by Kwame, age 9, asks if Christmas trees are pagan, about Lake Volta, and Ghana’s independence
Dear Santa,
Akwaaba, hello from Accra. My name is Kwame and I am 9 years old. Christmas here is warm and full of music and church services that go on for hours, and my whole extended family travels back to our hometown just to celebrate together, which we call going home for Christmas.
My first question might surprise you: are Christmas trees pagan?
My second question is geography: what is the huge man-made lake in Ghana called?
My third question is from school: why was Ghana the first African nation to gain independence from colonial rule?
I left you jollof rice and fried plantain, and I hope Nigeria jollof does not get to you first this year.
Love, Kwame, age 9, Accra, Ghana
From the Desk of Father Christmas
Dear Kwame, I shall remain diplomatically silent on the great jollof debate, though I enjoyed every bite. Now, to your very thoughtful question and the others.
Are Christmas trees pagan?
This is a question historians actually discuss quite a bit. Long before Christmas existed, many peoples across northern Europe brought evergreen branches indoors during winter as part of older midwinter festivals, since evergreens staying green through the cold felt like a symbol of life continuing. When Christianity spread across Europe, some of these older customs blended together with the new Christian celebration rather than disappearing completely, which is common in how traditions evolve over long periods of time. The decorated tree as we now know it became widely popular in Germany in the 1500s and then spread as a Christian Christmas custom from there. So the honest answer is that the Christmas tree carries a little bit of very old history mixed in with its Christian meaning, layered together over many centuries.
What is the huge man-made lake in Ghana called?
That is Lake Volta, and it is one of the largest artificial lakes in the entire world by surface area. It was created when the Akosombo Dam was built across the Volta River in the 1960s, and it now provides much of Ghana electricity as well as fish and transport routes for many communities.
Why was Ghana the first African nation to gain independence?
Ghana, then called the Gold Coast, gained independence from British colonial rule in 1957, becoming the first sub-Saharan African country to do so. This happened because of years of determined political organising and peaceful protest led by figures such as Kwame Nkrumah, whose vision and persistence inspired independence movements across the rest of the African continent afterward. Your own name connects you to that history rather nicely.
Enjoy going home for Christmas, and I shall see you very soon.
Ho ho ho, Santa
