Ole time Christmas
These days Belizeans start their Christmas preparations weeks in advance and some may even be feeling a little panic when they realize it’s less than two weeks away. But when our grandparents were young, less time was spent on getting ready, and more on the celebrating. To find out more about the Ole Time Christmas in Belize, Janelle Chanona jogged the memories of some gracious ladies who invited News Five into their homes, not just in the city, but “up country” in Burrell Boom and Crooked Tree.
Joan Burrell
“Bram da me di thing fu Christmas, whe wa group a people get together and da me a house to house thing.”
Gertrude Velasquez
“Somebody have a pint inna deh hand, deh knock di table or a spoon or a fork. Deh knock di pint and then you have di grater with the fork… you playing the grater.”
Joan Burrell
(singing) “”Good mawnin’ Ms. Lady… and how are you dis mawnin and I come to lodge a complaint this merry Christmas morning,” then everybody get down and they dance.”
Janelle Chanona
“Yes, there was a time in Belize when people made their own music and made the most of what they had. Not so long ago the children didn’t ask for name brand dolls or video games and fixing up the house was half the excitement of the season.”
Joan Burrell
“Everything lef fu last minute. You no put down the linoleum till must seh five o’clock da morning when the pickney dem de sleep so when we wake up, da brand new thing: fresh curtin, everywhere smell new, you smell varnish, the thing, the oil whe de round the linoleum. And some times, the sad part is sometime the varnish no dry to and if you eva sit down pan it you get stuck.”
Gertrude Velasquez
“We have to cartoon the place, with new cartoon box and then we put a layer of paper on top, colored papers, these actresses, actors, maybe animals, trees, flowers — things like that we used to put over the place. The next day morning, now everything is dry and our greatest joy was to read what was on the paper… sometime you read a little story and you look all around to see where the next part end.” (laughs)
People may not have had much back then, but this didn’t stop the children from waking up early on Christmas morning, eager to find out what Santa had left for them.
Maria “Nettie” Wade
“They neva used to look to see the Santa come down no chimney cause we neva tell them dat, just write whe you want and Santa wa try get it. I no know if he wa have nuff toys cause plenty children de fu beg a so he no no if he wa could give you but if ih could give you, Santa wa try he best fu give you.”
Joan Burrell
“And dat dolly sometime. Inna my time, da me, di belly and so da me straw and just di hand and so da me plastic or something like that whe could move. But you me feel good.
You play with yu lee dolly and you love a up and you put a down fu sleep and if you get wa pram, oooohooo, you walk di street. Everybody see yu dolly and ih pram.”
Dorothy Mae Bradley
“There were many children that Santa Claus forgot but we satisfy, that was the beauty in those days. If we no get wa new dress, we still happy. If we get wa new dress, we still happy. We no worry and nobody shame, nobody feel no way because that was the general condition.”
But the “general condition” didn’t stop anyone from enjoying the big feast and all sorts of treats on Christmas Day.
Heloise Meyers
“Usual rice and beans, from ever since. It was rice and beans, turkey. We usually had our turkey cause we raised our own chickens, so we had our turkey. We usually had our bag ham, we have lemonade.”
Dorothy Mae Bradley
“Some people would kill a cow, a pig or chicken, turkey but thing dat we grow. We no know nothing bout no coke or no dead chicken. We have live chicken.”
Joan Burrell
“Deh days grapes and apples da only Christmas time. So if you lucky fu deh get wa apple and share it up inna pieces and you get wa lee plug right and then maybe a couple grapes, I mean dat was a big deal.
The adults had all kinds of wines you could think bout cause throughout the year de deh mek them: sorrel wine, berry wine, potato wine, rice wine, cashew wine. Now some of them me strong if they mek it lang and left it ova, some of them me fresh if they lef it ova, da me just the juice. Most children neva get none a den deh; we get we red lemonade.”
When the meal was over, everyone continued the house to house tour, sharing the spirit of Christmas with friends and family.
Gertrude Velasquez
“As a child, about round eleven-twelve everywhere I go with mama, “You no want short cake?” “Yes ma’m.” “You no want tart?” “Sure.” And I pack it in there. Till afta Christmas, I have a big bag of cake.” (laughs)
Dorothy Mae Bradley
“I no rememba wa Christmas tree or a Christmas card. No, we just greet each other. The greeting we used to do… “Compliments of the season,” some people said Merry Christmas but that was the main word, “Compliments of the season.””
Heloise Meyers
“Neva tired and knock out. I would want to tell you how the man used to serenade. They man begin from like the sixteenth a Decemba and they serenade every night, go da different houses you know they start drinking, go da different houses every night, wake up people, things like that. But it was great. But it was the only thing we had to look forward to.”
But people did of course have the Garifuna dancers to look forward to on New Year’s Day. The traditional Joncunu, found elsewhere in the region as well, was a dance from slavery times. The pink-faced masks and humurous movements poke fun at the white slave masters.
People enjoy remembering the Ole Time Christmas in Belize, but as Heloise Meyers points out even the sad memories can teach us about the Christmas spirit.
Heloise Meyers
“I hope we might remember the less fortunate because some of us have things okay and some don’t. I always think about people like that. I always look back at my day and say, “Gosh, that’s where I was once.””
Janelle Chanona
“I hope you’re not so busy this year, to enjoy some of the traditions and treats of the Christmases gone by. I’ve already got my Christmas tarts and my homemade cashew wine, so to all of you, compliments of the season.”
News Five would like to thank Miss Bradley, Ma Joan, Miss Gertie, Miss Nettie, and Miss Heloise for their Ole Time hospitality.
