Christmas time is the most wonderful time of the year, because Christmas in the Caribbean is the best. Covid and Omicron did not allow us to enjoy all the traditions, however I did have some fun. What’s special about Christmas in the Caribbean? The traditions. It may sound simple for some, but it is what makes us different and unique.
Some of my favorite traditions. First, the food, the food makes the day what it is, and you have the gifts and of course the most important- Family. Family is what makes Christmas what it is in the Caribbean. It’s that time of year no matter what part of the world you are in, you want to go home for Christmas. Each Caribbean destination has its own traditions, some are very similar however one thing for sure we all have in common is family.
Growing up in Saint Lucia I always looked forward to Christmas, it was one of my favorite times of year and it always felt like new beginnings and the one time you can get to meet family you have not met or seen in a long time and have a great time.
I always looked forward to the smell of new stuff during that time. New curtains, new furniture, new clothes, giving the house a retouch of paint, cleaning every nook and cranny of the house. I disliked all the cleaning though; it was as if we were preparing the house for Jesus, and he wanted all new stuff. But the smell of all the new stuff was fantastic and it all had to completed on Christmas Eve. After we spent the day cleaning, we had to rest to be awake for midnight mass. Then we all had to go to Christmas Eve church service, so we start the day in church praying, yes, we had to make that midnight mass no matter how tired.
Then the traditional food. Christmas is not festive unless you have certain foods and drinks. My mom was the best with the peanut punch, the milk punch and most importantly, the Sorrel. The preparing of the Sorrel while the aroma of the spices takes over the house was so good. It was so good. I only drink sorrel only that time of year no matter what. It’s a Christmas drink, not an everyday drink.
Then we have baking of the fresh breads and the fruit cakes. Yes, the fruit cake. Every family has a tub of fruits soaking in red wine and alcohol under their beds. That’s a tradition that goes hand in hand with Caribbean Christmas. The fruit cakes. You can have every type of dessert but if you do not have fruit cake, you failed Christmas.
A fun activity that I enjoyed is house to house visits. Families and friends pack in their cars and goes to house to visit other family and friends. This is the time of year, no matter how big your family is, you must cook extra for house-to-house visits. As a young child, I truly enjoyed this. My dad was a pork lover. As soon as you arrive, he would ask “would you like some stew pork”? His main job was to stew the pork and he did it wholeheartedly and was always proud of it afterwards. He loved serving his friends stew pork and dining with them. He ate nothing else. Another enjoyable activity was cooking of the ham on the coal pot. Most families received packages from their families who lived abroad and there was always a salted ham. A ham that had to be cooked for hours as no one was wasting their gas on this undertaking. The ham had to be cooked on the coal pot for hours until all the salt was out, then it would be brought into the house to be baked in the oven with cloves and other spices. The smell of the ham cooking took over the different communities as this was done in almost every household.
Christmas had that aroma, and it was so refreshing. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas holiday and here’s whish you a very productive, safe and healthy 2022. See you in new year.
Great content! Keep up the good work!