DECEMBER 25 is a significant day in the Christian world. It is the day on which Christians say the Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ, was born. The day is called Christmas and is a public holiday in many of the world’s nations.
Many Christians celebrate the day religiously. Followers of Christianity in St. Lucia do not only celebrate the day from a religious perspective as some aspect of the nation’s culture is also woven in their celebrations or preparations, such as the making of lanterns, Festival of Lights, Festival of Carols, hosting of parties, brewing of special drinks like the sorrel and ginger beer, eating of ham and turkey, and a host of other activities.
Music is a major element of the celebrations here and songs extolling the birth of Christ, the ways in which St. Lucians celebrate the occasion and the foods and drinks they dine on that day dominate the airwaves.
While the celebration of Christmas is an integral part of the holiday season in St. Lucia, not all Christians celebrate Christmas. In fact, many have rejected the teachings that Christ was born on December 25 and the idea of observing Christmas celebrations altogether.
Out of that group of Christians are some who recognize that around this time of the year, the country on a whole is susceptible to hearing stories about Jesus Christ, and so seize the opportunity to do some evangelizing by spreading their own doctrinal beliefs.
The Christmas season in St. Lucia is a fascinating season but the week leading up to Christmas is where the fascination is more intense. There is a heightened feeling of love in the air during that time. In fact, what better time of the year to witness this precious gift of love than on the birthday of the Saviour of the world, or during the seven days leading up to that birthday?
Ask the Salvation Army and the Kiwanis organizations. Their people are at all major shopping centres capitalizing on that love during the days leading up to Christmas. The hearts of many St. Lucians soften during that time and so shoppers will drop a coin or more into the Salvation Army’s kettle and grocery items into the baskets of the Kiwanis.
Christmas in St. Lucia is also the time when the hustle, the need to make a quick dollar, is at its peak. Even the government recognizes that and helps out by launching what it calls its Christmas Stimulus Package, providing jobs for a few days to people said to be unemployable or living below the poverty line.
These short-term employment programmes at this time of the year helps in giving the people it employs a certain degree of dignity for the season. Criticized severely by the current administration when it was in opposition, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet had no choice but to eat his words, and was man enough to do so, by re-establishing the programme that St. Lucians know simply as STEP, irrespective of the bureaucratic wrappings it is draped in these days.
The lure of Christmas is strong in St. Lucia and cuts across all sectors of the society. As deceased calypsonian, Mighty Pelay, acknowledged some 40 years ago, “bèl had eksoulyé, sétwadisyon-noèl”, meaning the tradition here is the need, by a large portion of the population, to have new clothes and shoes for going out during that time.
Pelay captured the Christmas hustle perfectly when he sings, in one of his songs on his Christmas album, “Nonmpòv se milyonnè”, in reference to poor people having a few niceties during that time and feeling like millionaires as a result.
It is the time of year for staff parties, the expectation of bonuses from employers to employees, the giving of hams and turkeys, of family gatherings, of St. Lucians living in distance places coming home for the first time in years, as if they are on some sort of pilgrimage to redeem themselves in the eyes of family members.
It is the time for wishing good cheer, via card, email or simply word of mouth. It is also a time of year when a stranger enters your house with people you know and is welcomed without a second thought. It’s also the time of year when friends come to your house intentionally to wipe out your wine cellar or drinks cabinet.
This is Christmas St. Lucian style.
