Travelling upcountry: Remember how much fun it was seeing your favorite aunts, uncles and cousins? The pure joy and cheer of those few days spent together as an extended family was unmatched. Though this practice largely continues, the magic that came with it feels lost. The hassle involved nowadays - hiked transport costs, jam-packed roads, bulky luggage - almost makes it feel like a necessary evil. And that's even before the unsettling thought of spending up to a week with pesky relatives or in-laws.Soul food, giving and sharing: The best part about Christmas back then was the food. We all had that one aunty who made the tastiest chapatis you ate all year. For some of us it was the one time of the year we got to indulge in scrumptious dishes like pilau, biriani, bhajias, stuffed turkey, all kinds of yummy chicken. The barbecued goat or beef (nyama choma), synonymous with Christmas all over the country, was really what punctuated the festivities. The food was prepared so well, you could taste the love in every bite. The spirit of the season was exemplified by the practice of visiting other family, close neighbours and the needy to share and exchange meals.
Christmas carols: Remember when Christmas mornings were for popping in Boney M.'s festive cassette tape while dressing up in your new, matching outfits? You'd all go to church to sing merry carols and watch the same Nativity play staged year in and year out, but you'd still enjoy it because that is what made Christmas so special.Splashy decorations and Christmas tree: Getting the perfect Christmas tree was an adventure on its own. Nowadays you can simply get a replica from the mall, but back then we would get a literal tree by going into the forest or thickets to cut down the best one and drag it back home. We'd put up all sorts of decorations on it to go along with the cheap looking metallic glitter plastered all around.The old Christmas traditions may be fading away, but it's not too late for the Millennial generation to salvage some aspects of it and pass it on to their future kids. Hopefully they too someday get to experience and get a solid sense of the singular magic of a Kenyan Christmas.
