A country Christmas: A Lucian Christmas story

Weeks before Christmas

The Christmas feeling for me begins at the end of October because of the unique weather. It becomes extremely cold at nights and early mornings, cold enough to wear a light sweater.

Night fall comes quickly in November and 6 p.m. seems like 9 p.m. Although Bamboo bursting is done for the Creole festival, it continues up until New Year’s in Saint Lucia. Visit https://ourtropicalliving.com/fest-of-creole/ for more information on bamboo bursting.

When December finally arrives the city of Castries becomes crowded with foreigners and locals doing their day-to-day transactions before the holidays. Sale signs and Christmas decorations are seen flooding business windows. Christmas giveaways over social media become the norm as organizations promote their products in promotional activities and select winners who qualify based on their criteria.   

But of course, most family members living aboard come to visit to enjoy the Christmas holidays. Most times these family members have not visited Saint Lucia for years and other times are family members that have not been on island for the year. Flat vans are seen throughout the island with barrels from overseas safely secured at the back waiting to reach their destination. 

Christmas togetherness

Christmas in Saint Lucia is centered around family gatherings where together family members decorate the house and Christmas tree, prepare family lunch and enjoy meals. It is a season of togetherness, lots of dancing, talking and listening to Christmas carols.   

Christmas shopping is a common tradition where families go on a shopping spree and pack their house with drinks and goods in preparation for Christmas day. Expect an abundance of food and putting on a few extra pounds for the New Year. Christmas for some Saint Lucians is a season of good cheer, forgiveness and giving.

A Christmas party, fun family activities, exchanging of gifts and lunch is planned by most family members and sometimes a special Christmas costume is chosen to be worn by some family members. A lunch menu is established and each family member is given an item to prepare or purchase to bring to the lunch. Meals can be prepared together or individually. When meals are prepared together, one house is used for all meal preparation for the lunch and everyone assist with the meal preparation.

Christmas unwrapped

Christmas is celebrated on December 25^th in Saint Lucia but weeks of preparation is done for this special day. The Christmas cleaning for most begins at the end of November and goes into the first and second week of December. The trees and flowers in the yard are trimmed. All indoor appliances are dusted, dirt and spider webs are removed from all corners in the house and the kitchen utensils are unpacked, washed, dried then repacked.

The windows cleaned, floors scrubbed or pressure washed, curtains and rags changed and chair covers and cushions replaced with a different clothing. The house is repainted and the Christmas tree decorated. It is classic for my mom to iron all the curtains before hanging. Some individuals decorate their house with Christmas lights and many Christmas decorations. The newest and best of all household items are placed out for use.

Individuals patiently wait for the barrels coming from relatives overseas and hope that it will come in time for Christmas or New Years. Most wait for the barrels to arrive before grocery shopping to avoid buying duplicates but instead to purchase only items needed. The barrels are packed with groceries, clothes and household appliances. The excitement of receiving the barrels for me occur when all my family members gather to view what was sent. Together we unpack the barrels, watch what each other receive and try on our new apparels.

My Christmas

Want to know what it is like spending Christmas in paradise? Let me tell you…

Since I am from a farming family, the Christmas season is lots of manual labor. During the day my family goes to the garden to harvest sorrel and at nights remove the sorrel seeds to sell at the local market the following day. After a long day in the garden, with pursed lips I get the knife and think of the task at hand. I always hope that I will not see a centipede curl up around the seed nor would the prickly spikes from the sorrel fruit go too deep into my fingers. My hands would be blood red from the juicy nature of the sorrel fruit.My family members turn the seed removal into a mini party where we drink juice or tea until the fest is done at about after midnight to 1 a.m. when the seed removal mission is accomplished.

Fond childhood memories

As a child we were allowed to scrub the floors until they got white so that the newly purchased carpet could be placed on the floor. It made the house smell “new.” All breakable soft drink bottles were washed and bought to the brewery for refill, the louvers were polished and the pots scrubbed white enough to see your reflection.

Christmas time brings back lots of my childhood memories. Growing up my family had no Christmas tree but my mom gave us the best Christmas she could. We would go to the city the week before Christmas every year to purchase a Christmas toy. The Christmas shopping was painful for me since we would walk till our feet were sore from going to store to store to find the best deals.

The sidewalks in the city would be packed with vendors. By night fall on Christmas eve, I always had insomnia from the excitement of knowing that I get to play with my new toy the following day. I can remember the sweet aroma from the ham and fruit cake my mom baked every Christmas eve. The smell would infest the house, smelled amazing! I loved licking the bowl after the fruit cake batter was placed in the pan. Cocoa tea, ham and eggs, cucumber salad and local bread were made every Christmas morning. Christmas dessert was fruit cake and Ferrands vanilla ice cream, extra tasty!

The community members would parade through the community at the crack of dawn singing Christmas carols, playing local instruments such as the drums, guitar and chac-chac and dancing to the rhythm. On Christmas night most individuals partake in the “house to house” to enjoy food and rum and share the Christmas cheer.

On Boxing day cow heel soup was made and the left over from Christmas day used. The festive season would end with a bang since my family went Assou square for New Year’s where we purchased cotton candy and glowing toys.

It is funny how we think as children. Yearly, I remember asking Santa to bring me toys but after a no show for my entire childhood, I began thinking that Santa did not visit my home because we had no chimney.

Animal slaughter

The tropical island of Saint Lucia has many livestock so by right animal slaughtering is a must. Butchers obtain permits and licenses for slaughtering to ensure that it is safe for use by the public. The Christmas season is good for meat lovers but not too good for animals since they are subject to animal cruelty. Animal slaughter is seen as an economic event and a common tradition in Saint Lucia. Some argue that the night before being slaughtered, animals would keep noise since they sense their death.

A crowd would gather to view the slaying of the animals. It is painful for some to watch whilst others enjoy the view. The conscious animals are either hit from behind the head with an object or the throat slayed. The animal is hanged by the hind legs and the blood is collected for pudding making. Common animals slayed include cows, goats, pigs and sheep. Sometimes the animals shake and keep lots of noise before they die.

The blood is drained then hot water is thrown on the animal for easy hair removal using a knife, blade or a razor to scrape the hair off the skin. The animal is halved, washed thoroughly and let cool before cutting. A large metal barrel is used to boil the pudding and the animal parts.

Christmas eve

Some of us love the Christmas rush and shopping on 24^th December for last minute items. This is a fun activity for the children as they enjoy the packed aisles and the long lines but it is a hassle for adults. Long queues are seen in all supermarkets and everyone has to be on the look out for shopping trolleys from shoppers who are done shopping.

Expect to hear Christmas carols island wide and see a few fireworks being tested. Some persons go to church for midnight mass, some go to Jouvert which is a daybreak party that goes into Christmas morning and some do both. The daybreak party brings a large crowd, lots of alcohol, lots of music, lots of talking, lots of shouting, lots of singing and lots of dancing.

Christmas day

At last, it is here! Christmas day for many is a time of eating and enjoying family time. By Christmas day I am super tired from the many Christmas duties performed on Christmas eve. The morning starts off a bit quiet as most try to rest from the Jouvert party and firework watching. By mid-morning loud music is heard as individuals including parents, grandparents, uncles, cousins, children, in-laws, half-relatives, basically everyone gather to share the Christmas spirit.

My family gathered for our annual Christmas lunch and the menu included sorrel juice, fruit punch, orange juice, soft drinks, malt, peanut punch, wine, piton shandy, piton and Heineken. Snacks were peanuts, nuts, fruit cake, cookies, pringles, ice cream, tuna and cheese sandwich, marsh mellows and mini chocolates.

A Christmas menu cannot be done without rice, peas, macaroni and cheese, lasagna, potato pie, ground provisions, baked chicken, beef, ham, corn pie and fresh garden salad and steamed vegetables. A list of fun activities and sharing of Christmas stories were on the activity list but after being too full we began sharing jokes.

Just before the party is over, food is placed in what I call “a Christmas takeaway plate”, the house is cleaned and the nonstop hugs and kisses start as everyone leave to go to their home. Christmas truly ends for me at the end of January when the Christmas decoration goes down and all the Christmas drinks are done.

Making fruit cake

My type of fruit cake commonly known as black cake is a soft, dark cake made with spices and dried fruits that has been soaked in alcohol. My mom soaks raisins, prunes, cherries and mixed fruits in half a bottle of cherry wine for about four months and adds more wine to the mixture once it is soaked up by the fruits. On Christmas eve she mixes 2 pounds butter with 2 pounds sugar, adds 1 teaspoon vanilla essence and then gradually adds 12 eggs and a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg until smooth. 2 pounds flour and 1 medium sized baking powder along with a small bottle of gravy browning is slowly added to the mixture. The oven is preheated, the batter placed in a pan and baked for 45 minutes to an hour and a half at 300 ﹾF/148 ﹾC. Cherry wine can be placed on the batter once fully baked.

Sorrel drink recipe

Sorrel juice is made from the hibiscus plant and can be used to make tea. It can be used as a plain drink but milk, piton or chairmen’s reserve can also be added for extra flavor. My mom makes her sorrel drink with 6-8 cups of water, 3 cinnamon sticks, 6 cloves, 4 star anise, 2 cups of sorrel and 1 teaspoon crushed ginger. She adds all the spices to a pot, let boil for about 20 minutes, turn down the heat then add the sorrel to the pot for a 30 second boil. She lets it sit for a day then strains it with a clean white cloth. Very simple recipe yet so tasty.

My Christmas favorite is hanging out with my family, eating fruit cake and drinking peanut punch filled with ice! What is your Christmas favorite?

Credits

Editor- Samue

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Reems

Our Tropical Living

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