Christmas in South Africa

by Corey Spengler

Christmas is the time of year that the birth of Jesus Christ is remembered by Christian across the world. It is a time for family and is often the one time of year that the whole family tries to get together for a Christmas lunch. It has become traditional for a Christmas tree to be put up and for present to be given to those we love. Workplaces start shutting down from the 15^th December every year, while those in the retail business start preparing for the year end rush.

People flock to the costal areas where the beaches are suddenly overnight full of people and it is fun and sun for all. The week before Christmas everyone rushes to the malls trying to find those last minutes presents and getting so annoyed at the lack of parking. So with all the year end functions over and the Christmas presents bought it is time to start preparing the wonderful food that is consumed over this period.

The less fortunate are not forgotten as collections are made for food and toys to be given to those in need. Churches give out food parcels while prepackaged food parcels are sold in supermarkets. Everyone count down the days till Christmas and wonder what is in all the nicely wrapped presents under the tree. Children worry about whether they were good enough during the year for Santa to bring them all the presents on their list.

The day before Christmas finally arrives and children hang their Christmas stockings out hoping that Santa will fill them and that he will enjoy the milk and cookies they so carefully laid out. For those who have their Christmas meal on Christmas Eve they get into bed with an over full belly praying for morning to come. The rest climb into bed dreaming of the meal they will be enjoying the next day.

Christmas day finally arrives to everyone’s delight, the children hurry to open all the gifts from Santa before getting ready for Church. It is only after church that the rest of the gifts can be opened and after Christmas lunch a lazy afternoon is spent enjoying all the wonderful gifts.

The day after Christmas has been termed ‘Boxing Day’ and is a day for eating leftovers and recovering from the mad rush of getting everything perfect for Christmas. As Christmas comes to an end and people start preparing for the New Year’s Eve celebrations it begins the count down to the next year.