CHRISTMAS is arguably the largest celebrated holiday in Zimbabwe and the world over.
It is even larger in life than Unity, Africa, Heroes or Independence Day.
The day comes with a lot of spending and church services in honour of the so-called founder of the Christian religion, Jesus Christ.
Of course, Jesus was not born on this day.
And that message must cascade down to our children.
They must know the truth that the white Jesus Christ they celebrate was not born on December 25.
And that he was not white.
The central figure in Christmas celebrations as always is Santa Claus, an elderly white-bearded man in a red outfit who is believed to love children and comes into their homes at night down the chimney to visit obedient girls and boys and leaves them gifts in a sock.
In Zimbabwe, business entities probably have difficulty sourcing a fat whiteman (if they can afford one), though most simply settle for an out-of-sorts burly black man or in most instances, a slim black Santa with sellotaped cotton wool masquerading as the beard, wearing red pyjamas and a belly stuffed with bed sheets.
God forbid!
Thousands of dollars are spent on Christmas Day, while young African children clamour for a photograph with Santa Claus, for a fee.
But like everything else, we do not even know why we have a fat whiteman in place of Jesus for Christmas, just as we don’t question why we have Easter eggs from a rabbit and not from a chicken.
We do it because everyone else is doing it and there is a feeling of righteousness that comes as we perform these rituals that have never been part of us as a people, nor Christianity as a religion.
It looks like the whole idea is to drive home the colonial philosophy that white is superior.
In our lead story, the writer talks about the origins of Santa Claus, who has come to be affectionately known as Father Christmas especially by the young at heart, whose origins seem to not have a relationship with Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
If Jesus comes from the Middle East, where do the fetishes of Christmas Trees with sprinklings of snow come from?
Where did the culture of Christmas cards, bells, Christmas turkey, Christmas cake, Christmas crackers as well as Christmas carols come from when they have no relationship with Christ?
Surely is this fetishism meant to please God or Mammon?
We question the National Schools Pledge.
We question why other religions are being taught, but never question why we celebrate a white Jesus on a day he was not born or why Easter is moved by the Vatican every year.
There are a number of countries that do not celebrate Christmas and it’s interesting that Israel is among them.
Israel is said to be the birth country of Jesus and that is where he was crucified.
Israel is predominantly a Muslim and Judaism territory.
Christians are approximately just two percent of the entire population.
Hence it is very interesting that Israel’s economy gets a good boost from the Christian faith that they themselves do not believe in. Jerusalem receives about 3,4 million tourists every year, while not all tourists are for the Christian faith as this is also a significant place for Islam.
Holidays such as Easter, Passover and Christmas are big economy-boosters for Israel, such that it is said their country employs over 200 000 of its people, six percent of the country’s workforce.
One wonders if the tour guide who takes people through Nazareth and Jesus’ tomb even believes the ‘history’ he/she would be churning out.
This is because according to Islam and Judaism, the idea of their great deity, God/Allah impregnating a woman is ridiculous.
Therefore they contend that Jesus was human just like the rest of us and most likely, a prophet.
So as Zimbabweans celebrate Christmas, they must know that December 25 has nothing to do with Jesus.
If anything, as Mai Mpepereki said last time, it is actually an arrangement where the poor enrich the rich.