–– Andrew Zekveld

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Introduction

Christmas is a month away, and already the range of emotions, sentiments, and opinions about celebrating Christmas are filling the conversations and plans of some Christians across Africa. A few months later, the Easter celebrations will re-ignite these discussions all over again. Then, forty days later, an Ascension Day Church service will be kept in some scattered Churches across our continent.

Our differences are not only personal, they are also national. In South Africa, the celebration of Ascension Day was removed as a national holiday with the fall of Apartheid in 1994. In Egypt, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, Christmas falls on the 7th of January and in Ghana on the 1st of December. In countries with a strong European heritage, you will find Christmas trees and fruit cake on Christmas Day, while the decorations and meals of other countries might vary from region to region within the same country. Though Easter is celebrated in many African countries with more zeal than Christmas Day, it receives no official attention in about a third of African countries.

How should Christians in Africa think about celebrating Christian holidays?