IT'S A TRADITION

Family traditions can be tiring at the beginning, especially for the children who get to do as they are told. And the girl child who sees it as more of a training season than a day of celebration. I would pity my sister seeing her spend the eve of Christmas in either the kitchen or the market. Whatever she has to do for herself that day is merely insignificant and what's worse, no matter how much help I provide in trying to assist, she still ends up doing the bulk load of the work. This is mainly because I can't do the things she can. Growing up we both watched my mum do them, but now, it's my mum and my sister.

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Although she says it's not as stressful as I assume it to be for her because she loves cooking and kitchen work, I do not love kitchen work, so yeah it's hectic for me. I remember one time when I had to scold my younger brother because he was trying to avoid the traditional work of the kitchen experience, I mean the ladies in the house (my mum and sister) get to do 70% of the job, why the guys excluding my dad do about 30% In assisting them. The work for Christmas Eve in my family involves going to the market to get ingredients for a variety of food. In all the varieties we would include rice, ukodo (pepper soup with yam, unripe plantain, goat meat, fresh catfish, and other assorted meats), and any kind of swallow.

The swallow is mainly eaten by special visitors, and those who don't swallow eat ukodo instead. The ukodo however is majorly for my dad and I (since the year I turn 20). The rest of the family gets to eat it on the night of Christmas (if they still have any space left in their stomach) or on Boxing Day. Thinking about it now, this tradition was instituted by my mum and I don't know why, but I think it's a way families show regard to the head of the house in my dad's culture. I have seen a lot of my friends' family who come from the same tribe as my dad practice similar traditions. One surprising thing about the tradition is that the head of the fish is often served for the head of the house. My dad doesn't like that part of the fish so my mum serves it for me too, and I just have to pretend I like it.

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I don't hate that part of the fish, but I don't like that every other person gets to eat the real fish and I eat the bony head. In as much as my mum and sister share the cook-a-ton experience, whereby sometimes they cook up to five meals that day, no one (not even my dad) is allowed to eat the food that day. We like it though, and that's because we get to eat chicken and sip garri (cassava flakes 😂). The garri is often rich with a lot of sugar and milk, cold water for the brain, and two chickens for everyone😂. Although my dad and I find our way to the kitchen without mum's notice and add to the chicken we've been served 😂. On Christmas day my mum and my sister sleep, wake up, and serve the family and guests when they come.

THIS IS MY RESPONSE TO HIVE LEARNER'S PROMPT FOR WEEK 91 EPISODE 2