Christmas has been commemorated as the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ by Christians all over the world for hundreds of years. Christians make sure to attend this celebration because it is filled with joy, merriment, love, jollof rice, and chicken.
Although the precise day Jesus Christ was born is still unknown, the Western Christian Church designated December 25 as his birthday, and this was widely acknowledged.
You may have been curious to learn the dates, locations, and specifics of the first Christmas celebration in Nigeria, or simply the background of Christmas in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s history with Christmas.
The origins of Christmas in Nigeria can be traced to the 1838 return of freed slaves from the United States of America to Badagry in Lagos, Nigeria. James Ferguson, a Methodist and the head of a trading group, was one of the 500 or so freed slaves who relocated to Badagry.
After receiving permission, James Ferguson invited the missionaries from Sierra Leone to begin their work in Badagary on March 2, 1841.
On September 23, 1841, the authorities responded to James’ invitation and dispatched Reverend Thomas Birch Freeman as a missionary to Badagry. The Reverend Freeman arrived on board the Spy, which was docked at Gberefu (Klefu) Sea Beach.
William De Graft and his wife, both from the Gold Coast (currently Ghana), were the reverend’s two African assistants. In order to spread Christianity in Badagry and other regions of Nigeria, Reverend Freeman was tasked with working with his assistants. He delivered a sermon on Christianity a day after arriving in Asisoe Tin, Badagry, under the Agia tree.
Some of the liberated slaves had already left Badagry and relocated to the rocky town of Abeokuta. After that, Reverend Freeman was invited to preach Christianity in Sodeke’s town by the Alake (King) of Egba.
On December 11, 1842, Reverend Freeman left for Abeokuta and arrived back in Badagry on December 24, a day before Christmas. While there, he had the opportunity to meet the illustrious Reverend Henry Townsend of the Church Missionaries Society (CMS, now the Anglican Church of Christ).
On December 25, 1842, Reverend Freeman and Henry Townsend celebrated the first Christmas in Nigeria under the agia tree in Asisoe Tin, Badagry. The faithful citizens of Badagry, including the freed slaves and Europeans residing in Badagry at the time, joined in on the Christmas celebration.
Reverend Freeman delivered a sermon titled “The Incarnation Redeemer of Mankind” after Reverend Henry Townsend had read from the scripture to start the celebration.
The first Christmas celebration in Nigeria took place under a tree in Badagry, but as of today, it has evolved into a grand, glamorous event filled with fanfare.
Christmas in Nigeria serves as a way of uniting families and loved ones to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ as well as a time to share happy and special occasions.
