A Merry Ethiopian Christmas to all Ethiopians and their true friends the world over!
Several years back I was this man’s house a couple of days after Ethiopian Christmas. That for some is breaking news. “You mean that boring guy actually went to someone’s house and a few days after Christmas too!” take it easy guy. You can interrogate me using the latest interrogation science (There must be some ‘science’ there too, isn’t there?) and I wouldn’t tell you what prompted me to go to that gentleman’s house.
Anyways my going by itself isn’t the point here. Now the man was that sort of guy you wouldn’t expect to ‘touch’ anything foreign. Especially when it came to celebrating holidays he never resorts to traditions other than his country’s. With him this is a very big issues and he wouldn’t let you mess around with what he believes going as far as refusing to have any discussions on the issue. Try to be a smart guy and he’d be smarter; he dumps just like that. You know like that inconsiderate, arrogant and spineless love interest of you who just shuts you out.
“What’s the problem?”
“What do you mean what’s the problem?”
“You have practically ignored me and it’s not at all like you. People notice and ask me what the problem between us was. I tell them there’s none and they give me these side glances. They believe that something serious was in play between us. Can you tell me what have I done?” If you get an answer for that then you’re the luckiest guy and you might as better try this multi-million birr lottery stuff.
So this guy is the real local guy blood and bones. The day I went to his house I can tell you I was a little taken off guard. It was as I have messed up with the address and ended up at the hose of his namesake somewhere else. The size of the Christmas tree in the middle of the living room was so huge it completely shut out large of the wall. And, now this is really interesting, multiple colorfully packaged and decorated boxes were all over the place. And to add to my total confusion on another side of the room was, who else, good, old Santa Klaus!
One thing I didn’t do is ask him what was all that about places in his house. No, not me! The start fellow he was said “This week you’ll be writing about me.” And that broke the ice between us and I got the courage to comment something like, “I never expected such a scene in your house.”
“No one does expect. Not even me.” What! What’s kind of comment is that? I mean the guy and his family have turned the living room into some main section of a big carnival or something like that. And that’s what he has to say!
His story was that since his two daughters lived abroad he does it to remember them. Now that is a little odd. His two daughters have been living abroad for the better part of two decades and it’s now he thinks of a Christmas tree and Santa Klaus remembrance in their name? I didn’t argue with him because trying to do so would be like starting an unprovoked fight. Again, not me!
But the story of his house new look already
made the rounds and I can tell you there were quite a number of stories flying around; stories ranging from the humorous to the ridiculous, to the outrageous.
The Christmas tree issue had been around for some time in the yesteryears. Yes I’m talking in the past tense. These days practically no one seems to be interested in such issues. I don’t think there are many who think that I had ever been an issue.
“What the hell is there to talk about the Christmas tree? Don’t you guys have better things to talk about?”
Many of us would say that the exchange of wrapped gifts put underneath the Christmas tree has not been part of the traditional Ethiopian Christmas celebration in the older days. No more old days stuff! A couple of years back I heard of a pretty young lady being given a three-million birr car as a Christmas present. It isn’t for nothing we say times have changed! Not only with the younger generation. Even the adults and even senior citizen seem to be catching up with the trend of Christmas presents. In fact many seem to have lost traditional and indigenous ways of celebrating Christmas or even as holidays. Some acting pseudo-civilized while they could be anything but civilized would say the likes of those who want to stick to the age old days of celebrations are losers who never would be civilized!
A long lost friend I heard nothing for more than a decade or so phones a few days back. Not until he tells me who he was did I discover it was him, Look, these days my problem is that the voices
of many have changed in a hundred and some ways or there must be too many actors amongst us; you know those of us who think that by changing our voices we can change our status.
“Did you hear that guy talk recently?”
“Which guy?”
“That guy who shares the use of his sun glances with the moon too.” Ha!
“Oh, that guy; what did he do now?”
“You should hear him talk. The guy’s voice has changed so much I think they must have made him a CEO or a boss of some kind.”
Believe me I wouldn’t have discovered his identity in a thousand years had he not come to my rescue. So the usual “hello!” “long-time-no-see” stuff was thrown to and fro and he says “I want to give you a present and I don’t know where to end it to.”
“Present! That’s nice of you.” at a time when people are no more sending wedding invitations let alone giving presents this guy is ‘The Man of The Match!’ Ha! “What’s the occasion?”
“Don’t you know it is Christmas?”
I politely thanked him telling him there was no for giving presents watching my words so that I wouldn’t offend him I didn’t. We’ll meet one of these days for coffee and maybe then he would grill me as to why I declined his present. “Nothing personal, dear friend!”
Believe me when it comes to things that go against not only what you believe in but also is without and convincing premise declining with the good words “Nothing personal, dear friend!” is a wonderful way out.
Again “A Merry Ethiopian Christmas to all Ethiopians and their true friends the world over!”
Ephrem Endale Contributer
The Ethiopian Herald JANUARY 7 / 2024