How Guyanese Christmas traditions shaped diaspora lives

It is the last week before Christmas, and Guyanese who traditionally wait until Christmas Eve to decorate their homes, do last-minute shopping, cook national dishes, and prepare for the week leading up to the festive season, feel nostalgic, reminiscing about growing up with cultural norms in the homeland.

For this reporter, it was a joyous occasion. From a very young age, a family friend, whom my siblings, cousins, and neighbors called Cousin Glenny, would take us to visit Santa Claus at the beginning of December. Back then, the chubby man in the red and white suit was called Father Christmas.

This unique activity was a heartfelt gesture from this older man, who would arrive early and patiently wait for us to get dressed in our Sunday best before venturing out by bus to a store named Forgery, known for its festive decorations and Christmas music.

We would line up to receive a toy. However, that was not the end of the Christmas treat. Cousin Glenny would walk us along Regent Street, a main thoroughfare in Georgetown, towards a tiny cake shop where we sat down to enjoy a cold bottle of lemonade and a slice of sponge cake before returning home.

These cherished memories will forever be etched in the minds of many who grew up in the tropics, living the meaning of Christmas by sharing and enjoying the festive season.

For Esther Adams, waiting for the masquerade band with her cousins was meaningful. “My cousins and I would wait for the masquerade band to pass, then run out the yard to dance with them, but we were just as eager waiting for my aunt’s barrel to come from the United States.”

“On its arrival, my mom would share the candies and cookies with all the cousins and me until one night, I helped myself to too much black cake, which gave me upper and lower belly pain. Still, I enjoy Christmas; it is my favorite holiday,” she shared.

Van Yogi remembers having to ‘scrub’ the steps and the whole house from top to bottom of her home in preparation for the festive season. Her fondest was hopping on a donkey cart to go caroling in the village.

“After hanging out Christmas Eve night by Booker Stores, I go home and put up the curtains. Before I started working, it was waxing and polishing the living room floor,” said Chisholm Moor D. Carolyne, who shared some of her memories.

“My family, friends, and neighbors gathered to bake a cake. They would all help each other to mix their cake batter by hand,” shared Sharmela SG.

“The oven was usually a half metal barrel. Charcoal would be placed on top and bottom, with the cake in the middle. Baked to perfection! The cake would be masterfully kept from ants by storing it in a pot and then putting the pot in a bowl of water. The cake would be savored for weeks,” said Guyanese Sharmela.

Asepha Bacchus said her mother would usually set an annual tradition. “We would hang new curtains for windows, buy new pajamas for kids, polish the floor the night before, then roll out a strip of linoleum.”

“The house used to have this new smell. Then, on Christmas day, my mom baked a ‘sponge’ cake, and then on New Year’s, a fruit cake. She would cut cakes in pieces and wrap them in colorful Christmas paper, adding sweets and nuts, and some neighbors would get these delightful little parcels,” said Asepha.

“In turn, they would also give us similar small packages. Christmas lunch would be duck curry, with dhal and rice. In the evening, ‘dhal puri’ will be made. Those were the days! Normally, we don’t get gifts, but we may get something occasionally,” she shared.

“Preparation started with the house being “broken up” chairs stripped of lace from the chair backs and pushed in a corner. The carpet was picked up, cleaned, and stowed away. Flowers were washed and put up for Christmas Eve. The wood floors were sanded for the umpteenth time and lacquered for a new shine, described Reni A. Duesbury-Tyler.

She recalled being forbidden from walking on the floor until it was completely dried and looking shiny.

“While the kitchen floor was being covered with linoleum, walls were painted or wiped down, and windows cleaned, but the new curtains were not hung till Christmas Eve night at 11 p.m.,” she mused.

“Christmas Eve night, we baked ham and black cake while the pepper pot boiled on the stove. Garlic pork was ‘set’ five to seven days ago. The Christmas tablecloth and the fancy wares were put out and washed to be used for Christmas breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Steps were scrubbed, and balloons were blown up, tied with twine, bunched, and strategically hung.” These are her cherished memories of Tylor, who added.

“We would sing and prepare to act at Christmas concert. We did all this preparing for the big day and never left the house on Christmas day. Boxing day was visiting and eating all the leftovers.
I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything,” the true Guyanese woman quipped.

Like many Guyanese, Brenda Locke and her family attended Midnight Mass at Sacred Heart Church after preparing for Christmas day. “Nothing has ever come close to that,” she said.

“Breaking up the house and putting it back together with the smell of new plastic curtains, polished floors, and the smell of the traditional dishes. Not forgetting the ice apples and grapes, available only at Christmas, are great memories Lorraine Elizabeth will always cherish.

At the same time, Faye Browne said, “I miss shopping for all the Christmas decorations at Fogarty’s and Bookers stores.”

These are, indeed, treasured, nostalgic memories that Guyanese still recreate in their homes across the world, but most importantly, the customs and multicultural togetherness keep them grounded.