“Christmas is not a time or a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” — Charles Dickens.

Christmas has always been a special time in Sierra Leone. It is a season filled with festivities, decorations, and the spirit of giving. It is also a time for peace and goodwill and a time when we show our love for one another. The familiar refrain “Peace on earth, goodwill to men” is a proclamation that often comes to the fore around Christmas time.

My earliest memories of Christmas were revelling with my siblings in my village of Baiima in the Kailahun District with our kaka debul (what an obnoxious and profane name for a masked devil!). Our friends would join us in singing the usual refrain “kaka debul, bos trosis” as we accompanied the “debul”, collecting goodies from our relatives (fairly affluent cocoa farmers and traders at that time). They would however not give us money but oblige us with sweets, biscuits and fruits. The Lebanese trader in town who had berry trees and other exotic fruits in his compound was especially generous. Though his name was Najib Abdallah, the villagers used to call him Afuda! How the Mende lexicon transformed Abdallah to Afuda is anyone’s guess. Anyway, let me not digress. It so happened that one Christmas, my younger brother (call name nor mix, as he is now a big traditional authority who should be treated with reverence) was in the “kaka debul”. The “bos trosis” was not hard to get as his was often already in that state from his wild pranks but we improvised on the hood with an empty rice sac with slits for the eyes, but not the mouth. Anyway, one day, we had the goodies and instead of waiting till the end of the dancing, started eating them voraciously. The “kaka debul” who could not participate but reckoned there could be nothing left for later shouted in Mende- “A kpua nya wumba nya be gu me”, meaning “take this bloody thing off my head so that I can also eat”. We relented and the mystery of who was under the hood became apparent to the spectators.

Christmas has been the time when some people, especially when they are intoxicated think they can cheat death- “Die day” and the refrain is usually “Die nor day”. Pretending to fall, they would shout- “A go fodom” and onlookers will respond- “Nor fodom”. These experiences seem to be on the wane. Perhaps they have realised there is death after all! People even mix up these religious events. I listened to a caller over the radio the other day lamenting the fact that they no longer beat up Judas at Christmas!

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The bottom line is that Christmas is inclusive and joyful and a time for peace and goodwill. Many of us would have received invitations for parties, weddings or other occasions and try to juggle the events-often without success. Some may have bought new clothes and presents. Usually everybody’s spending goes through the roof-both the givers who are torn between who to give presents or leave out and the takers, who often increase their demands. Despite the difficult times, we all have some coping mechanism designed to make Christmas indeed a precious time. It is a time to forget about any economic hardship, political divisions, family palavers and many other things bothering us and enjoy as if “die nor day”. But alas, December will end and we will reset the clock. January, 2026 is bound to be a particularly difficult month. Someone quipped that perhaps instead of having 31 days President Bio should decree that it be cut down to 20 days as people would have exhausted their salaries as advances. But then he was of the opinion that APC would claim they could cut it down to ten days to beat the SLPP’s offer.

The peace and goodwill associated with Christmas is still pervasive. People in general are more considerate, polite, and kind at Christmas. Most people smile more readily; hurts and past offenses are forgotten. This is as it should be, for after all as we are celebrating the birthday of the Prince of Peace. APC and SLPP politicians sheath their swords and say kind things about each other. “Ebema”, “Abema” and “Radical Inclusion” all indulge in radical enjoyment. The rancour over “tripartite” or whatever other things they fall out over is temporarily forgotten Flagbearer aspirants embrace each other. Landlords postpone evictions- hopefully! We all seem to temporarily forget about our problems. Not surprising, as the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 11:6) said: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”

The temporary peace experienced at Christmas is exemplified by a story of British, French and German soldiers in the trenches of the First World War. All was quiet that evening of Christmas Eve 1914 on the Western Front. The trenches came within fifty miles of Paris. The Great War was only five months old but already 800,000 young men had been killed or wounded. Every soldier wondered if Christmas Day would bring another round of killing. But something happened: British soldiers raised “Merry Christmas” signs above their trenches and sang carols. They were answered by carols from the German side and little decorated Christmas trees which were lifted above the trenches so that the other side could see them. Then even more remarkable—on Christmas morning, unarmed soldiers left their trenches. The officers of both sides tried to stop them but they were unsuccessful. The soldiers met in the middle of No Man’s Land for songs and conversation. They exchanged small gifts, sweets and cigars. They passed Christmas Day peacefully along miles of the front. At one spot the British soldiers played soccer with the Germans who won 3-2. Even the next day, the peace continued, each side unwilling to fire the first shot. Finally fresh troops were moved in and the war began again.

Jesus, whose birth we celebrate taught people to love each other as they love themselves. He also taught people to love their enemies. Imagine if every single person, group, culture, and tribe in Sierra Leone learned to love each other and their enemies; there truly would be national peace. We are mindful of the fact that we can still have this peace and goodwill despite our difficult economic circumstances as there were also trying times during the first Christmas. The message of the real Christmas is not that everything is great. There is nothing magical about having a baby out of wedlock, not getting a room in which to give birth, being away from home and fleeing to Egypt.

But the question we should ask ourselves as Sierra Leoneans is this. Why can’t we bring that same spirit of goodwill and understanding to our relations all year long? Why allow those feelings and attributes to grow cold as the new year unfolds? Why should we treat Christmas as a temporary band-aid for all of life’s problems—problems that we allow to return with a vengeance once the music and “kaka debuls” are put away for another year?

The peace proclaimed at Christ’s birth however is more than a seasonal sentiment; it is a transformative gift that shapes how we live and interact with others. Let is endeavour to continue with this spirit of goodwill. Challenges will arise during the coming year. Unfortunately, we will tend to wait till after Christmas and begin the political infighting and continue with the political bickering over social media. Oh, how I wish we could extend this peace and goodwill beyond Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you all.

Ponder my thoughts.