Christmas in Lusaka began in November. My family is very traditional when it comes to Christmas and therefore, for better or for worse, we decided to transport our British/ American traditions to Zambia - hence the planning and preparation that was needed months in advance.
The essential ingredient of Christmas is the family gathering, which was easier said than done in this case. The first step was organizing my older sister’s gap year plans to coincide with a December stop off in Zambia, where the rest of the family was living at the time. This did “work” in the end as we met half way: she came from Swaziland to meet us in Zimbabwe and we drove from Lusaka to pick her up in Harare.
The second challenge was to try and obtain a Christmas tree and turkey. I can’t remember how my parents managed this in the end, as to get even the most basic British food items was difficult. At the time it was just part of the “magic” of Christmas that children come to expect.
So in the end we spent the three days of Christmas in the most mix-matched way. To begin with, on Christmas Eve, we were invited to the British High Commission (absurdly enough my American mother was employed by the British Government) and so my twin sister and I spent most of the day in their swimming pool (certainly something I had never done in December). Christmas Day began at home, with the craziest present of a trampoline, which my parents has managed to hide from us, (we must have been pretty unobservant) and continued with a trip to Church to listen to the beautifully sung carols from the choir. Finally, on Boxing Day we decided to go to Lilayi Lodge (20 minutes drive from Lusaka) and were given a surprise: instead of feasting on the traditional Zambian nshima (a vegetable or meat stew eaten with mealy-meal) we were served, amongst other exotic worldwide cuisines, frogs’ legs.
This 1998 Christmas therefore, had an international theme. Firstly, the traditional Zambian: consisting of going to Church (an experience that wouldn’t be quite complete without the sickly sweet ice-cream that was always sold outside by the various street vendors). Secondly, the British/American tradition of having turkey with all the trimmings; and finally, to round it all off, feasting on the French stereotypical portrayal of frogs’ legs. I can safely conclude that this was the most interesting and mix-matched Christmas I have experience so far.
Author: Becky Riddell
Date: 19 December 2006