The Season of Joy
Content Courtesy of the Forever Young Podcast with Christiana Egi and Cherrie-Marie Chiu.
We decided to add this special podcast edition for you, celebrating the season of love and joy. That’s right! It’s all about Christmas! Christiana and Cherrie sit down to share each other’s favorite Christmas traditions, family memories and discuss some culturally specific Christmas traditions celebrated in the Philippines and Nigeria. So grab a mug of your favorite Christmas hot beverage and cuddle up with us by the fire!
Christiana: Do you have a favorite Christmas memory you would like to share with us, Cherrie?
Cherrie: When Christopher and I were young, we would always go downtown to see the Santa Claus parade. I remember it being chilly, sitting on the curb for what seemed like forever waiting for the parade to start. I remember the music and lights and all the people, it seemed like millions to us when we were little. I remember the candy canes they would hand out and of course, finally getting to see Santa Claus at the end of the parade. Later, we would go home, and the parade would be on tv while we put up our Christmas tree and decorated it. We did that every year for as long as I could remember when we were little and I loved it.
Christiana: Cherrie, are there any cultural traditions you participate in during Christmas?
Cherrie: Growing up in the Chinese-Filpino culture, I was actually surprised to find that when I was in Hong Kong one Christmas, believe it or not, it’s not really a holiday there. But I’m happy to share some Filipino Christmas traditions. The first one is that Filipinos start celebrating Christmas in the “BER” months. You know, SeptemBER, OctoBER, novemBER… So starting September 1, things turn all Christmas-y in the Philippines. And actually one of my uncles puts up his Christmas tree in September!
You may also see stars in Filipino homes, they are called “parols”. Traditionally, they are made of bamboo and tissue paper or cellophane. They also come very fancy, made with capiz shell and lights. Closer to Christmas, Filipinos participate in mass at dawn, I’m talking about 5 am Christiana! It’s called Simbang Gabi – which really translates to Church at Night. Filipinos go to church for 9 days at dawn. There is lots of singing and at the end, there’s food.. lots of food. For the last few years, I’ve attended Simbang Gabi on the last morning, December 24. It’s so beautiful, with the choir and the singing and warm soup to wake us up before we head back home. At night on the 24th of December, after we go as a family to Christmas Eve mass, we celebrate Noche Buena. Where again, we get together with our family with lots more food! It’s basically a big open house with people coming and going. It’s really fun and very festive!
Cherrie: How about you Christiana? What Nigerian Christmas traditions can you share?
Christiana: I’m a native of Ososo, a beautiful quaint town that lies within the mountains in the Northern part of Edo state, which is situated at one of the highest points on the Somorika Hills. It gets pretty cool and crisp at times. There’s a big difference in the celebrations between the city and the country because Nigeria is culturally diverse.
Christmas is a time of celebration of family, friendship, love, and blessings. Catholic churches in Nigeria are vibrant, the music and praising are next level! Although services are much longer than here, you don’t even feel the time fly by. Families tend to gather indoors and for Christmas dinners and celebrations. Of course, the temperature was also not always very friendly. I often wondered about those without family, how they were coping. And most times, not very well as the suicide rate at this time of year is quite high. Throw in COVID-19 and, it’s a whole different ball game.
So many people have lost loved ones to this virus throughout the world, so many are fighting for their lives as we speak. This Christmas should be a time of reflection and prayers for our family, friends, loved ones and the world at large. For the most part, we really do not have control over traditional Christmas celebrations this year, as there are several communities and cities in lockdown throughout the world! This is definitely a different Christmas this year.
2020 winds down, I wanted to take a moment to say to all frontline staff and medical personnel, thank you for your service. To our great Government in Ontario and all of Canada, thank you for your leadership and for keeping us safe. To my fellow citizens, please be your brothers and sisters’ keepers. Wear your mask and social distance, please. We are all in this together. With good practices, we can keep the infection rate in our communities down. The saying goes, together we stand, divided we fall. Lastly, I encourage you to pay attention to your mental health. Surround yourself with the love and support of your family, friends, faith leaders, or mental health professionals virtually, or in your small circle.
To our friends and family who have been affected by this year, know that we are here for you. To our friends and family that we have been unable to reach, hug, hold, laugh, and eat with, we look forward to seeing you just as soon as we can. We just all need to do our part for home so that better days will arrive faster! We pray for a better 2021. We hope you have a safe and wonderful holiday season. Until then, keep smiling because you’re never too old to become younger!
The Forever Young podcast is created and produced by Christiana and Cherrie Marie Chiu. Produced and engineered by Elisse Hill. The podcast represents our opinions and those of our guests. The content should not be taken as medical advice. It is for informational purposes only. Please consult your health care professional for any medical questions. If you like our show, please tell your friends and leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. New episodes are available every other Wednesday. Have questions? Email us at ourforeveryoungpodcast@gmail.com.
