African Entrepreneurship Record

Chapter 118: Chapter 113: Christmas in East Africa

While Europe and America were immersed in the festive atmosphere of Christmas, the East Africa colonial government was also planning Christmas celebrations in the East African colonies.

As part of the Germanization of East Africa, all residents were required to participate mandatorily. Of course, in this era lacking entertainment activities, people still enjoyed joining in on the fun.

For immigrants from Europe, this Christmas was quite novel, after all, East Africa doesn’t have winter, and the climate is very much like Europe’s summer, giving them a sense of celebrating Christmas in summer.

The Chinese immigrants had never experienced it before, but immigrants from Paraguay felt it was quite nice, as Paraguay’s latitude is relatively close to East Africa, with temperatures in Paraguay being over 10 degrees all year round, at an altitude of about 300 to 600 meters, with the northern part being an extension of the Brazilian plateau and the southern part being the La Plata plain.

Especially the northern part of Paraguay, which also has a tropical savanna climate, made the Paraguayan immigrants adapt very well to the local climate in East Africa. This resulted in the lowest attrition rate among Paraguayan immigrants in East Africa, even though they were mainly women and children.

European and Paraguayan immigrants were clear about how to celebrate Christmas, but the Chinese were not as familiar.

Those who arrived early had participated last year, but those who arrived this year hadn’t seen it, so to encourage the Chinese to participate voluntarily, and to avoid conflict (after all, Christmas is a religious holiday with many customs and taboos).

The East African government dispatched a large number of lecturers, mainly teachers, to explain the details and taboos to the Chinese immigrants, otherwise, a real farce could have ended badly.

This time, Christmas in East Africa was definitely an unforgettable day for Chinese immigrants. Besides the East African colonial government’s hands-on teaching, it was also the first time they felt some Westerners’ fanaticism towards religion.

The East African colonial government required the Chinese to participate, and in fact, some Serbians also had different thoughts about Christmas.

It’s not that they don’t celebrate Christmas, but that there is a date difference due to the calendar used by the Eastern Orthodox Church being different from the Catholic Church.

However, now that they’ve come to the East African colony, they’re not under the church’s control. The interpretation of Christmas falls under the jurisdiction of the East African colonial government.

After all, ordinary people’s understanding of religion is impossible to be as systematic and strict as that of priests, combined with the gradual decline of the Roman church’s influence over the years, its voice has gradually fallen into the hands of various countries.

As long as East Africa does not force these immigrants to change their beliefs (Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy), just minor adjustments and changes, these European immigrants can still accept it.

A typical example is Chinese immigrants, where the East African government only requires them to participate in the celebrations, not that they must believe in religion.

This is the East African version of religious freedom. As for why participation in Christmas is mandatory, it’s just because it is a statutory holiday in the East African colonies.

To realize the Germanization of the East African colonies, naturally, festivals like these, which can promote German culture, must be utilized.

In the morning, the East African colony organized the people for a parade and performances...

Although Christmas is not an exclusively German holiday but celebrated throughout the West.

But it is also an important way for Chinese immigrants to experience and learn about Western culture, just like the immigration plan, the mandatory participation in Christmas and other Western holidays will continue until 1880.

By then, due to inertia, many Chinese will naturally continue to celebrate Christmas and other Western holidays, especially those children who have received German cultural education.

Thus, in terms of festivals, the immigrants have basically been unified, which can be seen as a kind of cultural fusion.

Of course, besides festivals, language, clothing, architecture, and living habits... enforcing consistency between immigrants and German culture can all change the immigrants’ cultural traditions.

The ones being changed aren’t just the Chinese immigrants but all East African residents, just like living habits, that are actually not entirely based on German traditions.

Instead, they incorporate a modern lifestyle that has been refined, such as promoting hygiene, civility, and politeness...

Ernst added plenty of excellent cultural content to ”German culture,” which are essentially those healthy lifestyles while removing much of the dross from traditional German culture.

Therefore, the German culture of the East African colony is an improved version of German culture and has many differences from Europe.

These are the most basic cultural content intimately related to ordinary people’s lives. The more sophisticated aspects like poetry, books, and music from the German regions...

Are not something that a large illiterate population in the East African colony can be exposed to. When East Africa develops in the future and more people are educated, it could be introduced.

...

No matter how much is said, it can’t beat the substantial enjoyment of material goods. To celebrate the holiday, the East African colonial government distributed many rare materials.

In addition to various kinds of meat and double portions of flour and rice, there was also plenty of white sugar and fruits, enough for each family to have some.

As for the bachelors eating in canteens, the canteens also prepared appropriate food.

In short, everyone had a share, and for these immigrants, eating well and being full was much more substantial and joyful compared to those activities.

At night, after dinner, as darkness fell, Christmas in East Africa was considered over.

It didn’t have the imagined Christmas Eve elements like Christmas trees, candlelight, or gifts...

This was the Christmas in East Africa, where materials were scarce, and facilities were rudimentary, even candles were only available in government offices.

In complete darkness, what kind of Christmas Eve could be celebrated? It was better to go to bed early, and being so far from Europe, the European immigrants felt a lighter burden in their hearts.

This is a normal state of mind, as in unfamiliar environments, people are always influenced by their surroundings.

For example, European immigrants, before coming to East Africa, were still influenced by tradition, with religion deeply embedded in life (it is well known that Europe’s churches are grassroots organizations), and then they arrived in East Africa.

These people saw a variety of people, different skin colors, various beliefs, or even none at all, and by comparison, it was all still the same: everyone was living off the land.

In this way, inadvertently, everyone’s reverence for traditional culture they are accustomed to is weakened, which is the difference after seeing the world.

And there’s no need to worry about the good or bad of this influence, as it is mutual. After coming into contact with the Chinese, European immigrants’ religious beliefs may weaken, and Chinese immigrants, after meeting European immigrants, will also be influenced by the different spiritual outlooks of Europeans.

Therefore, national integration is ongoing at all times, but the premise of ethnic integration is that there is a main-secondary issue, and both sides can recognize it.

In East Africa, the cultural hierarchy is very clear, and the Germans naturally consider German culture to be the most superior, while other immigrants inherently feel inferior.

Especially for people like the Serbians, who currently don’t even have a homeland and have always lived under the German nobility.

Now the East African colonial government has given everyone the opportunity to become Germans, so naturally, they should cherish it. (Black people: ?)

After all, the pursuit of strength is inherent in human nature, and German immigrants are backed by top powers like the Austro-Hungarian Empire and have Prussia, a military power, as their facade. Even if the East African colony is also Ernst’s German territory, with such strength, the other immigrants naturally admire them in their hearts.

But if this puts the German immigrants at the top, other people probably won’t agree, so why not have everyone join Germany and all become Germans? Problem solved.

Thus, the assimilation method of the East African colony is an overt plot: to make everyone willingly assimilated.

(Black people: (▼皿▼#) You better give me a chance!)