All You Need To Know About The First Christmas Celebrated In Nigeria

December has never failed to bring the streets of Nigeria alive with shades of red, white and green adorning buildings, cars, poles, and streetlights simply because it’s the month of Christmas!

For hundreds of years, Christmas has been celebrated by Christians across the world as the anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ. It is one celebration Nigerians don’t dare miss because it comes with loads of fun, merriment, love, jollof rice and chicken.

Although the actual date Jesus Christ was born remains unknown, the Western Christian Church tagged December 25 as his birthday and this was accepted all over the world. You might have been longing to know when, where and how the first Christmas in Nigeria was celebrated or in short, the history of Christmas in Nigeria. As usual, OldNaija has you covered.

The history of Christmas in Nigeria started with the repatriation of freed slaves from the United States of America to Badagry in Lagos, Nigeria in 1838. About five hundred freed slaves settled in Badagry and among them was James Ferguson, a Methodist and leader of a trading group.

On March 2, 1841, this James Ferguson, after being granted approval, invited the missionaries in Sierra Leone to start missionary work in Badagary. The authorities responded to James’ invitation on September 23, 1841 and then sent a missionary named Reverend Thomas Birch Freeman to Badagry. Reverend Freeman arrived in a ship called Spy which anchored in a place known as Gberefu (Klefu) Sea Beach.

234504 Read: See This ‘Christmas’ Photo Taken In 1923 In Badagry, Lagos

The photo above was supposedly taken on Christmas day in Badagry, Lagos, Nigeria in 1923. After a careful examination of the picture, we realized that the letters on the Nigerians might be a result of photoshop but whether photoshop or not, can you see any element of racism or slavery in the picture?