The story of my Christmas dress.

Christmas in Njimafor-Mbatu used to be a full adventure on its own. Among those adventures, one of the most amusing was my Christmas dress. We had a neighbor called Mama Felicitas who was a seamstress. Once in a while, my mother would buy a fabric from the Bamenda Main Market and give to Mama Feli to sew me a Christmas dress. Why did I say “once in a while”? Because it was not every year that I got a new Christmas dress. On the instructions of my mother, Mama Feli used to take my measurements in a way that the dress would have enough room for growth, so that I could use it the next year, and the year after.

Yes, after each Christmas, my mother would wash my Christmas dress, fold it, and tuck it in her box to wait for next year. If in a certain year, my older sister sent me a Christmas dress from the “coast”, that would be a welcome surprise. In which case, the old Christmas dress would then graduate into a Sunday dress for Church. My typical Christmas dress used to be an oversized “up-and-down jumper”, accompanied with a pair of “nchang shoes”. I graduated from “nchang shoes” (rubber sandals) when I got my first pair of white canvas shoes in Class 5 in Primary School.

While reflecting about what Christmas means to me this year, the image that came to my mind was my childhood Christmas dresses. At first, I didn’t quite get the value of the symbolism. But on Christmas Eve, while lying on my coach and listening to “silent night holy night”, it hit me. Christmas is the commemoration of the incarnation of God, the birth of the Son of God, or the manifestation of the Savior of humanity. To celebrate Christmas, therefore, is to enter into the spirit of that new birth, to become a new person, to become in the here and now, that which Christ is in eternity. When we put on new clothes at Christmas, it is a symbol of the new nature that we have embraced, or at least, are willing to embrace.

My family could not afford a brand new Christmas dress for me each year, but they made sure that every Christmas felt special, by taking out the preserved Christmas dress. My family could not buy me fancy shoes and toys for Christmas. But they made sure I went to church and relieved the drama that unfolded in Bethlehem 2023 years ago. Maybe it is because I did not have too many external clothes, toys, shoes, and gifts to distract me that I, as a child, developed the ability to pay kin attention to the true meaning of Christmas. In that case, I got the greatest gift of all. God bless my humble and devout parents who have now departed from this world.

What then can I offer you for Christmas? As the saying goes, “you cannot give what you do not have, and you can only give that which you have”. Love is, therefore, the only gift I can offer you this Christmas. Love is the nature of God. Love is the Divine Essence that is personified as Christ. Love is the true Christmas dress we ought to adorn ourselves with.

If we choose love, we will find the strength to forgive ourselves of all the shortcomings of the past that are now holding us in spiritual and mental bondage.

If we choose love, we will find the humility to put our spouses and children before ourselves and turn our homes into a true domestic church.

If we choose love, we will snap out of the nightmare of religious fanaticism and become an authentic people who worship God in spirit and in truth.

If we choose love, we will outgrow the political and economic greed that instigates oppression and war, and build a society in which everyone thrives.

Whenever we stood in line in front of Mama Feli’s house eagerly waiting to collect our Christmas clothes, we could see the love and dedication with which she did her job. Looking back now, I wonder how much money she actually got paid. She found greater joy in the knowledge that it was thanks to her that all the children were running around the neighborhood like human Christmas trees. It can be the same for you. No matter who you are, no matter what you are doing, no matter what you have or don’t have, no matter where you are, love is the power that you can use to transform your life and that of the people around you. The best news of all is that all of us have equal access to love. It costs nothing, yet it is more valuable than everything.

Have a love-filled Christmas.

Godfrey Esoh Nji,

25th December 2023

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About the Author

Godfrey is an educator, entrepreneur, and success coach with over 20 years of experience. He is the Founder and President of The African Meta University, a private higher education establishment accredited by the Cameroonian Ministry of Higher Education and the Cameroonian Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training. He is also the Founder and CEO of Legacy Education And Professional Services, a career consulting company that helps young Africans to build global careers and fast-track their socio-economic independence through Employment-Based-Immigration programs. To book a free consultation, feel free to contact Godfrey on WhatsApp +1 781 346 8285.