Gombeys, egg nog and family — all part of the Bermudian Christmas tradition.

For this special holiday edition, we will look at the way Christmas is celebrated in various Caribbean territories. I have enlisted the help of a few of my friends and relatives from around the region to tell us about the potpourri of Caribbean Christmas festivities.

Jamaica

Latoya Bridgewater shared this:

“I remember Christmas being a time when the community gathered for one common purpose ... celebrating the birth of Christ. On Christmas Eve the community would have a big party at the banana boxing plant or the school or wherever the community centre was.

“Music would be playing, there would be lots of food and liquor, and people of all ages would gather and celebrate until Christmas Day. On Christmas Day, you would have a big breakfast and a big dinner. I remember my family killing a cow or a goat and sharing it with the members of the community. Our focus to this day was never on gifts. We did get new clothes to go to the community party though.”

Belize

Cindy Swan shared this:

“The Creole, which I am part of, would make the traditional English foods of turkey, ham, and roast pork. If you had a farm, you would go up to the farm the weekend before Christmas and pick out the best and fattest birds and pig for slaughter. Junkanoo dancers, similar to Gombeys, would dress up in old clothing and homemade masks to dance through the neighbourhoods. And we would all gather in and dance to the traditional Christmas songs.”

Guyana

Martha Samantha Shury shared this:

“Christmas celebration in Guyana usually starts around early November when the radio stations begin to play Christmas carols and the masquerade bands start to come out with their flouncers — Mother Sally (someone in a long dress with a straw hat dancing on tall wooden stilts), and the Bad or Bull Cow, (someone in a cow-like costume worn over their shoulders who dances around charging at the crowd as if to butt them). They tend to stop traffic, dancing in front of the cars until drivers are forced to wind down the windows and give them a tip so that they can move on.

On Christmas Eve night, new curtains will go up; the black cake will go in the oven, along with the sponge cake — what Bermudians call pound cake. Pepperpot, a must-have in almost all Guyanese households, will be placed on the stove to start cooking as well. The scent of pepperpot cooking in the air all around the neighbourhood adds to the excitement. Almost every house will have black cake, sponge cake and pepperpot with freshly baked bread come Christmas morning. Some people make garlic pork as well.”

Puerto Rico

My sister, Roslyn Famous, shared this:

“Puerto Ricans have the longest Christmas season in the world, which actually starts around the Discovery of Puerto Rico holiday on November 19 and ends around the third weekend of January with the San Sebastian Street Festival, which is Mardi Gras on steroids.

In Puerto Rico, while people get a few presents from “Santa” on Christmas Day, the true day for receiving most presents is on January 6, the Epiphany, also known as Three King’s Day.

Typically at Christmas whole pigs are roasted over a fire pit (lechón). They’re served with rice and pigeon peas (arroz con gandules), a savoury filling wrapped in banana leaves (pasteles), a type of alcohol-laced egg nog (coquito), and homemade moonshine (pitorro).

Christmas in Puerto Rico would not be complete without a parranda, a Christmas carolling session that goes from one house to the next and does not end till the entire neighbourhood is up and carolling. Whoever’s house is the last is responsible for feeding ALL of the carollers.”

Trinidad

My aunt, Dolly Famous, shared this:

T”rinidadian Christmas involves extensive cleaning, painting and buying new furniture. Most Trinidadians soak fresh fruits, such as raisins, prunes, cherries and mixed peel, months in advance as ingredients in the black cake. On Christmas Day we attend morning service and then spend time with family.”

So there you have it folks. That is just a slice of the diverse ways Christmas is celebrated around the Caribbean. Pretty much the same as Bermuda: food, family, fun.

Happy holidays everyone!