Celebrating Christmas in Kenya
By Evelyn Gathuru
It’s that time of year again and I’m sure many of you are engaging in various holiday traditions, so I thought I’d share some Kenyan Christmas traditions. 
1. Nyama Choma- literal translation= burnt meat
For many Kenyans, no celebration is complete without a barbeque.
Meat preferences vary according to community and include chicken, beef and goat. In my community, we like goats!
Yes, that does mean slaughtering the goat yourself, as opposed to buying the meat from the supermarket.
However, that uneasy feeling you get from killing your own food soon disappears when you smell the fresh barbeque, complete with the traditional sausage called mutura- the African equivalent of black pudding.
2. Special Grandma foods
These are those dishes that just don’t taste as good when you make them on your own. They need grandma’s touch.
Thing is, grandma doesn’t make them as often as you’d like her to because they’re just too complex and time consuming.
Enjoying these tasty treats is one the best things about Christmas.
3. Chapatti a.k.a. ‘chapo’
My heart goes out to all of you who haven’t had the pleasure of eating a ‘chapo’. Unlike those unnamed ‘dishes’ above, the chapatti gets its own section.
The chapatti is a flatbread served as an accompaniment to stews, curries etc. or eaten on its own as a snack. In the past, chapattis were relatively high cost food items and would only be eaten at special occasions.
Although this is no longer the case for many people, the chapatti is still special, and no Christmas would be complete without it.
4. New Clothes
To many Kenyans, Christmas is the ultimate fashion statement day. Just like we have special outfits to wear to church every Sunday, affectionately dubbed the ‘Sunday Best’, we also have extra special new clothes to wear on Christmas day.
When I was a child, this Christmas gear consisted of a big poofy dress, made of nylon and lace material in any garish colour.
It was sometimes difficult to run around in this dress as it got sticky in the heat, but that didn’t diminish how special I felt in it.
5. Family Reunions
Many of us will brave the crowded bus stations and uncomfortable bus rides just to see our family; to soak up the loving family atmosphere as we reflect on the past year.
So, from my family, to yours: Happy Christmas and have a blessed New Year!
wow, well done Eileen. i actually had problems reading the whole text in each section coz it rekindles fond memories of growing up in rural areas and every bit of your blog on “Kenyan Christmas” is so true. good research
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