Christmas
The Liberian Christmas is a church day, a family day, and a food day. The church service is at midnight on the 24th, and the singing is in English and the local languages. The Christmas meal includes jollof rice, fried chicken, cassava leaf, potato greens, and sweet potato pie. The children receive gifts, usually clothes and shoes, and the adults exchange visits. The Christmas is not about presents. It is about presence, and the tradition is to visit every relative you have on Christmas Day. The streets of Monrovia are decorated with lights, the churches are full, and the sound of Christmas carols mixes with the sound of Liberian gospel music.