Christmas Day babies from left: Pharis Mugo, Christian Noel, Wambui Kanuri and Wangu Kanuri.
Being born on Christmas Day has its advantages and disadvantages. Christmas babies are among the lucky few who never have to work on their birthday, and people are always in a festive mood.
But there is also the challenge of people never realising it is your birthday - they always make plans for Christmas.
My name is Wangu Kanuri. I happen to be a Christmas baby, me and my twin sister, Wambui Kanuri. When I was growing up, Christmas was very special. We would visit our great-grandparents and mingle with other relatives in Kirinyaga County. Although we (my twin sister and I) were never the stars of the day, we had fun.
Wangu Kanuri.
Would I have wanted to change the tradition? Not really, but now I'm at a crossroads. I want to be celebrated, but I also want to be considerate.
I do not want to ignore the needs of my family members. Christmas is often a time of bonding with family members. I feel it would be so embarrassing to try to force "it's your birthday" on them.
Will I be celebrating with my twin sister? Not every 25 December. Identical twins have different personalities and tastes. We give each other space to be in our own element.
These days I decide how I want to spend 25 December. I reflect on the year that has passed and commit myself to the year to come. I celebrate my successes and victories, refresh my lessons and write down my next mountains to conquer. What remains in my heart is that the 25th of December is a day to thank God for the years I have been in this world. I love to set new challenges for the coming year.
I also travel to new places with my fiancé, try new foods and generally celebrate.
As a Christmas baby, I missed out on birthdays at school.
It was exciting to see parents bringing cake, snacks and drinks to school. But for us, my birthday meant a trip to the village.
Now, as an adult, the day has an introverted feel to it. I want to be with one or two friends or family.
Different perspectives
Wambui Kanuri (my twin sister), on the other hand, prefers to have her birthday and Christmas as separate occasions. Now that she is an adult, she chooses to celebrate them together.
As we got older, we made a fuss about being celebrated and making the day all about us, and more often than not we got our way because of an added advantage: 'we are the last born'.
"I still cherish the childhood memories of my birthday, such as going on trips, eating crisps, enjoying the swings, face painting and cutting the cake," she says. When she became a chef, the prospect of a Christmas and birthday party faded.
"I remember my then head chef, Chef Mugo, making sure I got a birthday cake in the middle of a hectic day. In my current career as a virtual assistant and content writer, gifts from my partner often make me forget for a moment that it's Christmas Day," she says.
Although she did not inherit a birthday tradition, Wambui is actively creating one for herself and her future generations. She explains, "Creating personal traditions adds depth to the significance of my birthday on Christmas Day.
Like almost all Christmas babies, Wambui shares that the challenge of celebrating her birthday on 25 December is that it can easily be overlooked amidst the grandeur of Christmas celebrations.
What about men born on Christmas Day?
Pharis Mugo, 36, says he likes to celebrate Christmas and his birthday together.
"I see no need to separate the two celebrations because the greatest joy is to have them together," he says.
Pharis recalls that when he was growing up in the village of Githure, he was the only child born on Christmas Day, so he was celebrated during church services.
"I would go to church very early in the morning because I had to be celebrated. I was the centre of attention for other children and even our Sunday school teachers," he says.
The last born in a family of seven, he says that while his siblings did not do much as they got used to it, his parents always celebrated him and reminded him that it was his birthday.
"It is not that I have ever forgotten that 25 December is my birthday, but every Christmas my parents call me to remind me that, despite their advanced age, it is still my birthday. The joy they have for me on my birthday is still the same as it was when I was a little child," he says.
Has the way you celebrate your birthday changed over the years? "Yes, of course it has! Back then I could not celebrate my birthday the way I wanted to because of financial constraints, but now I can invite friends, roast meat, buy a cake and take them on a trip to celebrate my birthday".
Like the Kanuris, Pharis has the most absurd memory of how his friends reacted to his birthday.
"At first, no one will believe you. They will ask for my ID and others for my birth certificate," he says.
For Pharis, sharing a birthday with Christ is a big deal. To this day, he feels happy and blessed.
"I feel that I have something divine in my life. A special being. A unique person," he says.
The sisters changed my name
Born on 25 December, Christian Noel Ogwang's parents wanted him to be called David, but the nurses said a baby boy born on Christmas Day should be called Christian.
"The name Christian has everything to do with Christmas," he says.
"When I was little, it was a privilege to be born on Christmas Day, but now it's like nobody pays attention to me," he says.
Growing up, Christian says it was routine for them to travel to the countryside.
"I could not be with my friends on Christmas Day. When we got back to Nairobi in January, it was all about the back-to-school rush," he recalls.
With no bouncy castles on Christmas Day, "I always looked forward to my friends' birthdays, unlike mine, because their birthdays were so much fun with bouncy castles, clowns, painting and other fun games," he says.
As a child, he grew up knowing that one day his parents would bring a cake for his birthday and have a big party at home over the weekend.
"Every year I got to cut my birthday cake at 8pm, when everyone was done with the ups and downs of Christmas. Even though my cake served two purposes, both as a birthday cake and a Christmas cake, I was still happy that it was my turn," he says.
The 31-year-old business developer does not have much to remember in the way of photos, and for him his birthday was just another Christmas party.
"I felt that people paid so much attention to Christmas that they overlooked the fact that it was my birthday," he says.
He stopped celebrating his birthday because it had no meaning to him either. Christian says his parents made everything about Christmas on his birthday: "Since they are Christians, why would they abandon Jesus and celebrate me?"
He jokes that if he had been called Jesus, it would have been unique and given him the attention he craved on his birthday. The introverted baby Jesus says that people, especially those who do not know him, are always shocked by his birth date. It is always a question. "Are you Jesus?"
Would you have wanted to be born on another day?
"A younger me would say no, but at the moment I would like to change my date of birth to any day in December except the 25th, although I still feel happy".
He consoles himself.
"One day, when I have a wife, she will probably make me feel special on that day. I hope it won't be a big Christmas for her either," he says.
