Christmas Around The World - Kenya - The British Hamper Company

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Christmas Around The World - Kenya

11 Nov 2020

We leave Christmas in Kazakhstan behind and head Southwest for 6,029km to Kenya.

Located on the Eastern coast of Africa, looking out into the Indian Ocean, Kenya is home to around 50 million people and covers an area of 580,367 square km.

With scenic landscapes and abundant wildlife, Kenya is a very popular safari destination. Running North to South through Kenya is the Great Rift Valley, part of an intra-continental ridge system and home to a str5ing of active volcanoes.

The 2 main languages in Kenya are English and Swahili, although most Kenyans speak another language too - their tribal language. There are 42 tribes in Kenya.

So, how do they celebrate Christmas in Kenya?

When

Christmas is celebrated on 25th December in Kenya.

Decorations

Colourful balloons, paper decorations, ribbons, flowers and green leaves are used to decorate churches and homes. Many people will have Christmas trees, some artificial, some Cyprus trees. In cities and towns, stores may decorate their storefront with fake snow and some will have a Santa inside.

Christmas around the world - Kenya - Christmas gifts

Image by StockSnap from Pixabay

Customs

It’s very important to see family at Christmas time as it’s often the only time a year that large families will all get to see each other. People try to be home for Christmas Eve to help with the preparations.

Santa is believed in by many children but instead of him flying on magical reindeer, he’s often shown travelling by land-rover, camel, or bike. Many people will go to Midnight mass where carols and Christmas songs are sung, poems and dances are performed, and there’s often a Nativity play showing the Christmas story.

The main celebration starts after the service where people will begin to party and many won’t sleep. Going carol singing is increasing in popularity in many cities.

Gifts are exchanged for Christmas, but usually only small gifts, and some missionary organisations will provide food and gifts to those who need it. Boxing Day is also celebrated with family, or by just sleeping off the festivities of the previous day.

Food

The main Christmas meal is called ‘nyama choma’ and many tribes will have their own special dishes. The overall most popular food for Christmas is a barbeque usually consisting of sheep, goat, beef or chicken with rice and chapati as sides. Homemade beer is often drank alongside the meal. Western Christmas Cake might be eaten in the cities, but rural areas don’t really have it.

Our next Christmas destination looks at Christmas in Latvia.