‘Tis The Season: Authors Talk Holidays is a special seasonal feature on Pop! Goes The Reader in which some of my favourite authors help me to celebrate the spirit of the season and spread a little holiday cheer. So, pour yourself a cup of hot chocolate and snuggle in by the fireside as they answer the question: “What does the holiday season mean to you?”
About Louisa Onomé
Louisa Onomé is a Nigerian-Canadian writer of books for teens. She has a BA in professional writing from York University. A part of the Author Mentor Match round 3 cohort, she is also a writing mentor and all-around cheerleader for diverse works and writers. When she is not writing, her hobbies include picking up languages she may never use, trying to bake bread, and perfecting her skincare routine. She currently resides in the Toronto area.
I love the holidays, I really do. I might not be the biggest fan of the cold or snow, but I love when rules start to get lax, people start to ease out of work and into play, and when there’s an abundance of food every day for at least thirty days straight. I love decorations! I love how cities transform into their holiday alter egos; bright lights, carols, discounted chocolate. I love cheesy holiday movies where people are wearing one layer of clothing (just one jacket, sir? Just ONE scarf? I thought it was cold!), jogging around outdoors looking to be reunited with a love interest, or two. I love parades, though I’ve been to very few. I will never turn down a holiday-themed dessert.
And I love my family, though at times it can be hard to love family the way you’re supposed to.
For a long time, I believed my family was directly against having any real Christmas traditions, despite my consistent effort in trying to create them. There were those two years growing up when I convinced everyone to sleep downstairs under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. It was a success for a while, but then we got hardwood flooring in the living room, and it was as if I was being told, indirectly, that sleeping under the tree wouldn’t become the cheesy Christmas tradition I was hoping it would.
That’s cool, that’s fine. We move!
I can’t forget that year I attempted Secret Santa with my immediate family. It wasn’t a complete success, but it wasn’t an absolute failure either. Still, I could tell not everyone was as into the idea as I was.
No matter. We can try again.
And again.
Again.
Through the years, my insistence on solidifying a tradition has caused me more stress than anything. I’d think: “Why doesn’t my family understand how important this is to me?” with adolescent fervour. I grew up watching movies where the holidays meant something to a person, but I never felt like Christmas could be my own. It belonged to others before it ever made its way to me. This need to transform my family into what I wanted them to be for the sake of the holidays was exhausting and, for all intents and purposes, kinda weird of me. Because it blocked me to the traditions that my family has stuck to, no matter how fleeting they may have felt to me.
Every Christmas is the same. In the morning, everyone is home. We are Nigerian, so from morning till afternoon, we spend time cooking and praying. That’s a tradition my younger self was not very fond of, especially since I just wanted to chill and play on the PlayStation. But it’s hard to forget the joy I feel when I come downstairs, my dad is already blasting loud Christmas music from the speakers, and my mom is halfway into cooking Christmas stew. Nigerian stew is thick, spicy, red; it is filled with assorted meats and spread over plain white rice. I do want to preface this by saying there’s no such thing as “Christmas stew”, but my mom has been cooking fresh stew on Christmas, and so that’s what we call it. By late morning, the family is gathered around the table, my cousins have arrived for Christmas breakfast (they were here the night before, and they will then leave and be back for dinner), and everyone is laughing.
Really laughing.
Laughter is the sound of my childhood; it is the drum beat to my life. That is my tradition at the holidays: gathering with family, eating entirely too much, and laughing. I joke with people that my mind is on ‘vacation mode’ and it’s hard for me to think too deeply at the holidays, but it’s 100% true. To me, that’s what the holidays are for: a time to gather and a time to laugh.
Also, a time for discounted chocolate.
Title Like Home
Author Louisa Onomé
Intended Target Audience Young Adult
Genre Contemporary, Realistic Fiction
Publication Date February 23rd 2021 by Delacorte Press
Find It On Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● The Book Depository ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
Chinelo, or Nelo as her best friend Kate calls her, is all about her neighborhood Ginger East. She loves its chill vibe, ride-or-die sense of community, and her memories of growing up there. Ginger East isn’t what it used to be, though. After a deadly incident at the local arcade, all her closest friends moved away, except for Kate. But as long as they have each other, Nelo’s good.
Only, Kate’s parents’ corner store is vandalized, leaving Nelo shaken to her core. The police and the media are quick to point fingers, and soon more of the outside world descends on Ginger East with promises to “fix” it. Suddenly, Nelo finds herself in the middle of a drama unfolding on a national scale.
Worse yet, Kate is acting strange. She’s pushing Nelo away at the exact moment they need each other most. Nelo’s entire world is morphing into something she hates, and she must figure out how to get things back on track or risk losing everything — and everyone — she loves.
