CELEBRATIONS: Remember when we worked on saturdays, boxing days?

The festive season is upon us again, starting yesterday, December 9. That’s when ‘Tanganyika Territory’ was granted political independence by Her Britannic Majesty’s Government on December 9, 1961.
Then we’ll celebrate ‘Mawlid al-Nabi’ on December-12, an Islamic observance of the Birthday of Prophet Muhammad – before Christmas Day, December-25, when Christendom commemorates the Birth of Jesus The Christ more than two millennia ago.
‘Old Worlders’ threw in another rest day, December-26, to open up their Christmas gift boxes in the comfort of their domiciles…
The Oxford English Dictionary tells us that Boxing Day is ‘the first week-day after Christmas-day, observed as a holiday on which Postmen, errand-boys and servants of various kinds expect to receive a Christmas-box...’
The term ‘Christmas-box’ dates to the 17th century, describing ‘a gift or gratuity given at Christmas. In Great Britain and Dependencies, it was usually confined to gratuities given to those who may have a claim upon the donor for services rendered to the latter… and for which they had not directly paid them…’ But, then: did they really need a whole day to open their gift boxes? What kibosh!
In My Book of Things, that was a wily excuse to spend another day away from their ‘Hapa Kazi Tu’ workplaces!
In the light of that ‘Magufulian’ clarion call to ‘work, work and work some more,’ it’s a pity that Tanzanians have 12 lazy hazy days this December, including religious holidays, Saturdays and Sundays – complete with a ‘statutory excuse’ to laze away the days instead of being productive in the socio-economic development stakes!
I remember days when Tanzanians worked on Saturdays, breaking for a richly-deserved ‘Weekend’ at noon. Then some ‘devil’ crossed our path to development – and Saturday was stuck off the Workers Calendar! I think this was in the early 1970s, when the founder of Tanzanian Nationalism, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, initiated the ‘Kilimo cha Kufa na (au?) Kupona’ Programme: Agriculture for Life and (or) Death!’
So, Tanzanians were compelled to leave their normal workstations on Saturdays to indulge in farming (of sorts) in metropolitan outskirts… Sheesh!
Seems Agriculture was on the top of Mwalimu’s mind… No wonder, he was behind other agricultural ‘wise sayings,’ including ‘Kilimo ni Uti wa Mgongo wa Uchumi’ (roughly: Agriculture’s the backbone of the Economy); ‘Siasa ni Kilimo’ (‘Politics is (about) Agriculture’ … and, perhaps: Agriculture is Politics?); ‘Kilimo ni Uhai’ (Agriculture is Life… and Life is Agriculture?)…
In Year-2009, President Jakaya Kikwete marched in with his ‘Kilimo Kwanza’ initiative ostensibly to accelerate Agricultural transformation for the better. The rest is mundane History… Whew!
Nyerere had earlier pontificated that ‘Uhuru ni Kazi (Freedom/Independence is/means Work!) before switching to ‘Uhuru na Kazi’ (Freedom/Independence go well with Work)!
Perhaps to find more time for all that, Tanzania scrapped ‘Boxing Day’ as a rest day! However, that didn’t help – and we’re back to celebrating Boxing Day, God help us!
Has President Magufuli effectively stepped in the breach with his ‘Hapa Kazi, Tu’ magic chant? To that end: will he scrap public holidays of nuisance value but flagrant public expenditure? I don’t know… Do you? I ask U! Cheers!