All roads led to the Church of the Ascension, Bodija, Ibadan, on Saturday, 21 December 2024, where Rev. Fr Peace Jemibor, the Assistant Parish Priest, told the congregation that Christmas is the season to feel, show, and share among one another, the love that God himself revealed in the sending of His only son for our redemption. He was speaking during his exhortation of participants at the recently held 2024 Christmas Carol and Five Lessons celebration with the theme “Unto us a Saviour is born”. The event is an annual programme organised by the parish’s St Cecilia Choir every December.

 

The well-attended 2024 yuletide event witnessed melodious carol performances by the St. Cecilia Choir, and a host of others, including the Camelite Brothers, Dominican Brothers, and the parish’s Catholic Men Organisation (CMO), Catholic Women Organisation (CWO), Catholic Youth Organisation of Nigeria (CYON), and the Holy Child Association (HCA), among a host of other invited guests.

 

One of the highpoints of the evening was the thrilling competition between the CMO and CWO, as their members trooped out to present some of their traditional Christmas renditions to the admiration of attendees. While the CMO performed "Silent Night” and “Long Time Ago in Bethlehem", the CWO, who took the stage after, wooed the audience with a drama sketch titled "Party" portraying how most people get carried away by delicious food at Christmas, thereby forgetting the reason for the season. They also presented some of their trademark Christmas favourites, including "Gbó ohun, Awon Angeli ti n k’orin”, “Keresimesi”, and “Kuluso". At the end of the contest, however, and to the apparent delight of attendees, there was no winner and no vanquished.

 

DavidGreen Aiyemere Eze, a young, talented and budding keyboard maestro, performed a solo rendition of “Carol of the bells”, composed in 1914 by the Ukrainian Mykola D. Leontovych and arranged by Julie A. Lind, and "The Twelve Days of Christmas. The origin of the latter song is not clear, but may have been composed as a coded message for Roman Catholic catechism due to the persecution of the Church in England before 1829, according to the Catholic News Agency (CNA) website https://www.catholicnewsagency.com, although some authorities, for example, https://www.vox.com, the Vox journalism website, differ from this position. 

 

Other dignitaries at the event included the Parish Priest, Rev. Fr Francis Awotoye, Chairman of the Parish Pastoral Council (PLC), Prof Nnamdi Jibiri, immediate past Chairman of the PLC, Prof Augustine Adeolu, and the parish CMO President, Dr Victor Ekun, CWO President, Mrs Ronke Akinyemi, and other members of the Dominican and Camelite communities.

 

‘Mother Christmas’ was also at hand to grace the occasion and share different gift items to the Children in attendance.

 

The President of the St Cecilia Choir, Mrs Patricia Ubiaza-Eze, during the vote of thanks, highlighted and appreciated the participation of the two religious communities of the Camelites and Dominicans, as well as the other dignitaries and participants for coming out in their large numbers to enjoy the evening and make it a huge success. She ended the vote of thanks with a prayer for the joy of Christmas to remain with all.