Where is it written that we have to eat roast goat during Christmas?
This article is not really about roast meat and our obsession with it, it is about the various things in our lives that we continue to hold on to year after year.
Last Sunday, we held a family meeting to discuss Christmas, which we have held in the village for several years now. The main agenda was the menu, after which we discussed how much each household was to contribute towards the party. Every year, the centerpiece of the menu is always goat meat. The men complained that the price of a goat had shot up, with one costing between 14,000 to 15,000 shillings. It was too expensive, they said, even though they still intended to buy one.
Being a practical person, I wondered why they had to spend so much on one goat that might not even satisfy everyone, why not forget about the goat and spend a fraction of that money on several pieces of chicken? You should have heard the gasps and seen the utter looks of shock and disbelief that greeted my statement. It was as if what I had suggested was akin to a cardinal sin.
