tanzania. A decade ago, you would hardly know that it was Christmas but nowadays more shops are starting to put decorations up and stock Christmas food items. Most of the local Tanzanian people celebrate the day by going to Church and then having roast goat on a spit and some soda’s afterwards, and the children are all bought new clothes and shoes. I also love the fact that the local buses hang decorations & “Merry Christmas !” banners up in their cabs and across their windscreens !
For Christmas we loosely follow (& have since we were children, & I am carrying these traditions into my own family) British traditions. The house and tree (sadly a plastic one as we can’t get fir trees here) are decorated in early December and on Christmas Eve we put mince pies and beer out for Father Christmas (yes, even before we had children !) & hang our stockings up. On Christmas morning we wake up early to see what Father Christmas has brought us (!!) and open presents from each other over steaming mugs of tea and homemade fruit mince pies.
Christmas lunch is a full cooked meal consisting of -: A cold starter (Asparagus or Melon based), a joint of ham cooked with pineapples, honey & cherries; a stuffed turkey with gravy; chipolata sausages; roast potatoes; rice; broccoli/cauliflower in a cheese sauce; carrots & brussel sprouts (if we can get them) and is followed by (my favourite part !) Christmas pudding & brandy sauce.
Anyway, the reason why I mentioning Christmas now is because for the next month a lot of my posts will have a Christmas-ey feel to them as I share with you all the preparations I’m doing for the festive season – baking, cooking, crafts and decorations. Christmas day will be celebrated this year with friends in a special spot (& one that I haven’t shared on the blog yet) – but more about that later ….. !
And, just incase you were wondering ….. will I be blogging on Christmas day ? Why, of course !
Growing up as a child in Zimbabwe, Christmas Day was a huge family affair where we would gather for lunch with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins, taking it in turns to host at different homes every year. It was always hot yet we would still serve a full, hot ‘traditional’ Christmas spread and after lunch we would usually cool down with a dip in the swimming pool, as everyone had them in those days.
Back to the harsh reality that Africa breaks families up. It really does. Now we are scattered all over the world – as are every single one of the friends I grew up & went to school with.
Both my & my husband's families are split between South Africa, England, Australia and Zimbabwe. All of us, who used to celebrate together each year, are now on opposite ends of the earth. Last year, some of us met in the UK for Christmas and this year, my parents are coming to spend Christmas with us (as they did 2 years ago). They arrive tomorrow night are here for 6 weeks. (I am so excited I could scream !)
I am very close to both my parents, and miss them terribly. Never a day goes by when I am not in email contact with them, and we talk on the ‘phone or Skype as often as we can. (My Mum probably knows more about my day-to-day life now, than she did when I was still living at home !) The only thing I dislike about living in Tanzania, is being so far away from them – so we try to see each other as often as we can and so far it is working well especially for my daughter who is very close to both of them, too.
A lot of people, due to religious reasons, don’t celebrate Christmas in Tanzania. A decade ago, you would hardly know that it was Christmas but nowadays more shops are starting to put decorations up and stock Christmas food items. Most of the local Tanzanian people celebrate the day by going to Church and then having roast goat on a spit and some soda’s afterwards, and the children are all bought new clothes and shoes. I also love the fact that the local buses hang decorations & “Merry Christmas !” banners up in their cabs and across their windscreens !
For Christmas we loosely follow (& have since we were children, & I am carrying these traditions into my own family) British traditions. The house and tree (sadly a plastic one as we can’t get fir trees here) are decorated in early December and on Christmas Eve we put mince pies and beer out for Father Christmas (yes, even before we had children !) & hang our stockings up. On Christmas morning we wake up early to see what Father Christmas has brought us (!!) and open presents from each other over steaming mugs of tea and homemade fruit mince pies.
Christmas lunch is a full cooked meal consisting of -: A cold starter (Asparagus or Melon based), a joint of ham cooked with pineapples, honey & cherries; a stuffed turkey with gravy; chipolata sausages; roast potatoes; rice; broccoli/cauliflower in a cheese sauce; carrots & brussel sprouts (if we can get them) and is followed by (my favourite part !) Christmas pudding & brandy sauce.
Anyway, the reason why I mentioning Christmas now is because for the next month a lot of my posts will have a Christmas-ey feel to them as I share with you all the preparations I’m doing for the festive season – baking, cooking, crafts and decorations. Christmas day will be celebrated this year with friends in a special spot (& one that I haven’t shared on the blog yet) – but more about that later ….. !
And, just incase you were wondering ….. will I be blogging on Christmas day ? Why, of course !
