It was the year to do it different. And so we did. We traded our White Christmas for the vibrant greens of our palms and other lush foliage, the brilliant blues of the sky and ocean, and the whites? That would be the sand on the beach the week before Christmas.
What is Christmas like in Roatan? It is different for native Hondurans and those of us who have adopted this country. For us, we could modify many of our regular traditions. We had a beautiful, artificial evergreen tree with ornaments we had brought with us and items we were able to buy here.
We hosted friends for a turkey dinner with all of the regular trimmings on Christmas day. Our local grocery store had imported frozen butterball turkeys at a price just a bit more than we would pay in Canada. Somehow Santa managed to find our house, and fill our stockings, and we had presents to exchange.
But, we did identify some real differences between our celebrations and the Spanish Hondurans we serve in the Colonia.
1. The biggest difference? Navidad is celebrated on December 24! Many people work until noon on the 24th, and then start putting things together for the celebration that moves into full swing in the evening. 2. Navidad is not celebrated all month long. Some people decorate artificial trees earlier in the month, but most do not have trees (evergreens really look out of place here and the cost is quite prohibitive) One of our students, Jessie, spent lots of time decorating at her house during the weeks leading up to Christmas. 3. Parents give clothing for presents to their children - not many toys are seen in the houses. The new items are worn for Christmas celebrating. We went to church in the Colonia for Navidad (our Christmas Eve) and sat surrounded by a group of preteen boys. I was giggling to myself as I watched the boys preening - straightening their shirt collars, tucking their pant cuffs into their new hi-top shoes, and brushing off flecks of mud that had gotten on their shoes from their walk down the muddy roads. They were peacocks! Then they checked to see if they were noticed by the girls who were fussing over their party skirts and tottering around in their new four-inch heeled shoes. Some things are universal!
4. Navidad in Honduras focuses on three F's. The first of these is FAMILY. Several of the people we know are not here on Roatan for Christmas. This is because they have been able to save, or borrow money to travel to visit family on the mainland. The stay can last a month or more.
5. Navidad celebrations are in the evening of December 24th and extend loooooong into the night. Extended families may gather, or just individual families. The second F of Navidad is FOOD. Oscar and Maria's family enjoyed a traditional feast of tamales, cake and sandwiches. (really! Sandwiches are a treat reserved for celebrations). Tamales here are made with a dough of flour, broth, veggies and chicken rolled into a banana leaf package and boiled/steamed for awhile. The banana leaf is removed leaving you with a tamal. Juan treated us to tamales he had purchased in Coxen Hole.
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  Oscar sent a picture of tamales cooking. His contribution to the food prep - taking the pictures. |
6. The other F of Navidad celebrating is FIREWORKS! Throughout December, the regular sounds of the late afternoon and evening are punctuated with "Pop, Pop, Pop." These little crackers are really cheap, selling in any pulperia with a cost of about 50 cents for 25 poppers. You don't need an Advent calendar here - you can tell how close we are to Navidad by the frequency of the pops. One Bible study evening we knew the kids - Carlos - was at the gate because of the loud pop just outside the gate. His sister, Karla, had a few packages in her purse.
For Navidad, the whole Colonia erupted in noisy popping. Most of the fireworks are for your ears - lots of popping. However, as the evening continued, impromptu displays occurred with the grandest display happening in several open-ish places at midnight. (This display was repeated even more spectacularly at midnight on New Year's Eve - incredible!)
Feliz Navidad! Family, Food, and Fireworks!
Happily, we did have opportunities to share our Christmas traditions with our kids with a few special activities. We enjoyed an afternoon of games and food together. Another afternoon, the kids came to make Christmas crafts. We studied Jesus' coming at our Bible study, and enjoyed the movie Elf - with popcorn. Just before Christmas, Juan and I delivered a food bag to a family. It included two foods requested by the kids - sandwiches and cake (cupcakes) as well as little princess gifts and a children's Bible which the oldest of the girls can read to her siblings. 
If someone from Roatan was to visit our home down-on-the-farm, I wonder what differences he or she would note in our celebrations? For me, here, we thoroughly enjoyed celebrating the differences and participating as we chose. We missed being home and being enveloped in the traditions that are Christmas for us for sure.
In navigating the differences here however, we missed something else. The Christmas "season" produces an emotional response. We call it the Christmas spirit - that seasonal concern for others. Somehow, this was not evident. We cheered for a local group headed by an island woman and her army of volunteers who continue year after year to bring Christmas to children in various outlying communities in Roatan. The local TV/Internet business provided a treat for people living and working at the dump. But, in general, we missed that heart-response to Christmas resulting in those little, spontaneous, loving acts that makes Christmas a gentler time. I was wishing the music floating through the air was Christmas carols. (Spanish Christmas carols are called villancicos but we only heard those at church on Christmas Eve.)
The rush and bustle and push was the same rush and bustle and push we experience at any time. Having limited experience with only our own community, and this being our first Christmas here, I'm not sure if this is a cultural or society thing. But, we know that what we do at Christmas, or anytime here, is needed. We need to provide that example and also include many in doing this. We need to remind any that will listen that Jesus is why we celebrate at anytime. Feliz Navidad! Happy day of His birth!
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| Community of Faith Church Christmas Choir |
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