African Christmas Traditions

In the Congo, a group is chosen to prepare the annual Christmas pageant. Then Christmas day begins with a group of carolers that walk to and fro in the village and sing Christmas carols. Some people may be awakened when the carolers sing along the roadways or by the houses. After caroling, the carolers return home to get dressed and prepare the love offering for the Christmas service.

The most important part of the Christmas service is the love offering. This is a gift given in honor of Jesus. Everybody who attends the service goes to lay down the gift on a raised platform near the communion table. Not a single person will attend the service without a gift.

After the service, Christmas dinners are prepared in front of houses where families and friends gather to share the meals.

Because it is summer in South Africa when Christmas happens, camping is often done during the Christmas holidays. In town carolers go caroling on Christmas eve and there are also many Christmas eve celebrations in larger centers that include "Carols by Candlelight." Church services are held in the morning.

Each houses has a decorated fir tree set up in a corner. The houses are also decorated with pine branches. Presents for the children are placed under the tree. Children may also hang their stockings on Christmas Eve waiting for presents from Father Christmas.

Many South Africans have huge open-air lunches or dinners. There are huge feasts with all kinds of traditional feast foods and even paper hats. Then, there are usually open air games. Boxing day is also proclaimed a public holiday and the open air games continue.

In Ghana, churches and houses are decorated the first week in Advent (the week following the fourth Sunday before Christmas). This happens to coincide with the cocoa season, so it is a time of great wealth.

On Christmas eve, children march up and down the street shouting, "Christ is coming! Christ is coming! He is near!" and sing Christmas carols. Then people go to churches that are decorated. They sing Christmas hymns and watch nativity plays.