Today, December 25, is Christmas Day and Christians as well as their friends from all over the world are already in celebration mood.
Christmas is celebrated once in a year, to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, the saviour of the world whose followers are referred to as Christians, and is always heralded with a lot of pomp and pageantry.
Muslims as well as the Christian faithful gather to merry and one of the highlights of the day is the special delicacies that are always being prepared in different homes, Nigerian houses are not an exception.
In fact, some people have said that families save throughout the year to be able to afford Christmas clothes and prepare unusual delicacies as they would be receiving different visitors, friends and families during the celebration which often drags into late night parties.
Nigerians, especially, have a tradition of preparing specific meals and there are some delicacies that you can almost be certain to get when you visit people’s houses this season.
WuzupNaija presents four of those delicacies and suggest you add any you feel may be missing.
1. Jollof Rice:
Most Nigerian homes will have this staple food on their menu list, regardless of how wealthy or poor the families may be. This is because it is the fastest maybe the most affordable.
There is also this feeling that preparing ‘party jollof rice’ is one of the best ways to show that a celebration is going on in a house occupied by Nigerians.
Without doubt, the most common food that will be served on Christmas Day in most Nigerian homes is ‘party’ jollof rice complete with chicken or turkey.
2. Pounded Yam
Apart from the stress of preparing pounded yam, many Nigerians do not see it as an everyday meal, therefore it is almost rare to find people pound yam on ‘normal’ days. This is however, different on Christmas Day, as many families prefer to pound yam for visitors or the house.
While many would regularly prepare poundo yam as a replacement for the pounding on regular days, pounding the yam on a day of celebrations like Christmas is always a pleasure and adds more glee to the already beautiful anniversary.
Although most families are not certain to prepare pounded yam on Christmas Day, it is one of the surest meals that Nigerians are known to prepare on the auspicious occasion.
3. Fried Rice
The ingredients and patience required to prepare fried rice makes it one of the most complicated and dreaded meals by Nigerian homes.
However, those who are skillful and patient enough often prefer it to jollof rice as a meal for a huge celebration such as Christmas.
The fact that fried rice does not last for too long without getting spoilt is a reason many find it unfriendly to prepare, therefore, for very exciting occasions such as the celebration of Christians’ saviour, the food is often prepared in small quantities.
4. Vegetable Salad:
Another delicate food item to prepare, salad often comes in different forms. This implies that people decide how exactly they want it prepared and set out to do so.
Depending on one’s exposure and concept of salad preparation, the meal is always served alongside jollof or fried rice, and can also be eaten independently.
Like fried rice, many families are not ‘pro-salad’ apparently due to the complications that accompany the preparations. but would not mind a taste of the combinations.
Is there any food you would have loved to have here?
