As the country marks its first Utamaduni Day on Thursday, confusion is rife among Kenyans as to how exactly the holiday should be celebrated.
The first of its kind, Utamaduni Day was approved early December by Cabinet as the replacement for the International Boxing Day holiday observed on the 26th of December.
While some have stormed social media dressed in their traditional attire, photographed consuming traditional foods and drinks, others are still waiting on President Uhuru Kenyatta to issue a directive on the official way to mark the holiday, whose institution was received with mixed reactions, with some wondering why the government would rename an international holiday.
Generally, the holiday was created for Kenyans to celebrate their culture which is day by day being eroded by Western practices thanks to increased exposure to the rest of the world, with the advent of internet platforms.
But it is not only Westerners who are killing the Kenyan culture.
The deplorable state of the country’s economy has also adversely affected spending-related cultures, which often came into play around the December holidays.
Most children born in the past ten years or so only hear of tales of Christmas clothes shopping.
Gone are the days when Kenyans would flock cloth malls such as the famous Garissa Lodge in Eastleigh to but dresses, suits, and shoes for their families.
There is simply no money for such luxuries.
Another slowly dying culture in Kenya is the mass migration upcountry.
Remember when news around Christmas time would only revolve around travellers spending nights stranded in bus stations as a result of an unbalanced passenger-vehicle ratio?
Back then fare, even for long-distance travellers, was a non-issue. Today, Kenyans are more alert on how they spend their money.
Why spend Ksh.10000 on bus fare alone, when you can send Ksh.5000 home and have Ksh.5000 to spare?
Christmas overindulgence is also on the decline, despite most salaried workers receiving their payment before the onset of the holiday as usual.
Kenyans have finally realized that after December, comes January and with it, hefty expenses, top among them school fees.
As the popular Kenyan proverb goes, “Spend your money wisely during Christmas to avoid calling people fake friends in January.”
Happy first-ever Utamaduni Day!