Just like that, Christmas is here! We literally blinked twice, and the year ended. Hasn’t God been good? In my childhood days, this would have been the time to figure out nguo gani iko fashion so I could start pitching to Madam, my mother. This year, it would definitely have been ile sweater ya ng’ombe na cargo pants.
This would also have been the time to start preparations for the Christmas plays we did every year as Sunday School kids. During my tenure, I played almost every role in that act—except Joseph, for obvious reasons. I even played kondoo at some point. My most memorable one, though, was probably when I was in Class 5, and I was the Angel of the Year.
As expected, an angel needed to be dressed in white. So, there I was, wrapped in a white bedsheet from head to toe, swinging my arms up and down as I entered the church from the back door, hopping slowly and gracefully (or so I tried) all the way to the front where I’d meet Mary and Joseph to deliver the news—separately.
When my time came, I hopped in, swinging my hands up and down as instructed, but the “gracefully” part…well, sitasema mengi. I met Mary, gave her the news, easy peasy, then I hopped out ungracefully and waited for my next scene.
Came the time to appear to Joseph. I repeated my steps just like Gogo Violet, our longest-serving Sunday School teacher at AIC Kessup, had instructed. But when I got to Joseph—drama sasa ikaanza! I completely forgot all my lines, and all I kept saying was, “Kwishaaaa, kwishaaaa!” Now the whole church was staring at “Angel Gabriel” who was helplessly staring back at them with a mic held dangerously close to his mouth. I actually didn’t realize the whole church could hear me saying kwisha; I guess I assumed everything had switched off, like my brain. After all, I was an angel, and angels cause miraculous things to happen, right?
(It’s worth noting that the Bible doesn’t actually specify which angel visited Joseph to deliver the news of Mary’s pregnancy, but we were on a budget. We couldn’t afford many angels, so Gabriel had to handle it all. Kwanza venye rate card ya angels inakuanga juu!)
So, there I was, telling Joseph, “Kwishaaaa kwishaaaa kwishaaa…” You can imagine how scared he must have been! How bad can a message be if the angel is saying kwisha?
When I was about to give up and sprint out, I saw Mzee Kimosop seated in the front row, smiling, in his usual calm self. Within seconds, that feeling of comfort and reassurance brought back all my lines, and I gave Joseph his message.
If you’re familiar with this story in the Bible, then you know Kwishaaaa was a pretty fitting preamble to the message!
Looking back now, I honestly think we should have done these plays in Kalenjin instead of Kiswahili. If we had, trust me, singesahau a single word. Besides, our entire church was Kalenjin, apart from two or three Luhyas who also understood Kale. Anyway, Kiswahili kitukuzwe!
As we gear up for Christmas, think of the real reason behind it, let the season mean more than just fun times, it’s deeper than that.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
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