Christmas Island Style

Nikki Z

Forget all the talk about snow, sleighs and mistletoes, which satiates popular culture at this time of the year. After all, despite the cultural hegemony being exerted by external forces, we still do things in our own distinct way at Christmas time on the sun-kissed isles of the Caribbean.

There are common threads that link the islands in terms of how the holiday is celebrated, but naturally, specific customs and traditions vary. Spirituality and religious fervour mixed with the vivacity and natural warmth of the climate and people are pervasive across these scattered pieces of paradise.

The festivities are marked by colour, pageantry and rituals, which make the occasion truly joyous and magical. However, beneath the merriment and commercialism, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ remains at the core. One of the most endearing features of this powerful holiday is to bring together family and friends, especially reuniting those in the Diaspora with loved ones back home.

Christmas cuisine

Terri-Karelle

People in the Caribbean are famous for extending their hospitality beyond the usual boundaries at Christmas time, and in the culinary department there is no exception. A cornucopia of food is laid out and shared among neighbours, friends, co-workers and fellow church members in the spirit of the season.

No Caribbean Christmas would be complete without Christmas cake. In Trinidad, it's known as "Black Cake", while in Barbados, it's called "Plum Pudding". Across the region, it's the same rich, delectable fruit and rum cake that the family baker boasts about.

"It's all about the ingredients…and it's important to allow the fruits to soak in rum or wine beforehand. The longer they soak the better!" advises Ingrid Taylor, a Jamaican with decades of baking experience.

In Jamaica, the epicurean feast laid out at Christmas includes rice and gungo peas, roast chicken, oxtail and curried goat, ham, roast beef or pork. The drink of choice is sorrel, and no Christmas would be complete without this delicious, deep red beverage, which is also enjoyed on other islands. Egg nog is also popular on the islands. In Belize, it is called "rum popo" and in Trinidad it's referred to as ponche de creme.

Anushca-Mai

In Barbados, peas and rice, baked ham, roast turkey with its stuffing with gravy, roast pork with crackling and gravy, fish, yam pie and candied sweet potatoes make up the Christmas feast. The traditional fare at this time in Montserrat is roast pig, goat water (stewed goat meat), goat meat cooked on a wood fire and potato pudding. Trinidadians savour the taste of "pastelle" - a herb-flavoured corn and meat pie.

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