Growing up, Christmas was always filled with laughter, good food, and listening to my cousins’ stories about the city. Oh, and how could I forget? The excitement of getting Christmas clothes.
Christmas time to me has always meant a full house with all my cousins, aunts, and uncles telling us stories of what Christmas used to be like in the village during their time.
One of my fondest and most appreciated memories, now as an adult, is how my mother would always make sure that she closed each story with a life lesson. Though at the time I wouldn’t have understood it.
“Vetkoeks and store-bought bread with peanut butter, jam, and butter was a luxury we only got to experience at Christmas time. So be grateful that you have a different fate,” she would say.
I think because of this, I’ve grown to value gratitude and appreciate the small things in life.
My mom would tell us about how they used to freeze jelly in the garden between cornrows overnight, and how they used to relax their hair with a hot stone on Christmas morning.
She told stories in such a way that one would have a vivid imagination of the characters and the things they did.
It’s been five years since her passing and Christmas has not been the same. No one in our family has been excited about Christmas since. My aunts would always say she was the glue that held everyone together. We have not had a Christmas gathering in five years.
This year, however, I have a different feeling about Christmas. I’m about to spend it differently.
A close friend of mine is getting married. She’s marrying into a family that lives in a rural area, deeply rooted in rural culture and with a ‘rural’ way of doing things, and has asked me to come and assist her as she settles into her new family.
As per Xhosa customs and traditions, a makoti is allowed to bring a close friend to assist her with her duties.
I’m super elated about experiencing Christmas in a rural setting again. Yes, things have changed quite drastically since my childhood in the village. Villages have been fairly modernised, but spending Christmas in that type of setting has me excited as if I’m about to experience it through my mother’s eyes.
Pictured above: A family gathering in preparation for the upcoming Tsiki (Xhosa traditional wedding) ceremony on Christmas Day.
Image source: Supplied
