Back home in Nigeria, the Christmas season means lots of parties, entertainment, the aroma of jollof rice and chicken filling the air, traffic, and noise. Some people travel to their villages, and even those who do not travel get to spend their holidays with family and friends.
But what happens when you’re in a new country and far away from home? From struggling for shifts at work to earn double pay to being locked up indoors, what is it really like to spend your first Christmas in a new country?
For many Nigerians who have taken the bold step to move abroad, their first Christmas away from home rarely looks like the movies. Nigerians living in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada shared what their first Christmas in a new country was like.
“It was so lonely, no neighbor, no food,” says Maxwell from the US
It was the year 2010. I arrived in November during the winter. I had this fear of the unknown as an undocumented immigrant, like I had lost everything and would be starting all over. I admired the Christmas lights and shiny Christmas trees. They were really beautiful, but deep inside, Christmas felt like a storm. I could not feel the celebration and didn’t know if I should be waiting for Santa Claus like the children to bring me something to cheer me up.
On Christmas day, it was a gloomy experience as I was hungry and kept expecting neighbors to come knock on the door with food. The person who was hosting me in Atlanta went to work on that day and just showed me where the Basmati rice was. When he left, I kept asking myself, “Is that how they work here, even on Christmas Day?”
I came out of the house, and everywhere was quiet. Nobody was throwing bangers (a type of firecracker known for its loud, powerful bang), and nobody was greeting Merry Christmas. Instead, all I was hearing was happy holiday and I kept wondering which one is happy holiday again? It was really so lonely. The cold finally chased me back into the house, and I went to eat my Basmati rice, which was my first time tasting it.
Boxing Day came, and I thought it would be different, but it was the same thing. I went out jogging, and everywhere was dry, no feeling of Christmas, and everybody was minding their business. I went to the mall hoping to see a familiar face. I sat there from 12 pm to 6 pm, and nothing happened. That was when it dawned on me, “Welcome to America.” You can stay all day in the mall and not see one person you know, unlike back home, where you get to run into family and friends. This experience changed my orientation as I had this feeling of being lost in a foreign land. I just had to change my culture and way of life. I got to learn that in America, they do not go all out for Christmas. The only popular holiday is Thanksgiving, and that is what they celebrate.
Over the years, things have changed for me, and I have had better experiences. The thing with being in America is that change is constant. Every six months, things will be changing for you, from starting in one room, you will move to two rooms, from shopping at a dollar store to shopping for designer items.
“We ate our Christmas food for like one week,” Lizzy from Canada
My first Christmas here was in 2023, and it was a culture shock for me. Christmas is celebrated differently here. People started putting up Christmas decorations in November, just after Halloween. It’s like a culture where every house has to have a Christmas tree, no matter how little, unlike back home, where you can count the number of houses with decorations. I also realized they are very big on gifting. People are intentional about giving and receiving gifts.
My first Christmas was a really lonely one. It was just me, my husband, my daughter, and a friend who came to help me cook. Unlike in Nigeria, where we prepare ahead, buy new clothes, cook different meals, and go out, the people here don’t really care about those things. They spend the day hanging out with family and friends, and their circles are usually small. Also, all the stores are locked, and if you forget to buy anything before Christmas Day, you are on your own.
On December 25th, I made over-spiced jollof and fried rice, Naija style, and shared with neighbours as we do in Nigeria. I don’t even know if they ate it or not; that was just my own way of sharing, and it was what we did back home. The food we cooked, we ate it for like one week, because it was just us.
It felt very lonely, just four people on Christmas Day, something that would never happen in Nigeria. Nobody was outside, and everywhere was dry, the opposite of Lagos, where everywhere would be bubbling. It really hit me.
For me, it’s a mix. I like the idea of giving and being intentional about it. I also like that Christmas is not just 25, and they make the whole season count. The downside is the loneliness and isolation.
“It wasn’t festive, it was spent working,” said Chidi from London
My first Christmas in the UK wasn’t festive at all; it was spent working. I had heard stories about it being lonely, so I decided to pick up shifts, rather than stay home alone and sad. I picked up every shift I could get. Christmas Eve? I worked. Christmas Day? I worked. Boxing Day? I worked. Travelling to and from work, the streets of East London that should have been merry and bright were empty. No buses, very few cars, and a handful of people. Thank God for work, which kept me busy and left no room for me to be sad.
“No turkey in sight and the streets were empty,” Glory from the UK
I’ll never forget that first Christmas. It was nothing like the movies. I landed at Heathrow Airport in November 2023 on a work visa. The first thing that hit me was the cold. As Christmas Day approached, I had plans of just having fun and making the best of it. Little did I know that things were different here. After work on Christmas Eve, I rushed to Aldi to get turkey, liver for fried rice, and some other food items. I wanted to make a stuffed turkey as they do during Thanksgiving in the US. Everywhere was packed full of shoppers, no turkey in sight, and most of the shelves were empty. I tried Sainsbury’s and Tesco too, but it was the same story. Exhausted from hopping between stores, I gave up and went home. I planned to come out early on Christmas morning to get the things I needed, but to my greatest surprise, every shop was closed, and the streets were empty. I ended up eating chicken and chips. That Christmas was a cultural awakening and a reminder that things are indeed different here.
“I learned that Christmas is just another day here,” Wale from Canada
My first Christmas in Canada was in 2022 when I arrived for my master’s degree. I had heard whispers that Christmas abroad could be very boring, but I did not anticipate the degree of loneliness. I was in Halifax at the time. I remember waking up on Christmas morning to complete silence. No music from neighbors. No aroma of jollof rice and chicken. No children shouting and playing in the compound. Nothing.
For the first time in my life, I had cereal and fruits for Christmas. I shed a little tear as I remembered Christmas at home. I was new in a foreign country with no family or friends to spend the day with. I spent the day doing video calls with people back home.
Abroad is different. Christmas is just another day here. They love Christmas, but they’re not as loud about it as we are in Nigeria. They are more concerned about gifting their loved ones and spending time together. Moreso, they mind their business a lot. I guess that is why it gets really lonely around the holidays here.
Interested in sharing your Abroad Life experience? You can reach me here.
