Every Christmas Eve, my family has a tradition of piling in the car with hot chocolate and mulled wine, and driving through our town to admire all the wonderful Christmas displays.
It’s one of my favourite Christmas traditions. And even as a little girl, I remember my father saying that you could measure the prosperity of a place by how glowing the Christmas lights are.
Well, driving around in Kigali today, by this measure, the city is booming.
I can’t express how joyful it is to see Kigali lit up for the festive season.
It hasn’t always been this way. As I’m sure many of you will remember, it used to be difficult to tell it was Christmas time in Kigali at all. There was the big white Santa splashed across the billboard at the old Coca-Cola round about.
The frightening animatronic Santa at Nakumatt KCT. And…that was about it.
Today, Kigali has dressed itself up into a twinkling wonderland.
The initiative by Kigali City to decorate the roundabouts has been a smashing success. The display by I&M Bank at the park adjacent to City Hall is particularly festive.
Hotels have done a brilliant job, too. The reindeer at the Kigali Serena and the beautifully wrapped trees at Hotel de Mille Collines are lovely.
And it’s not just the lights. Never before have there been so many activities for Christmas.
We had a record number Christmas markets this year, from AIC’s Christmas Bazaar, to Onomo Hotel’s Christmas Market, to Kigali Farmer and Artisan’s Market at Serena. The German Christmas Market had over 1,700 visitors this year.
The City’s two cornerstone hotels are also delivering.
Starting off the Christmas season with Radisson Blu & Convention Center’s Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, followed by a capstone 4 day Christmas Bazaar, has certainly made Radisson a hub of Christmas cheer.
But the full-sized sleigh with reindeer puts their displays over the top.
The Kigali Marriott has gone all out, too. They’ve filled the skyline with a fully transformed façade of lights. Their complete gingerbread village in the lobby shows off the work of their talented pastry chefs.
The calendar of special Christmas events as imbued Christmas spirit throughout the month.
But the thing that brought tears to my eyes was the beautifully performed Handel’s Messiah by the Injaya Symphony Orchestra and members of Chorale de Kigali.
It was complete with timpani and that transformative full-bodied sound only an orchestra and choir can create.
With all of the lights and sounds, the one thing I would ask, however, is that we hit that little switch on the Christmas Lights, so they stop flashing. It’s a little overwhelming to see lights dancing to different beats all over the city.
This Christmas Eve, my family will pile into our car, with hot chocolate and mulled wine, and go on our annual pilgrimage to find the best Christmas lights.
And for the first time in my near-decade in Kigali, we won’t have to go far to find them.
The writer is the Founder & Chairman, GET IT, Rwanda’s largest fresh food distributor.
The views expressed in this article are of the author.