Christmas. There’s no denying that it’s a very special time of the year; some do not see the fuss, but it is safe to say that a great number love the festivities. Surrounded by family, delicious food, and if it is your thing—presents, it’s not every day such a great combination arises. Everyone remembers Christmas — many have fond memories of family traditions from an early age. Women Today’s Donah Mbabazi talked to a number of women who shared their fondest memory of the day.
Christmas has always been my extended family gathering time. My favourite memory is probably seeing my mother waking up really early and going to the kitchen to prepare our festive meals herself, making sure that everything we needed was purchased. When we were young, we used to decorate our Christmas tree with white cotton and candies (as a child you would wonder what snow is really like in those cold places). Early in the morning we would get dressed and I was tasked to help my young brothers get ready for church and we would walk from Gisozi to Saint Famille Parish, happy. After mass, we would share a meal at home with everyone in the house, singing and dancing to Christmas songs.
Alice Cyusa, Business administrator
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I don’t have a specific memory. I come from a big family that loves to sing and dance and every Christmas is filled with that.
We laugh; we sing and dance until our feet hurt.
Ashley Rudo Chisamba, Communications Officer
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My favourite Christmas memory is when we went to my grandmother’s place with my whole family (cousins, uncles and aunties) on Christmas Eve early in the morning, we were sort of camping at the same time. We roasted meat, maize, shared a meal and played all around. On Christmas we did the same, and the little ones sang to grandmother and she was so happy and so were we. We also cut Christmas cake. In the evening we said goodbye and came back to our homes. It is my very best Christmas memory.
Lillian Umwali, Cashier
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My favourite Christmas memory was when I was 12 years old, it was Christmas Eve and I was told that when you take one shoe and you put it on your bed, you wake up with gifts from Santa Claus. And so I told my younger sister that we had to do it. We did it but then our mother overheard our conversation and so she bought gifts and in the morning we celebrated, we were so happy. It was our big sister and brother who told us after some time what had really happened.
GaudenceFillette Umurerwa, Miss INES Ruhengeri.
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When I was still young, Christmas would be so beautiful, we would cut down Christmas trees and decorate them with cotton and colourful balloons and then we would prepare everything early like the day before, and then my grandmother would wake up very early in the wee hours of the morning and start preparing food. We would cook a lot of food. We would gather around and sit on mats as a group and eat, after having lunch we would have evening walks. It was so nice that I would love to carry it on with my kids.
Winnie Umuhoza,Businesswoman
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My mother would invite friends and family at home but on Christmas Eve, she used to take us to church to listen to Christmas carols and that night our house boy would make us listen to radio to watch out for the first cry of baby Jesus, after that we would go to sleep. But we would wake up early in the morning to find candy on the Christmas tree and gifts with everyone’s name. We would go to church that morning, wearing new clothes, then come back to enjoy the party, we would eat until we fell asleep.
Juliette Karitanyi- Communications Officer
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First of all, I am Catholic, so in my village where I was born, on Christmas Day, they used to give candy to all the children and I enjoyed it very much. Also, my mother used Christmas as a platform to give back to the community, she would give food to the church and the poor; this made me so happy too. Another thing was the tradition of Catholics where they had prayers till midnight; Christmas will always be a special day for me.
Marie Louise Uwizeyimana, Journalist
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A Christmas memory I love is the one of 1995 when I was around five years old. I was baptised and I remember that I was very excited about the new clothes and shoes they had bought for me, plus, all my friends were there. I can’t forget the day because till now I still recall the colour of my dress, it was pink.
Assoumpta Mukeshimana, Television presenter