Detty December
Detty December is the end-of-year party season in Nigeria and Ghana: a month of concerts, weddings, beach parties and homecomings. “Detty” is a Pidgin take on “dirty,” in the sense of fun with no limits.
What Detty December means
In Nigeria, Wikipedia says, the season runs from December until just after New Year, and it’s when many Nigerians at home and abroad come together to celebrate. Lagos fills up with shows and events, and returnees from the diaspora (the IJGBs) are a big part of the crowd. In Ghana, the term grew alongside the government’s 2019 “Year of Return,” which marked 400 years since enslaved Africans first arrived in North America and drew diaspora visitors to Accra for the holidays.
It can be expensive, too, and the jokes about January sapa write themselves.
Where the name came from
No one is sure. According to BellaNaija and The Guardian, as cited by Wikipedia, the Nigerian singer Mr Eazi popularized it as a hashtag for his 2016 Lagos concert and later trademarked it. Others trace the celebrations back to the 2004 Calabar Carnival.
Examples
- “Are you coming home for Detty December?”
- “My whole salary went on Detty December.”
- “Lagos traffic in Detty December is something else.”
Related terms
- Ember months: September to December.
- IJGB: returnees from abroad.
- Sapa: being broke afterwards.
- Japa: to leave the country.
More Nigerian words are in our Nigerian slang guide.
Example sentence
We’re planning three weddings and a concert for Detty December.
Similar words
festive season
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