Christmas traditions

For families all across the world, the practice of certain Christmas traditions is what keeps the holiday season and its memories alive year after year. Some traditions are passed down from generation to generation, while there are new traditions created each year to be passed down.
It is no different in Guyana as there are unique aspects of the “Guyanese Christmas”. As such, Guyana Times asked a few citizens to share some of their most memorable or unique Christmas traditions with us. Some of the traditions shared were either unique, humorous, motivational or simply routine.

Quacy Paddy

“First and foremost, I should say, is setting up on Christmas Eve and as we go into 1 o’clock to 3 o’clock in the morning. The tradition is just putting down vinyl and putting up your blinds because you ain’t want your neighbour see what you’re putting up. So, you put up your blinds ‘til about 5 o’clock in the morning. Fetching vinyl from the store 2 o’clock in the morning, fetching it on your shoulders going home – you and your siblings. Watching Courts’ truck roll through your street. Those are like some awesome memories. Christmas morning there’s the pepperpot – the fanciness – turkey. Things you never eat in your life you eating Christmas morning. Getting gifts, I wasn’t the one that would receive a gift, but it was just the love shown. Like playing Christmas carols on Christmas morning, calling up your family and friends to say ‘Merry Christmas’, your neighbour coming over by you early morning to check out your house and you going over to see their house. Those are some things I grew up with. Christmas Eve, you get an official lime on the road where you buy your fruits and vegetables and so on, you hang out with friends before you go back home to finish off putting away the house. Those are things that come to mind when I think about Christmas in Linden that just spark a lot of memories.”

Dr Delleana Anderson-Borrego

“For me, the family tradition is to clean the house. Clean every single part of the house, wash everything. My mother is extreme, she would even start throwing water on the walls, she would even start wetting the chairs. I’m like ‘what?’ Everything has to be clean for New Year’s. So that is the big tradition – cleaning. And then she likes to decorate around the 23rd (December), so the cleaning, everything has to be done by then. We would literally ‘break up’ the house like since about November month-end and the cleaning would start for like about two weeks. But my favourite tradition, I would honestly say is decorating. I love to decorate – put up the blinds, the fairy lights, flowers, new carpet, new stuff. And when everything is done, you have the family come together and you have this really intimate breakfast on Christmas morning where everybody would just say something special – greet each other in this beautiful way. It’s just simply amazing. And the food, the pepperpot and bread. My mother’s pepper-pot is one of the most delicious pepper-pot that I think exist. After breakfast while the meal is being prepared, we would sit and look at Christmas programmes on TV to see overseas persons send greetings to their families here and we’re always looking to see if we know anybody. It’s a moment whereby we all become so close because we do not usually spend a lot of time together. But at that moment we would just spend the whole day communicating about stuff that happened during the year and laughing about it.”

Leola Narine

“Christmas is considered one of the most wonderful times of the year, where love is shown amongst loved ones, families and friends. One of my favourite traditions is making rum cakes better known as black cake. Cherished memories when gifts are exchanged show how much you’re loved and cared for. For me, Christmas is not just a Christmas but a Guyanese Christmas is known to be the happiest of all with pepperpot – the Guyanese thing that makes Christmas morning special. I also love making the Old Year’s Night cook-up. It’s a season with a difference, no matter how much money is spent on decorations, food preparation, gifts and spectacular events it’s considered a blessing. In my view, for all over the world, there’s no Christmas like a Guyanese Christmas.”

Kim Fung

“One of my favourite Christmas traditions is I usually go to church on Christmas Day, since I believe that Jesus is the reason for the season.”