POLOKWANE – Christmas is the time to celebrate and be merry. For some it is a time of quiet reflection and meditation, for some it is a time of merriment and festivities, for others it is just another day.
To most people it is a time to be with family and friends, of preparation for the day and getting into the spirit of Christmas.
For Jaqui Doyle, who has a young daughter, Christmas preparations are a must and a pleasure.
“I read Christmas stories every day and we listen to Boney M and other Christmas songs. Our home is decorated and there are many reindeers all over who ‘call’ Father Christmas every evening to tell them if my daughter has been good. The house is full of decorations and stockings and the tree has been decorated since the beginning of December.
“This Christmas we are going to my best friend’s house. On Christmas morning we will open presents and have a huge lunch later. On Christmas eve the children each receive a Christmas hamper with special Christmas pyjamas, hot chocolate and a video. We are going to make a big Christmas bed and watch videos and have fun.”
She hopes Father Christmas will bring her a GHD (hair straightener) or an external hard disk drive.
For Margie van Blydenstein an advent wreath is very important. She starts preparations for Christmas four weeks in advance and lights advent candles.
She says she likes to help needy people and people who need assistance, like residents of old age homes.
For her Christmas is a time of celebration of the Christ child and of giving in the Biblical sense.
Zodwa Moila’s family will all come to visit over Christmas.
“We all give each other gifts and are of one spirit. The children will get dolls and cars and for the adults I will give cutlery or something they can remember me by. We bake a lot of cakes and braai and the children play on a jumping castle.”
Mokgadi Ramaphoko says in her culture people get together, make sure everybody has new or nice clothes “and we braai and drink and dance and cook meals like we never ate for a long, long time.”
Christmas is a very important day for her.
“We all go to church the morning before we start to celebrate.”
Elna Wiehahn starts preparing for Christmas before the time too. She puts up a Christmas tree and does her shopping long before the time.
“As a family we decide on a price limit for the gifts and our children who are not at the seaside come to visit us. We will go to the Ebenezer dam for around three days around Christmas day.
“There will be a leg of lamb and vegetables on the Christmas table and desert of course,” she says.
She enjoys sharing Christmas with her children and loves doing things the traditional way. She remembers her grandmother’s Christmas pudding with coins inside and the joy of finding a coin (a tickey) inside.
“Above all, I hope the spirit of Christmas will be there,” she says.
