Sierra Leone Christmas (Susan Ault)
[This memoir is by a student in Susan Ault’s English Language Learner course for Hopkins schools.]
Christmas preparations in Sierra Leone for Advent are different from America.
In America all they do is exchange gifts and go to work. But, in Sierra Leone people will start celebrating a week before Christmas. On Christmas Eve, people will do a lot of grocery shopping and buy lots of meats and chicken because they like to cook fresh food in the morning. On the day of Christmas, all you can smell is the good smell of different aromas-yum, yum.
Christmas is so special for us in Africa, because you will meet new people. It is time to reconcile and a time of healing. That’s why the best place people like to go is the beach with their small picnic baskets.
They throw a mat on the sand and two or three other families will come and join them...Africans like to eat from the same bowl and like to share. I love to see little children running and playing soccer in the water while the old ladies will be in their traditional colorful cabascloth, and the old men will be in their traditional ronko woven out of cotton. There will be lots of people in different costumes dancing and playing games and doing their traditional dances.
The only difference about Christmas in Africa is that it looks like everybody is preparing the same dish like joll of rice, cassava leaf, and stew. In America you do have different choices of food from other countries.
Christmas preparations in Sierra Leone for Advent are different from America.
In America all they do is exchange gifts and go to work. But, in Sierra Leone people will start celebrating a week before Christmas. On Christmas Eve, people will do a lot of grocery shopping and buy lots of meats and chicken because they like to cook fresh food in the morning. On the day of Christmas, all you can smell is the good smell of different aromas-yum, yum.
Christmas is so special for us in Africa, because you will meet new people. It is time to reconcile and a time of healing. That’s why the best place people like to go is the beach with their small picnic baskets.
They throw a mat on the sand and two or three other families will come and join them...Africans like to eat from the same bowl and like to share. I love to see little children running and playing soccer in the water while the old ladies will be in their traditional colorful cabascloth, and the old men will be in their traditional ronko woven out of cotton. There will be lots of people in different costumes dancing and playing games and doing their traditional dances.
The only difference about Christmas in Africa is that it looks like everybody is preparing the same dish like joll of rice, cassava leaf, and stew. In America you do have different choices of food from other countries.
Recent
Archive
2024
January
Day Camp Registration OpenNext Inspired Life Speaker: Rev. Hannah Campbell GustafsonJanuary Wellness Focus: Financial WellnessBeautiful Souls Grief Support GroupCelebrate Black Composers Concert with Mill City String QuartetFinal Inspired Life: Building Mental Wellness Together SpeakerOrdinary Time at Camp HouseTwin Cities Plastic-Free ChallengeFebruary 2024 Newsletter
February
March
April
2023
January
March
March Wellness Focus: Spiritual WellnessDay Camp at All SaintsDonate for Easter FlowersWork in Progress: Redo, Rewrite, Restore - Kids Connection for MarchClara Schumann PiecesPB&J (Pizza, Beverage & Justice) NightMarch PlaydateIntergenerational Serving at Feed My Starving ChildrenInspired Life Series: Ann PierceBehold the Darkness - Good Friday CantataAll Saints Increasing Partnership with ICAJoin Our Dedicated VolunteersThe Road: Featured Guest Alison YoungHoly Week ServicesCommunity Garden - Kids Connection for April
April
April 2023 NewsletterJoin Us for Our Easter EggstravaganzaLearn About Mental Health Connect ResourcesApril Wellness Focus: Intellectual WellnessApril PlaydateInspired Life Series: Beth DooleyRev. Kelly Chatman on April 30Thank You from ICAIntergenerational Serving Event this SaturdayInspired Life Series: Erin SharkeyStaff NewsMen's Breakfast Group ResumesUrban Ventures Spring Clean-Up DayParents Night Out - MayMental Health Connect Stories of Hope Breakfast
May
May 2023 NewsletterWhat is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month?May Wellness Focus: Physical WellnessSaints on Bikes Are Rolling Again!Raise Your Game - Kids Connection for MayMay PlaydateWhy is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month Celebrated in May?Help Host Counselors During Day CampRainflower Project#MoreThanEnoughInspired Life Series: Rudi HargesheimerHow does the ELCA support multicultural ministries including those for Asian and Pacific Islander Americans?Final Week to Register for Day CampJoin the All Saints Knitting, Quilting and Crafting GroupSign Up as a Coffee HostWho are Some Notable Asian and Pacific Islanders in the ELCA?Postal Food Drive ResultBike & Ice Cream – Doesn’t Get Better Than That!
No Comments