I #remember when we came to Ghana so many years ago during the Liberian #war wahala which had Ghana taking in refugees ..so lots of #people automatically thought we were Liberian refugees or foreigners but certainly not the Ghanaians we were!...they said we didn't 'look' Ghanaian (whatever that meant!)...we didn't know a #word of twi (my mother tongue) though ,nor any other local Ghanaian dialects..just the English that my dad and mum had raised us on whiles growing up..no one told us why we came 'back' to Ghana. .I say 'back' cos I and my older brother(he was 2) went to Nigeria #quite young(I was a baby) but my four other siblings at the time were born in a place called Lokoja in Kwara State..at the #time we came to Ghana we were to young to #understand anything..I rember we took an aeroplane though!...lol...we got to Ghana late in the evening..we were confused cos it was very clear we were in a new environment..#people were speaking a strange #language and were looking at us like we were some alien specie!...the next day the first #local Ghanaian meal we were welcomed with was............. can u guess?waakye ofcos! .. hahahhaha...I #guess that's when my addiction to that orgasmic meal was born!..omg,I loooovvee loooovvee looovveee me some hot waakye...with all the 'accoutrements ' of cos...the browned rice and beans ,soft wele (crackling ), gari (fried ,dry ,powdery corn dough),talia (boiled spaghetti),fried fish,fried meat,boiled egg,fried plantain and dry salad..you have all that on your plate and you're in heaven .. literally!!
For #selfish reasons I think this meal should be made the official end-of-year tradional dish instead of the #rice and gravy and fried chicken meal I was subjected to every xmas during my childhood days!..*wink wink*...Xmas was(still is!) synonymous with chicken...Xmas time was when #chicken sold like hot cake and I didn't get it,even at that age ...all the streets surrounding the #market place would be lined up with giant makeshift #hencoops by poultry farmers trying to make some profit off the seasonal booming business..how did that trend start anyway?anyhome u visited during this period served the same doggone meal!.. rice, chicken,gravy and soda (affectionately called 'minerals' by everyone,in Ghana at least!),pieces of cake and some buscuits!! ...it usually happened in the homes of the #average citizen so those foods were like #gold to them... sometimes three kids had to share a bottle of soda ...luckily the bottle has demacations on it so we will mark each portion and after u drank yours u gave it to the next person..and woe betides you if you drank into someone else's portion! Why didn't we ever just use cups to share the drink and spare us the stress!...I guess #kids would be kids!
And Xmas was never complete without your bronya shada! ..ei ,mum always got some bright rokporkpor (nylon) fabric and #every one got to sew her bronya (Xmas ) dress..mum always chose the #style ofcos..what did we know!..it was always a style with puffed sleeves,gathered at the waist with a skirt that ballooned to your knees or ankles depending on how much fabric there was!...then there was the belt which you would tie behind your back in a bow.. chale,dont go there koraa..don't forget the #shoes!.. usually white or black with buckles..maybe 2inched heels...and you had to wear long white socks with them..aargh!those socks that had a flowery 'veil' at the 'edges'..*cringe*...if you're not lucky you'll get a #cap in that same fabric to go with the ensemble... hahahahhaah...I've always hated that rokporkpor fabric since those days but back then it was what was available and xmas was such a big deal that if you didnt have a dress nor even went to church on Xmas day it was like #somebody ripped your beating heart out of your chest and stepped on it!..I rember one time after I'd gone through the whole process of getting a new dress and laid it out ready for bronya church the next day I got #malaria(well most illnesses in Ghana are automatically self-diagnosed as malaria!) that night... so I didn't take part in the Xmas celebrations and I wanted to die!..today I don't even bother doing anything during this period cos I simply don't see the point..i dont buy nothing..i dont #sew nothing..i dont visit nobody..i dont invite nobody over..i just live each day like any other day..i always say everyday is 'xmas' for me..I do what I have to do on whichever day I want and not wait for the end of the year!..so much pressure is put on #people who can't afford it,to be a part of a traditon they don't even understand. .pressure especially on the kids who feel left out if they can't celebrate it cos the choice was made for them...if you didn't go to church on 25th and 31st Dec you're 'branded' a pagan...the 31st Dec allnight service in the churches is a tradional affair in Ghana chale!...when I started 'looking' at this whole confusion differently I stopped going to church totally but on the 31st I'll go to church to usher in the new year with God ....eventually I stopped doing that too cos I felt like a heel!...seeing as the next day on the 1st January I'll be at the night club dancing 'with the devil'.. atleast that's how Christians saw it..my being weaned off the whole bronya thingy was not drastic but it was gradual and firm..one day I was being consumed by it ,the #next day I was out of it!
What does Xmas really mean to people?is it a time to #chew fried chicken and strut your new clothes and shoes and go to church?is it a time to fill kids with the illusion of celebrating the birth of Christ, as Christians put it?what does Xmas even mean?did someone really die on 25th December some 1000s of yrs ago to be celebrated every year?do people really believe it in their hearts or are just going along with everything cos they were introduced to it just like I was?..some churches have taken the 'celebrations' up another notch actually acting out the birth of Christ and #everything else...they'll be wearing funeral clothes to church during Easter when he 'dies' and will wear white when he 'resurrects'!..that doesn't sit well with me cos I wonder what the point of repeating that charade every year is!..I know the 'chrifes' will crucify (pun intended!) me for saying this but hey,how I feel is how I feel!.
It's #weird to me cos it's one bible but each church interpretes it differently from the others.. very confusing,eh ?!when I was way younger, between, I think 9and 15yrs of age,I was 'steeped' in the chrife 'euphoria'...I used to write to a Christian outfit called SOON...you answered questions on the bible and when you passed you got certificates and bibles as your prize ...and I got a lot of them!..alot !. .I went to Sunday school..acted in all the #religious plays..got baptized and graduated to the adult church...I even worked hard to get into the adult choir and after I got in I quit not long after!..the whole pressure to be in church without understanding why i was being there finally got to me i think!..it's just like the Xmas euphoria. .lots of people are celebrating it without knowing why and in the process putting so much pressure on themselves and others..
What I #care about is we should be kind to one another. .it should come from the heart not just cos we are compelled to do it according to some church rules...there are lots of people who won't do things for people who ask them directly for help but will wait for Xmas to donate some things to an orphanage. .meanwhile the orphans don't even get the items..that's another convo for another day!..let's strive to be considerate of one another. .be kind..be safe whiles we are about to enter a new #year!.. welcome it with a good heart. .we welcome you #2018!!!..thanx for reading....#shalom #gaylesgifts
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