Salone Christmas Quirks

Post by Lara

18th December 2013

Though we won't be in Salone for the second Christmas Day of our service, we've still managed to spend a good chunk of the season in the country, and have some observations to point out regarding how Christmas is observed here in Sierra Leone.  Bear in mind, Christians make up a large minority of the population, and Christian holidays are public holidays (as are Muslim holidays).  Thus, even if the majority of the country doesn't observe the religious aspects of the holiday, they often still take part in some of the festivities of the season.  

There are around 5 Christmas songs that both Americans and Sierra Leoneans know. They include:

• Mary's Boy Child (this version. Played on repeat on local radio stations throughout the month of December)
• Joy to the World
• Silent Night
• The 12 Days of Christmas

"Christmas Caroling" happens here, but not in exactly the same way-- we had some carolers show up at our house at 9:15pm the other night, after we had already gone to bed.  Carolers basically require monetary donations if they come to your house, which makes us a little bit uncomfortable, so we hid.

Christmas mass/church services are even longer than normal Sunday services here....which means they're really, really long.  Midnight mass last year was so long that Kevin and I both fell asleep before communion and our host mother [a Catholic] pulled us out a side door on the way back from the communion line, where we promptly met our host father [a Muslim] at a local bar.

It's common in Sierra Leone to ask for Christmas gifts from people. [Actually to be fair that cultural norm exists no matter what the season or reason for the gift is.]  Our friends and acquaintances have told us for the past few weeks, "My Christmas is on you"...which basically means they're expecting us to give them something for Christmas. 


The Sierra Leonean version of "Merry Christmas" is "Compliments of the Season".  The proper response to this greeting is "I wish you the same."


Christmas traditions here include the following:

• Lighting fireworks - Fair enough-- who doesn't love fireworks?
• Eating chicken - Or, more specifically, killing and eating a chicken.  It's common to "send" chickens for people as Christmas gifts. We sent 2 chickens to our friends at AYM for their Christmas.
• Visiting family and friends - Not so much like we do though-- visiting friends generally means showing up at their house, sitting down, being served a drink, talking for a little while, then continuing to sit quietly for up to an hour before taking leave and repeating the routine at the next house.
• Having new clothes made - Tailors get really backed up around Christmas, Easter, and the various Muslim holidays. Being able to have new clothes made is a big way of "bluffing" (strutting your stuff) for the holiday.
• Shopping - Even here, the market places get crowded around Christmas time, and overloaded with toys (cheap ones made in China), perfume sets, fashionable clothes, and gift sets that are tailored to men, women, boys, and girls.

Midnight Mass in Bo

Our host sisters in their new Christmas clothes