Is
everyone excited? It's Christmas Eve and we have more to learn! We
will cover another place I didn't know celebrated Christmas. We're
visiting Kenya today! Like pretty much every other country that
celebrates Christmas, Kenyans spend this time with their families.
This means many of them travel from the cities they now live in to
the humble villages they grew up in. Some other people have their
whole big family in the city with them and get to stay right there
with them. Christmas is usually the only time these big families get
to spend together, so they really enjoy the time they have.
Christmas
in Kenya is a very colorful affair. Houses and churches put up
balloons, paper decorations, ribbons, flowers and green leaves! And
everything they hang is bright and beautiful! Some of the people have
a Cypress tree instead of a fir. Because it's far too warm for real
snow, many storefronts have fake snow outside. Santa might even be
inside one of the stores!
Speaking
of Santa, this is one of my favorite new things to learn today, in
Kenya, Santa might arrive by camel, bike or even Land-rover! I want
to see pictures of Santa ridining in his Land-rover into town!
Christians
and sometimes others attend a midnight church service. They have
hymns and carol singing. There's usually a play like the Christmas
Story, dancing and poems being read. After this, they all return home
and have time with their family to be together and enjoy each other's
company. In the cities, carloing has become quite poplular!
On
Christmas Day they have wonderful foods. They barbecue meat of beef,
chicken, goat or sheep. They eat this with rice and a flat bread
called chapati. There is a big Christmas meal they call Nyama Choma.
The people bring a beer and the tribe they are from determines what
special foods they eat that day. City folk have a Western style
Christmas Cake but not out in the rural areas.
Kenyans
exchange small gifts or food rather than anything big. There are also
gifts for them provided by Christan missionaries. Boxing Day is a
public holiday, which is another day from being with your family and
visiting friends. As they say in Kenya, Heri
ya Krismasi
!
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