Christmas is a holiday that is celebrated all around the world from Canada to Australia and everywhere in between. Christmas in Liberia is something that is also celebrated every year and with a unique mix of some American and African traditions.
Liberia was an American colony, and this explains the high Christian population and some of the American traditions in the country.
Christmas in the United States and Liberia are similar with things like coming together with your extended family, having a large dinner party, gift giving, and celebrating the holidays together.
The differences are in the types of food, weather, and Christmas icons.
Foods that are typically eaten in America on Christmas are things like turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, but in Liberia it is goat soup, jollof rice, fufu, and fried greens. The American Christmas icon is Santa Claus, a big guy who comes and gives gifts to children who were good, but in Liberia there is a spirit called the Old Man Beggar who asks for gifts.
Neumann student Krayee Pour is Liberian. “The way my family and I celebrate Christmas is not much different from the way most people celebrate Christmas. As most families, we open presents from under the tree, but as a child, I heard many stories about Old Man Beggar/Bayka. Old Beggar/Bayka is supposed to be the opposite of Santa Claus, who goes around asking for presents and scares children,” he said.
Old Man Beggar, also known as Bayka, is very important to Liberian culture. He is their most important Christmas figure. The beggar is associated with the “dancing devils,” spirits that come from the Poro, or the “bush” in Liberia and other West African nations.
The beggars were traditionally a part of festivals in Liberia, and then when Liberia got colonized the spirits were used on Christmas.
Old Man Beggar is someone who comes on Christmas and asks the community to give him gifts, and he has a famous phrase “my Christmas on You.” He is usually dressed in a mask and with old clothes and rags and is sometimes on stilts.
Even though he is a spirit asking for gifts on Christmas, he is not evil and there is great joy surrounding Old Man Beggar. Music plays and great crowds come along and dance with him.
Christmas in Liberia tells a story of a country that has both American and African traditions and where community is a strong point.
The country was founded by white elites in Washington D.C called the American Colonization Society who wanted to send free African Americans back to Africa.
The Group first came together on December 21, 1816, and there were a lot of influential people who supported the group, like U.S. presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe.