The Christmas period in Freetown, Sierra Leone is joyous for everyone. Sierra Leoneans living abroad come back. The city is full of people. Families gather together, go out and visit friends and relations and everyone celebrates. It doesn’t matter if you are Muslim or Christian – everyone is involved.
The hot weather, cooled by the harmattan winds blowing in from the Sahara desert, the music played from every corner on every street. The Hifi systems precariously balanced on top of cars, tables, and roofs, drink crates, pumping out songs and all trying to compete for your attention and trying to be loudest.
Then there are the three hour church services on Christmas Eve where to get a good seat you arrive a further hour early and sometimes have to bring your own chairs. These are seriously social occasions, everyone is gossiping, and enjoying themselves. And the carols in church – one cannot describe it, the words and tune are the same as the British ones, but the whole tone is different, somehow there is more swing to the music.
The carnival processions where ‘debul dem’ (Devils – brilliantly costumed masked dancers are followed by huge crowds of people dancing and singing), with the procession interrupted every now and again with the debul calling in on a house and sitting down to have a nice cooling beer. Then on with the party.
And the food. Not just what is cooked, but the fact that friends will send dishes round to each other, Of course, this is a part of serious one-upmanship. Everyone makes sure that they send out the best possible food, presented in the best possible way.
