This Christmas marks the 21st anniversary of “Do They Know it’s Christmas?,” a fund-raising single performed by a collective of British pop musicians that called themselves Band-Aid. Proceeds of the song were to go toward famine relief for the people of Ethiopia, who had been devastated by drought and civil war. The wave of youthful philanthropy continued into 1985 when the Americans, not to be outdone, put out their own benefit record “We Are The World” under the name U.S.A. for Africa. In the summer of 1985, London and Philadelphia were the main venues for the Live Aid concerts, which combined pop euphoria with pseudo-social consciousness. The culmination of these events garnered Bob Geldof, the creative force behind Band-Aid and Live Aid, a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Unfortunately, this heart-on-sleeve yuletide sentiment produced more goodwill than it did full bellies. Though millions of dollars were raised from the sale of the two singles and Live Aid concerts, a vast quantity of purchased food sat rotting on the docks of present day Eritrea. As humanitarian workers noted at the time, this was because the Marxist-Leninist Ethiopian government was both corrupt and suspicious of Western motives.

This is the backdrop for “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” Band Aid came together on November 25, 1984 to record the Bob Geldof composition. Among the supergroup’s members were George Michael, Boy George, Sting, Bananarama, Duran Duran, and Bono. Other artists like David Bowie and Paul McCartney added Christmas greetings that were mixed in later. (Not yet a household name, Bono opens his greeting by introducing himself as the singer from U2. Simon LeBon, on the other hand, does not say he is from Duran Duran.)

The singing alternates between duo and solo for each verse, with the bigger stars getting the spotlight. As a melody, it is more joyful and spirited than its USA for Africa counterpart, with an 80’s sync-beat and Christmas chimes at the end. The lyrics swing from patronizing (Michael: “say a prayer for the other ones”) to sanctimonious (Bono: “tonight thank God it’s them instead of you”) to unintentionally funny (Sting’s solo line is “the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears”).

And there won't be snow in Africa this Christmastime
The greatest gift they'll get this year is life
Where nothing ever grows
No rain nor rivers flow
Do they know it's Christmastime at all?

Well, of course there won’t be snow in Africa. They weren’t expecting it, anyway. As to the fundamental question of the title, I’m afraid the answer to that is No. Christianity is not the major religion in Ethiopia. However, it is celebrated by the Eritreans, whom I believe were the anticipated recipients of much of the relief efforts, having been displaced by the droughts and persecuted by the war.

It was fortuitous that Geldof used the term “Christmastime” in the song and regrettable that it was not included in the title, for it might have had more meaning by giving greater exposure to the Ethiopian/Eritrean culture. You see, it is not Christmas that is the widely celebrated day in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It is January 6, the day of the Epiphany, when the three Wise Men visit the baby Jesus. I’m not sure why, other than it is borrowed from ancient Christian tradition (Epiphany is an older holy day than Christmas in the Catholic Church) and that one of the Wise Men, an African, was believed to be from the Ethiopia/Eritrea region.

Two final thoughts about the song. However naive the lyrics, the message is timely, one that needs to be heard this year, next year, and in the years to come. And hearing the final chorus of “Feed the world/Let them know it’s Christmastime again” gives me a lump in my throat. It reminds me of why I worked as a volunteer in Kenya for two years and why I continue to volunteer locally. Even someone cynical like me can find something wonderfully Dickensian about “Do They Know it’s Christmas?”

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