Ruth Nyirahagenimana, 21, used to spend the days leading up to Christmas in a euphoric high, grinning for no other reason than she was thinking of all the gifts she would receive on Christmas day. Anticipation, they say, is the better part of pleasure. Her grandparents’ humble abode back in the countryside would be teeming with people, relatives from far and near. As they sat about, their grandparents would share with them folktales and demonstrate life in rural areas through activities like farming and milking cows. On Christmas day proper, children would be as thick as dry season leaves on the ground, lining the streets so that they almost cordoned the route to church. There, kids would perform Christmas skits. “I hated playing Judas”, Ruth stated, adding, “Now, Christmas is like every other day. I can’t host a Christmas party because nobody will attend it. When you grow older, all you get involved in are activities that earn you money. And I can’t even blame those people because I am currently at work trying to do the same.” She was nine when she last celebrated Christmas. For the first three decades of her life, 45 year-old Mukagasisi Annualithe, a fruit seller in Butare, enjoyed the Christmas holidays thoroughly. She remembers her parents taking the holiday so seriously that they would begin saving for it in the middle of the year. In her words, “That’s when Christmas was still Christmas.” She goes further to explain that back then, the wealthy in their community would have parties and donate to the church, making it easy to identify the rich from the poor. Mukagasisi associates her favorite christmas memory with her marriage in the year 2000 when she was 23 years old. “The day was beautiful,” she said. The church's vibrant decorations, where the wedding was held. The cheers and whistles from the congregation, the drowned out gospel music in the background, and the smiles on the faces of wellwishers were visceral recollections. These days however, her excitement (or lack thereof) about the holiday has little to do with celebrations, but more to do with the significance of the holiday as a christian. “Humans change with time, and their interests do too. What was once extraordinary to a sizable portion of people is now ordinary to a sizable portion of people.” Tuyishime Aimé, whose last special christmas was in 2015, said he thinks changes in technology and social media may have influenced how people communicate and share holiday greetings. On that Christmas seven years ago, his extended family was feasting on the two goats that had been prepared three days before while exchanging gifts with each other. Earlier that day, he had accompanied his family to church, dressed like a christmas tree in a dizzying combination of shiny white dress shoes, an oversized red shirt and white slacks. His younger brother, Remy, donned a similar set of a green shirt almost two times his size, paired with white khaki pants by a local tailor down the street. “However, these days, people may be more inclined to use social media or video calls to interact with loved ones who are far away than they were to gather as they once did.”, added Tuyishime during our phone interview. He was en route to Muhanga, a small town some distance from his usual home in Huye. Knowing him, he was probably carrying a large black rucksack loaded with jewelry fashioned with African beading. Being a businessman, this was just another typical day in his weekend. Also joining the conversation is 10 year-old Ngabo Ben Kelly. Like last Christmas, he was expecting new clothes and shoes which his family always kept as a surprise until the d-day. The smile in his eyes curved his lips into a broad grin. “Last year, my mom bought me a pair of blue denim trousers and a ‘scoubidou’ shirt while my sister gave me a pair of white sneakers.” He is anticipating what his family has in store for him this time. Ngabo did however mention how much he missed his childhood friends, with whom he used to celebrate the holidays. He had since lost touch with those friends as they had moved. Four people from various generations and walks of life. One thing in common; Christmas traditions were dying out. Their working assumption: LIFE. Life as a factor entails human evolution and other unfortunate circumstances like the covid19 pandemic that wreaked havoc almost three years ago. Some traditions are being lost as a result of people evolving and developing; alternatively, people's interests have also changed and they no longer have the same level of enthusiasm for things they once did. Rwandans appear to be growing less excited about Christmas over time, despite the fact that the country has a 95% Christian population. Churchgoers' routines were drastically disrupted by the covid19, which led many to turn to internet spiritual resources while driving others completely away from churches. Also, people's introverted traits were brought out by the pandemic, and now they favor indoor activities over more outdoor forms of entertainment. What’s more, inflation plays a significant role in how people are enjoying the holidays because economies around the world are still recuperating from the pandemic's consequences. Your thoughts may be consumed by financial concerns even if you are lucky enough to enjoy time off. Rwandans find it difficult to spend money on decorations or otherwise, as they would have in the past, as the costs of products rise on a monthly basis. For Ruth, Annualithe, Aimé and Kelly, Christmas traditions ebbing away is not tragic in the sense that it makes them depressed or has damaged them in any way. It is just sad to think about the feelings they once experienced and how they have since vanished. Not because of anything in particular, just due to life. This Christmas, Ruth will watch her nephew get baptized. Aimé will go to work in the morning and most likely go the couch potato route for the rest of the day. Annualithe attended church in the morning and is set to return to her marketplace in the afternoon. As for Kelly, he’ll receive a set of new clothes but his childhood buddies won’t be there to enjoy the day with him. Bringing the truths of the past and present into harmony is always a difficult task. If they are fortunate enough, they won’t have to do it for very long.
