Photo credit: Vanguard
I just thought I should run through the various Christmas periods I’ve been through. Arugbo s’oge ri, the aged too were youth initially
The first Christmas I remember is going to meet Father Christmas at either Leventis or Kingsway stores on the Marina in Lagos Island. I don’t know of others, since it never occurred to me to ask them, I used to naively believe that the bearded guy came from Ilu Oyinbo, White Man’s Land.
We would use the opportunity to buy aso odun, festival clothes and shoes. We generally preferred ready-made wear. Of course, we’ll also buy Bisco, as fireworks were then known to us. Of course, we were yet to graduate to the age of bangers.
One other thing we wouldn’t forget doing was buying snacks. Those stores were good at making delicious snacks.
Those were the days of escalators. Some of us, not being adept at using the machinery, would fall while climbing. But those who were gentle boys like yours sincerely would just let the escalators ferry us to and from the next floors.
I also remember Christmas parties at Ebute Meta. There was an elderly man who threw a party every Christmas for children and youths. I think that was the period the famous soul singer, James Brown came to Nigeria.
We also had Baba 70, Fela Ransome-Kuti, as he then was. Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey too were there for the elders.
Our mode of dressing then was the J.B. type of trousers. The boogey boogey shoes complemented it. For shirts we had long sleeves with ample space, it was called labalaba, butterfly style.
Then, the age of realisation crept in.
Initially I had a hell of a problem convincing mummy to allow me go to parties. While she was ready to allow her biological son go, I thought she was being unfair to me. But looking back now, I can now see the wisdom behind her firm decision.
She was like the mother hen, as far as I was concerned. If I had known I would have taken much more of her ancient wisdom. But thank God for everything.
When I got into my late teens, I was like Adam after eating the apple. I knew the world and the world knew me.
There was this friend of mine who would also celebrate Christmas with pork. In fact, he is a brother. In most cases, the money to buy a whole pig might not be ready two days before Christmas. But by the time we all contributed, the money to buy a pig would not only be enough, there would also be enough to buy drinks.
Of course, when I say drinks, you ought to know that I am not referring to soda.
That’s why when I see the youth of today going to the extent of dancing to soulless music, especially the one called, ‘one corner’, I tend to look back and check where we actually missed it.
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