Holy day or holiday? Xmas is now the spiritual ticket to unholy cheer

Travellers flock at Kibwezi matatu stage during the Christmas transport rush in Nairobi on December 23, 2021. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

There is a perception that Christmas is a holy day. But all is not well about the “holy” expectation. Something is wanting. If you want to know the impact of Christmas, ask the butcher, the matatu driver, supermarket operator, banker, or prostitute. Ask the bartender. The bartender has a way bigger congregation and is way busier on this holy day than the priest. She is at the center of the action.

She will tell you the crates of beer they have sold is greater than any other time in the year. She will tell you they had to force people to leave, because it was way past closing time. She will tell you that many slept at the bar, lying prostrate in the presence of liquor and woke up to some bottles of beer to sober them up.

If the spirituality of the country – the impact of the church – was to be measured by the behaviour of people during this holy...