Merry Christmas, to all diasporans that couldn’t make it home for Detty December! From the bustling streets of London to the sprawling suburbs of Toronto, the tech hubs of Texas to the quiet towns of Sweden, greetings on this special day.
As the aroma of your carefully prepared jollof rice fills your kitchen, a fusion perhaps with local spices from your adopted land, my mind goes to the unique space you inhabit today. You’ve traded Harmattan dust for winter frost, the cacophony of Danfo horns for the quiet of a snowy morning. You’ve achieved what many dream of: success built on relentless hard work, late-night shifts, and academic excellence in systems that sometimes underestimate your fire. You’ve sent those “proof of life” barrels, paid school fees, become the backbone from afar. We see you. We celebrate your triumphs.
But I also know this season can amplify the pangs of “what if.” The longing for the vibrant chaos of a Nigerian Christmas—the carols at the crack of dawn, the endless visits, the booming laughter of uncles in the compound. There’s a peculiar loneliness that can creep in, even amidst success, a feeling of being an ambassador without a permanent embassy.
Yet, herein lies the profound message of Christmas for us in the diaspora. The story of Christ’s birth is one of displacement—a family far from home, finding sacredness in a temporary shelter. It tells us that purpose, and even divinity, can be found in the unfamiliar. Your journey mirrors this. You have carried home within you, planting its values of resilience, community, and faith in foreign soils. You have built new families, “families of choice,” with fellow diasporans and kindred spirits.
So today, as you connect via Zoom for prayers or transfer that festive “allowance,” remember: your sacrifices are a testament of love as powerful as the season’s. Your dual existence is not a fracture, but a bridge. You are the living embodiment of the Christmas hope—a light shining in a different part of the globe, proving that home is not just a location, but a spirit you carry and spread.
Merry Christmas. May this day bring you joy, peace, and the deep, quiet assurance that you are seen, valued, and absolutely essential to the story.
Shine on!
From all of us at Tribes of Andrew