Adejoke Fasubaa lives in the outskirts of Lagos and has lovingly decorated her balcony for Christmas. Last year, she decorated the whole building but this year the landlord didn't have enough money. She believes "the neighborhood should make its own decoration statement, especially at this time of year."

Normally, Efficiency Igwe just sells stationery in his small shop in Abuja's Wuse Market. But during the run-up to Christmas, artificial Christmas trees and tinsel decorations are on offer as well. "Trade is brisk," he said. "Nigerians are buying just as much as last year. It's as if there is no recession."

Nigeria's department stores stock all the trappings of a yuletide winter landscape starting the last week of November. Fake snow, ornaments and piles of tinsel are strewn around the premises, sparkling in the artificial lighti as 'White Christmas ' blares through the loudspeakers. All this while outside, hot, dry and dusty trade wind are blowing.

Even though times are hard, Nigerians are not scrimping on Christmas decorations. The price for artificial trees starts around 80 euros ($83). This supermarket sells almost every seasonal accessory - Santa Claus costumes included. Local tailors also report that business is booming as everybody wants new clothes for the holidays.

Supermarket shelves are well stocked. There's no shortage of marzipan potatoes or of chocolate Santas. With a clientele of expatriates and cosmopolitan Nigerians, shops are now selling more traditionally European Christmas goodies.

During the Christmas season, big corporations don't just step up their billboard campaigns, they also distribute free groceries and small gifts. An Indonesian noodle company has been holding Christmas parties for some 100,000 schoolchildren and their teachers since 2005. The festivities are held in six cities complete with noodles, quizzes and essay competitions.

Nigeria's Muslim and Christian communities are almost the same size and the country is considered one of the most religious in the world. People flock to churches during Christmas time. This church in Akowonjo, a semi-urban community in Lagos State, is always packed on New Year's Eve with worshipers ending the old year and beginning the new on a spiritual note.

Nigeria's capital Abuja has adopted the slogan "Center of Unity." With 800,000 inhabitants with a range of ethnic backgrounds and faiths living peacefully side by side, the theme of unity is an apt choice for the city. Binta Babajo and Diana Ogunmola are of different faiths but do not let religious conflicts enter their lives. "We are neighbors, we celebrate together" they said.

The Akwa Ibom Christmas Carols Festival is a huge annual event in Nigeria. In December 2015, it made it into the Guiness Book of World Records when 25,272 carol singers participated in what the organizers describe on their website as a "glittering carnival of song, dance, worship and fun."

Victoria Island is the main business and financial hub in Lagos. David Eshioke takes care of Zenith Bank's Christmas lighting. This means that he has to switch on the generator at regular intervals. "This year, I'm doing this job for the third time. It's worth it," he said.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Tanzania's then President John Magufuli declared his country "coronavirus-free" thanks to the power of God. But when he died in March, his successor, Samia Suluhu Hassan, reversed this policy of denial. She set up a COVID task force, launched a vaccine drive and had her photograph taken getting the jab.

Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was voted in as the director-general of the World Trade Organization in March, becoming the first woman and the first African to head the body. A global finance expert, Okonjo-Iweala was formerly the chair of the board of GAVI, the vaccine alliance, and twice served as Nigeria's finance minister.

Chad's Idriss Deby, seen here casting his vote, had just been reelected for a sixth presidential term when he was shot and killed in April during clashes with rebels. His rule was marked by human rights abuses, corruption and nepotism. After his death, army generals installed his son Mahamat as the country's transitional leader, in what many have called a "dynastic coup."

Mamady Doumbouya (center, waving) of Guinea is just one of the military leaders who forcibly took power in 2021. Earlier this year, Mali's military staged its second coup in nine months. In Sudan, armed forces booted civilian leaders from a power-sharing agreement and declared a state of emergency in October, triggering mass protests.

When Mount Nyiragongo in Congo erupted in May, hundreds of thousands of people living at the foot of the volcano suddenly had to flee. More than 3,000 homes were reduced to ashes. The observatory charged with running an early warning system said the government had failed to provide sufficient funding to monitor the mountain.

In September, Rwanda's president, Paul Kagame, (center left) visited Rwandan troops who had joined the fight against Islamists in Mozambique's northern Cabo Delgado province. During the visit, Mozambique's president, Filipe Nyusi, (center right) praised the "solidarity" of Rwandan forces. Soldiers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) are also taking part in the joint operation.

In Ethiopia, hopes are fading of reaching a cease-fire before the end of the year between the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Tigray fighters. The civil war, which started in November 2020, has left thousands dead, more than 2 million people displaced and seen many civilian causalities, like this 17-year-old girl.

South Africa has been cut off from many parts of the world. After scientists in the country registered the new omicron variant at the end of November, more than two dozen nations suspended flights from South Africa. While some nations, such as the United Kingdom, have since lifted their ban on South African travelers, it's still in place in many others.

2021 marked a turning point in the restitution of African cultural heritage. France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands are among those countries who have started returning objects stolen from former colonies, or promised to do so. In Benin, the return from Paris of the throne of King Ghezo of Dahomey was celebrated with military honors.

France has handed control of its Timbuktu base in northern Mali to the Malian military after nine years fighting Islamist insurgents in the region. France has said it would withdraw more than 2,000 troops from the Sahel by 2022. In a DW interview, Mali's foreign minister said he wanted an open and constructive dialogue with France but that Mali needs to be equipped to take command.

It was a good year for African writers. Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga (pictured) was awarded the annual Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, Senegal's Mohamed Mbougar Sarr picked up France's prestigious Prix Goncourt and South African author Damon Galgut won the Booker Prize for fiction. To top it all off, Tanzanian author Abdulrazak Gurnah won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2021.

Africa rumba is beloved throughout the continent. But for the Congolese, both in Congo and the Republic of Congo, rumba is more than the music — it's a way of life marking celebration and mourning. That UNESCO has now added Congolese rumba to its intangible heritage list, five years after the death of iconic Rumba musician Papa Wemba (pictured here in 2006), sparked delight in both countries.