Christmas seems to be in full swing in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State as the city’s Christmas Village has been humming with activities since Friday, December 1, 2023 setting the tone for a month-long festivity.

The Christmas Village, which will be open till Sunday, December 31, 2023, is the initiative of the former Governor of the State, Udom Emmanuel, and has recorded resounding success in all its three years of operations since its inception in 2020.

The Christmas village serves as a go-to spot for every activity that one might want to engage in for relaxation. There are spots for eating assorted local delicacies, bars with assorted drinks, a park for children and lots more.

This year’s setup seems to be a little different from the rest as the present government looks to showcase a lot more forms and aspects of culture as well as trying to ensure that people who are from the same locality are able to identify with themselves.

There have been huts set up for all the local governments in the state in the middle of the venue called “the village square”.

The aim is for indigenous people of the various local governments who visit the Christmas village to identify and bond with their kinsmen.

Still in a bid to strengthen citizens’ ties to their roots, each local government has been assigned a day in the months to showcase their culture through food, attire, dance and others.

Each local government on the day apportioned to them has the responsibility of showing off what their culture represents as well as enlightening the public about their different laws and traditions.

Another new and welcome development is the use of names of sons and daughters of the state to mark streets within the park.

Indigenes such as Samuel Peter, Vincent Enyama, Nathaniel Bassey, Christiana Ibokwe and many others who have made notable strides in their different fields are recognized and streets in the Christmas village are named after them.

Some of the people who spoke Kristina Reports at the Uyo Christmas Village yesterday, Sunday, December 3 2023 expressed their happiness and enthusiasm about the Christmas village.

Itoro Ekpo was particularly excited about the plan to have different Local Government Areas showcase their cultures.

“I have not been in Akwa Ibom for a very long time and so this year I decided to come back and spend the whole month of December here. I’m very excited to see how the different local governments will showcase their cultures and I look forward to learning a thing or two.”

“The government is doing a good job at promoting our culture and I’m sure we will all have a good time.”

Cecilia Obot, a vendor who has a stand at the Christmas Village, said she appreciates the government’s effort to ensure that the residents of the metropolis have a swell time this Christmas while also helping small businesses grow by providing them a platform to market their goods and services at the Christmas village.

“This is a very good way to encourage entrepreneurs. As we are enjoying ourselves we are also making money, what could be better? I’m happy that this Christmas is looking very good. Even if the economy is bad, we will still try to enjoy ourselves.”

It is believed that the Christmas village will be the center of celebration in Uyo during the festive season.