A short summary of how Christmas is observed in another culture . This time in Ghana in West Africa

"Afishapa"Christmas Tradition in Ghana
Christmas in Ghana has always been for us one of the most important and
joyous religious festivals. It lasts for many days in all parts of the
country. It is the time for beautiful Christmas music on the streets, on
radio, television, and everywhere. As a religious celebration the churches
start preparing many months before December 25th. The preparations are so
intense that one really feels as if the whole country is actually preparing
for the birth of the baby Jesus. Christmas in Ghana is the time when
relatives and friends visit each other from town to town and from village to
village in all regions of the country regardless of their Religious
Persuasion. One may see people in cars, buses, and Lorries brightly
decorated with Christmas themes traveling all over the place with the usual
Ghanaian Joy. Many people try to at least get home by Christmas Eve to visit
the Ancestral home and to visit with families and friends.

The traditional Christmas Eve Dinner consists either of a specially
cooked rice and goat or chicken stew or soup and is eaten before the Annual
Christmas Worship Service and all friends and relatives as well as strangers
are invited. The food consumed at the Christmas Day dinners may include
rice, chicken, goat, lamb, and fruits of various kinds. There may be
mangoes, oranges, pawpaw or cashew fruits. The families always brightly
decorate the houses with beautiful paper ornaments specially made for the
occasion. A tree in the center of the courtyard is also decorated. It may be
a mango tree or a guava tree or a cashew tree. Usually the children and the
young people in each family do this. Not only homes but also schools and
neighborhoods are brightly decorated with colorful crepe paper while we look
forward to the Christmas Eve Services at the various churches. After the
service there is usually a joyous procession through the streets led by
local bands and Christmas Revelers which is joined by all. The dancing in
the streets may continue till the wee hours of the morning. The gala mood
continues night after night for a long time.

On Christmas Day everyone returns to the church in his or her finest new
clothes and the churches are generally full. At the church we hear again the
story of the first Christmas in all the ethnic languages along with the
singing of traditional carols in our own ethnic languages reminding us of
the meaning of the blessed birth of the baby Jesus. After the Christmas
service young people receive special gifts such as special imported
chocolate, special cookies, and special crackers. They are told that the
gifts come from Father Christmas, (a carry over from the colonial days). The
young may also receive new clothes and perhaps new shoes or a diary or a
book. Meanwhile, throughout the celebration, everyone is greeted with the
special Akan greeting word, "Afishapa," meaning Merry Christmas and Happy
New Year.