Liberian Christmas

December 16, 2013

What is Christmas like in Liberia?  I have been trying to find out.

Last Sunday was Children’s Christmas. Just what that means I am not sure. I did hear them practicing “Felix Navidad” at the campus Episcopalian church.  It sounded like the Jose Feliciano version with the only Spanish being Felix Navidad, complete with Puerto Rican accent. Maybe Children’s Christmas means they get to sing some songs in church.

As for Christmas carols, the best I could get from my students is the “Twelve Days of Christmas”. We made to the third day and had to stop to start more academic matters. I sang part of “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”. They never heard of it. That was good, because I any know the first verse.

As to academic matters, most instructors have suspended classes this week as students are anxious to get home. Not this crinch. We are having classes as I rush to cover the remaining material which will be on the final exam. When the students started to moan, I told them that since they pay such a high tuition, I wanted to make sure they got their monies worth. I have a feeling I wasn’t too convincing.

No Santa Claus in Liberia.  What they have is “The Beggar Man”. He comes to you dressed in rags and you give him something. It is a retro Santa Claus for a retro country where taking is a necessity. 

I asked if overseas Liberians came here to visit family over Christmas. They said no. This probably explains why the flights leaving Liberia are full.

There are no decorations or lights that I can see. If there are any adornments to the landscape, it is the appearance of Christmas birds. These white egret-like birds have migrated down from Europe to eat Liberian bugs in the grass. Beautiful they are. If this is all the decoration you get here, they are enough to celebrate the holidays.

Christmas birds feasting on bugs