By Lakhram Bhagirat
Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and it is a time we use to reflect on the year we have had, along with focusing on family and giving to charity. It is a season that brings together people across boundaries as they all part take in the festivities. It is also a time where children are at their happiest and filled with anticipation as they wait to see what presents they find under the tree on Christmas morning.
Every part of the world has their unique spin on Christmas and how they celebrate the season. But the common factor is that the season focuses on family and charity. In Guyana, you know Christmas is around the corner when you hear the boom-boom boxes blasting “A rich man for Christmas” and grapes and apples being sold at giveaway prices.
You know it is Christmas when the pavements, particularly along Regent Street, Georgetown, are lined with new appliances as well as roadside vendors galore. The Christmas season is the busiest season for businesses, research has proved.
Every country has their own Christmas tradition, but I say, without bias, a truly Guyanese is the best Christmas. Nowhere else in the world will you wake up on a Christmas morning to the intense aroma of the pepperpot reheating on the stove, with freshly baked bread to accompany the succulent meaty dish, and don’t forget the ginger beer. That tall glass of beige goodness with ice cubes floating brings together the entire dish.
In Guyana, Christmas is our version of Thanksgiving since it is food centred. Some people start their Christmas cooking weeks before December 25.
However, the traditional Guyanese Christmas does not start without the remodelling of the house and extravagant spending.
“We are breaking away more from the traditional Christmas, because I remember as a little girl what it was like. We had very little, but we always made it the best. We used to make Christmas trees by going in the back and cutting one of the bush and decorate it with paper decorations. It was a time where friends came together and the Kool-Aid was enough for many of us,” Patricia Ramdass remembers.
She tells me that they would anticipate Christmas because it was the time when they would don their best pieces of clothing and eat lavishly. It was a time where they would dance past their bedtime and be merry with their friends. For her, that is what Christmas really is. It is a time for friends and family to come together and have the best time of their lives.
Speaking to the more traditional aspects of Christmas, Susanna King tells me Christmas is a time to go to church and commit to being a better person. The 69-year-old said that now people were more focused on decorating their houses and overspending, adding that takes away from the true meaning of Christmas.
“In Guyana, Christmas means that you get to eat pepperpot and bread, and garlic pork. It is when we get a black cake and nice time. But it is a time where we have to remember the true meaning of the holiday and go to church and pray. We have to pray that God takes care of our sins and guides us to the path of success. We have to embrace family and charity. We need that and that is what the traditional Guyanese Christmas is,” she said.
So however you celebrate Christmas, make time out for your family and ensure that you give something to charity.
