Siavonga Christmas

The Christmas Season is upon us, but not much has changed here in Siavonga. There aren’t too many preparations going on that I can see.

But I did watch “Love Actually” the other day to get myself into a Christmas mood, and now I’m happy to say that I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes.

Though I did have to watch it alone...and cried to myself when Colin Firth proposed to Just-In-Cases girl...and in no way is that depressing. Ah, I really need to get out more.

Schools have been on break for the past few weeks and won’t be opening again until January. During these breaks, a number of Namumu’s resident children go off to stay with other relatives in the surrounding villages for a while. A few stick around. Right now, there are around 20 boys and 10 girls staying at Namumu over the break. With the numbers down it’s a lot quieter than usual around here.

I’ve been asking around, trying to get an idea of how people typically celebrate Christmas here and have gotten some interesting responses.

There’s a significant Seventh Day Adventist population here, and as they choose not to celebrate Jesus’ birthday on the 25th that whole group does absolutely nothing. What a bummer that must be.

As for the rest, there isn’t a great deal of gift-giving on Christmas day, as most are living in abject poverty and are struggling to get by. Also a bummer.

Most people do upgrade their meals at least, splurging on chicken or beef to go along with the ever-popular nsima, feasting together as families. So that’s nice.

Besides feasting, most non-SDA church goers spend much of the season worshipping in their respective churches. They sing and dance and eat and have a good ol’ time. Many congregations stay up all night Christmas Eve and worship all the way through Christmas day. So that’s nice, too.

As for my little Namumu nieces and nephews remaining here for the holiday, they’ll be getting a nice little Christmas feast, as is their usual custom. They’ll eat some beef, chicken, nice bread and lots and lots of cookies.

And a local fishing company owner contacted me the other day and informed me that the Siavonga Rotary Club, of which he is a member, would like to make a contribution to Namumu by buying small gifts for the children. It’s nice to know that even in Siavonga there are people looking after these children.

So there’s your Christmas update from Siavonga. I hope it finds you well and in the holiday spirit and that you all have a wonderful Christmas.