If you were having coffee with me, I would be pleased you joined, I would tell you I heard a Christmas carol in a supermarket so definitely the Christmas season is here, although the general mood is somewhat subdued.
If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you that on Friday the 6th of December, Harare City Council switched on the Christmas lights, its officially Christmas in the Sunshine City.
I wonder if they are solar powered, I haven’t been in the city after dark and wondering how they are managing them in light of the electricity crisis…
If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you because of watching Christmas special movies and TV shows growing up I used to picture a typical “white Christmas” with snow and reindeer, a portly Santa Claus and his white whiskers. I have been thinking about this because been seeing some Christmas special campaigns with winter and snow themes a Christmas tree by a cozy fireside et cetera.
Here’s the thing it does not snow in these parts of the world; yet one of the first similes I learnt in school was As White As Snow. That’s not all, our Christmas is in the height of summer, the hot wet season to be precise, and it usually rains on Christmas day.
Shouldn’t our holiday festivities be more Summer themed and which part does the portly red jump-suited gent intersect with the nativity story….
If you were having coffee I would tell you I feel we are a product of someone else’s culture and traditions. “They” came, they saw they conquered; imposing their civilisation so thoroughly on us that if one should try and have a discussion about our ancestry it becomes an awkward topic or how even though English is not my mother language I can express myself better in it, than in mine….
One of the reasons why I write, why I encourage people to, is from looking at the amount of history that we lost throughout the ages, our knowledge was passed down via oral tradition and now no one remembers the stories and the lessons and the history books well those have been written and rewritten depending on who is in control of the narrative someone once hailed a hero becomes a traitor, some of the real heroes are never remembered, and others simply deny their part in history.
If you do not tell your own story someone else will tell it for you….
Recently BBC Hardtalk’s Stephen Sackur was in Zimbabwe for a series of On The Road In Zimbabwe episodes of HardTalk one of those was a short documentary on how the Victoria Falls faced a possibility of drying which some people interpreted as that the Victoria Falls have dried up, I wrote an article about this:
Drying Up Of The Victoria Falls
Another episode of the On the Road series shows Stephen Sackur in Harare’s Mbare city talking to citizens about the struggles they face…
Commenting on this a minister was quoted in local independent media as saying people are exaggerating their starvation…
Of course you can imagine there has been an online firestorm some saying the government is either heartless or out of touch with the plight of the ordinary citizens.
If you were having coffee with me I would tell you there’s 3 sides to every coin….
Heads, tales and the edge between them where the truth lies….
If you were having coffee with me, I would tell you this is day 9 of 25 days of blogging challenge and I should write about my best drink for the year…. Well in a roundabout way I meant to say that it’s summer and the mango season is about to begin, blending 100% mango juice from a mango in your back yard is the best thing ever…
What’s going on in your neck of the woods, has the festive season started yet?
~B
Becoming The Muse 
I am in high spirits because the festive season has started for me. On the issue of Christmas being associated with snow and lights and wreaths and reindeers and conifers etc. That was what was running through my mind when I stood in church yesterday. I wondered what was stopping us from customizing our Christmas. Do we have to copy and keep importing items like artificial conifers to mark the celebration? In Ghana, the season is usually characterised with the dry harmattan season. No snow or rain whatsoever. We need to make the season our own. By the way, your mango juice looks good 🙂
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Blessings and season’s greetings…
Thank you for sharing your observations, it’s always interesting to note how much similarities we have with people in places we have never been; right down to what may seem like random thoughts…
I am pretty sure we should be able to personalise our festivities to something closer to home, embracing our diversities and similarities.
~B
PS with a large enough mango harvest I might just giving visitors mango juice for Christmas 😂😂
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🤗
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hmm hmm hmm hmm, hear hear. Never thought of it. I love it! “Xmas is here” should be decorations of white umbrellas and hats (rain and heatwaves). Trees should be …should be, what trees blossom in December in Africa? Most of indigenous african trees are evergreen.
What am I asking, xmas trees are fir trees (evergreen) so we should be growing bonsai (miniature) acacia trees and baobabs for xmas in the Southern Hemisphere.
You have me all excited about the pagan christian celebration…I might start recognising the event.
Thanks
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I wanted to say we have jacaranda trees blooming but:
number 1: those bloom in October-November
number 2: that they are exotic to Africa and native to South America….
I have a bonsai baobab tree standing and you know what maybe this year will stand it in the corner where a tree would be and put so glitter ever green and yellow and red decor on it
~B
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Sounds marvelous B
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Hi Beaton.
I want to offer one modification to a key line from your post. Given that a lot of oral history is being lost and time introduces, ages and retires generations, your statement, “If you do not tell your own story someone else will tell it for you….” needs to be followed with something like,”… or worse, no one will and your words and deeds will melt together anonymously with those of everyone else that no one remembers.”
Hmmm. That’s too long, but I hope you agree that there is an important truth in it.
Then there is your point about the three sides of a coin. (Excellent BTW) To which I’d like to add, “and like the edge of that coin, the truth is very hard to get accidentally. It rarely just happens and more often needs the careful support and effort of someone who thinks it worth the time to discern and record.”
Okay, my tea needs to be warmed up and my small pot of morning wisdom is now empty. I hope you and all the good folks of Harare have a great Christmas coming, not by my standards, but by yours.
Blessings
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Blessings Gary
What a tragedy would it be, to die with your story untold and unremembered… As if you were never there….
You are absolutely right Gary, it’s an important truth, one that must not left unsaid.
Haha I think the coffee was laced with an extra helping of wisdom …. Have you ever tried balancing a coin on its edge, it usually easier when the coin is spinning not sure what that means for the truth analogy as i think i have drained my cup too😂😂😂
Happy holidays 🎉
Bless
~B
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As I share coffee with you I’m finding the world just a little bit smaller as I didn’t realize you all celebrate Christmas almost exactly like we do here, but given the history I can see why. And hadn’t really thought about it much, and not knowing really, that it’s summer for y’all. I live where I’ll never have a white Christmas as it doesn’t snow here either or where I want to move Phoenix, AZ. I must say it’s intriguing to read all the wisdom that’s flying around here, (yours and others responses) and I do love your analogy of the 3 sided coin! 🥰
Your mango juice looks AMAZING!! I bet it’s delicious! 😁
Such a wonderful post, my coffee is running out and the sun is out today after many days of rain. My horses are a bit water logged but we have sun for many days to come for some good drying out.
I will head to the stables, then finish decorating for Christmas and I need to buy some Christmas cards. Thanks for the cup of Joe! ☕❤️😄
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The world is such a tiny tiny place😍😍😍
I hadn’t set out to ooze wisdom but there must have been something in the coffee today 😂 I have been going through the comments like yep existential philosophies could be picked up from all this…
As for the coin analogy it came to me when someone mentioned that there’s two sides to a story and I thought hmmmm it’s more like 3 sides… 😂😂
Here’s to balance, like a coin on its edge, rain and sun
~B
PS I’m making Postcards!!!!
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“If you do not tell your own story someone else will tell it for you.”
Good point. And they often do, but with lies thrown in.
Congrats on day 9. I think I am on day 16. Gotta think of something to write.
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It’s hard to tell the motive of someone who wants to step in and tell your story for you and how they may twist your words whether intentionally or through unintended misinterpretation…
Wow you are like halfway there!!!! I am envious a writing challenge during the festive season is so hard, can’t wait to finish hahaha but also can’t wait to share all that I want to write too.
~B
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Some days might just be a one-liner from me. I hope to carry on with it.
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Sometimes one-liners are the most profound
Still waters run deep
~B
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Oh, and I am wondering what more appropriate simile there could be for something being white if there’s no snow in Zimbabwe.
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I have always found snow a curious subject and the closest thing I can relate to it is the ice in a fridge…. Is it cold to touch, can you eat it, what does it taste like, cold water???? 😂😂
Well I guess a simile could be crafted to liken it to whatever it is we would be comparing to being white as snow I guess 😂😂😂😂 teeth, clouds, cotton wool, moon light, dove, salt, swans, ivory, bride or bandaged thumb
~B
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I have never seen snow yet but I plan to travel in the future so that I do see,touch and make snow angels in it. Movies make it seem so magical.
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Bucket loads of wisdom on this post.
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The white in my beard is not just a decoration
~B
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Hahahaha you have just given me an idea to make some sand angel !!!!
~B
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The whole comic-like-strip regarding the mangoes made me chuckle. I’m not the biggest fan of this fruits.
Christmas music is all around, which kind of annoys me. Even though I cannot say anything against it at this point of the month.
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Hahaha one can’t be the Grinch who spoils Christmas music for everyone, good thing Christmas is like only one short month
~B
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