When we come across ruins, it reminds us of the departed souls

As with the Akans of Ghana having a proverb, although sad as it is, so does the nostalgia of Christmas carry same memories. The Akans say, “Se ye duro ammanfo so a, na ya kai yaanom” to wit, “We are reminded of our departed souls when we come across ruins”

The above saying is indisputably true. Whenever you visit an area which once used to be habitable, thus bubbling with human activities but has now become abandoned and ruined beyond recognition, as though no human beings had ever lived there, nor human activities ever went on there, you become filled with nostalgia

Unless I am getting confused with “ammanfo so” which should rather be “cemetery” than “ruins”, I shall insist how nostalgic I become when I visit my ancestral village of birth that has now nearly turned into overgrown forest. Should it be the cemetery, one will feel same.

Your visit to the cemetery will remind you of how those lying quietly there were once alive, talking and eating with you but are no longer around to participate in the very activities you used to carry out together.

Christmas carries the same nostalgic memories. It brings joy and sadness at the same time. When we look around, we may not see our parents, siblings, friends and certain townsfolk with whom we once used to sit around to enjoy the Christmas festive. They are all dead and gone.

Whilst Christmas is for merrymaking in remembrance of the birth of Jesus Christmas, it becomes nostalgic at the same time for the reason just explained above. It is in fact, an oxymoronic state for many of us who have lost loved ones.

As we celebrate the Christmas, enjoying our sumptuous meals and drinks, may we take a moment to reflect on our lost ones, the things we used to share in common and how we miss them so dearly.

The occasion of Christmas with its mixed feelings of joy and sadness is to me similar to visiting any once bubbling village but has now turned into a ghost village, ruined beyond human imagination.

The feeling of sadness is becoming so overwhelming that in order not to spoil the main reason for Christmas, thus, celebration of the birth of Christ, I will end here but not without wishing all and sundry a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Rockson Adofo

Sunday, 26 December 2021