by Kwame, age 10 from Accra, Ghana, asks Santa about his favorite Christmas songs, the Gold Coast, and Ghanaian family traditions.
Kwame from Accra, Ghana
Dear Santa,
My name is Kwame, and I am ten years old. I live in Accra, Ghana, where Christmas happens during our dry season, so the whole city smells like dust and grilled corn instead of snow.
Dear Kwame, grilled corn might be the most delicious thing I have ever heard associated with Christmas Eve, and I have eaten a truly staggering number of cookies over the centuries.
I hope you and the reindeer are resting, because my mother says the workshop must be working overtime with so many letters arriving from around the world.
The workshop never fully stops this time of year, though the letters from Ghana are always some of the most cheerful to read.
Santa, I have some important questions.
First, what are your favorite Christmas songs? My auntie plays highlife Christmas music so loud the whole street can hear it.
I love the classics, but I have developed a real soft spot for highlife Christmas songs after flying low over West Africa for so many years. Your auntie has good instincts, Kwame, that music is practically designed to be heard from an entire street away.
Second, do you like Christmas lights? Our church puts up lights and everyone dresses in their best clothes for a big service.
That sounds like a beautiful night, Kwame. Christmas Eve services filled with lights and everyone in their best clothes are some of my favorite stops, the joy in the room is honestly visible from the sleigh.
Third, my teacher says Ghana used to be called the Gold Coast a long time ago. Is that true?
It is true, Kwame. European traders named it the Gold Coast because of the gold traded along that coastline for centuries, before it became the independent country of Ghana in 1957, the first country in sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence from colonial rule. That is a history worth being proud of.
Fourth, have you ever eaten jollof rice on Christmas Day?
I have, Kwame, more than once, and I will simply say Ghanaian jollof has earned a permanent spot on my very informal list of best Christmas dinners worldwide, though I know better than to say that too loudly near other countries’ jollof.
Fifth, my mom says Christmas in Ghana is really about the whole family coming home, even people who live far away. Is that a real tradition?
It is one of the strongest traditions I know, Kwame. Many Ghanaian families living abroad make a point of traveling home for Christmas every single year, filling towns and villages with reunions and long overdue hugs. That instinct, to travel however far it takes just to be near the people you love, is exactly what I hope every child carries with them.
I also have some follow-up questions.
Do the reindeer like hot weather at all?
They tolerate it for one night and spend the rest of the year reminding me about it.
Do you know any Twi words for Christmas?
A few, though my accent needs work. Afishapa, happy new year, is one I try hardest to get right.
Is it true Ghana has a rainforest?
It is true, the southern part of Ghana holds lush tropical rainforest, home to some of the most colorful birds I pass on my whole route.
Do you visit villages as well as the big city?
Every village, Kwame, no rooftop is too small or too far for a visit.
Thank you for reading my letter, Santa. My mother checked my spelling but the questions came from me.
Your questions showed real heart, Kwame, especially the one about family coming home. Keep holding onto that instinct, it is one of the best parts of this whole season. Merry Christmas to your whole family.
Merry Christmas, Santa.
Your friend,
Kwame Asante
Accra, Ghana
P.S. Can you bring my cousin home from London this year? That is my only real wish.
That one is already being arranged, Kwame, some gifts are best delivered by airplane instead of sleigh.
