by Ada from Lagos asks Santa about Christmas cookies, learns about the Niger River, and hears about Nigeria’s tradition of returning home for the holidays
Dear Santa, my name is Ada and I am nine years old. I live in Lagos, Nigeria, where my aunty says the traffic is so busy that even you might want to consider the chimney route instead of the roads.
Dear Ada, your aunty gives excellent travel advice. I have taken the chimney route through Lagos for exactly that reason for many years now.
Santa, I have three questions.
My first question is, do you like Christmas cookies? My mum makes chin chin instead, and I want to know if you have ever tried it.
I have tried it, Ada, many times, and I hold a very high opinion of a good batch of chin chin. Crunchy, a little sweet, dangerously easy to keep eating. I may have taken a small extra bag one year. I have no regrets.
My second question is about our country’s biggest river. My teacher says our whole country is named after it. Is that true?
It is true, Ada. The Niger River is one of the great rivers of West Africa, and it winds for thousands of kilometers, giving your country its name. Flying above it at night, its wide bends catching the moonlight, is a genuinely beautiful part of my route.
My third question is about going to the village. Every December my whole family travels back to my dad’s hometown for Christmas, and the roads get packed with everyone doing the same thing. Why does everyone do that?
That is one of Nigeria’s warmest traditions, Ada, often called the December homecoming, when families across the country travel back to their hometowns to celebrate together with relatives, share meals, and reconnect with where they come from. I think it is one of the finest kinds of gift there is, choosing to travel a long way just to sit beside people you love.
Merry Christmas, Santa.
Your friend,
Ada Okafor
Lagos, Nigeria
P.S. Please bring more chin chin recipes to the North Pole kitchen.
Already requested, Ada. Mrs. Claus is very excited about it.
