It's beginnning to look a lot like Christmas, despite the coconut trees!

So,  I'll be the first to admit, I'm a total cheese-ball when it comes to Christmas, I love the music, take great joy in wrapping gifts (trying to match the pattern on the paper and of course adding ribbon and bows when possible),  I adore gift shopping in a busy store or mall, sneaking around with surprises, advent calendars, parties, decorations... pretty much everything!

Since I'll be spending Christmas here in St. Lucia, I've been asking around about what I can expect, and it turns out, Christmas is pretty popular here, though there are some distinct differences. Perfect! The number one thing that is mentioned whenever I ask a local about holiday celebrations is "rum" the context may vary, "rum cake", "rum balls", "spiced rum", a "nip of rum at the neighbors"... you get the picture.

I found this picture online of the practice in Trinidad to give you more of a visual

My favorite unexpected tradition is "Bamboo Bursting" which starts in mid-November. It takes place mainly on the weekends and sounds like a minor army is trying to invade my neighborhood. I was thankful for hearing about this practice before the fun began. Essentially pre-teen and teenage boys go out with their friends, find the most promising bamboo stalks and chop them down. Then they add kerosene, an air fuse (blowing into a hole while introducing a match) and viola- a very noisy explosion that can result in singed eyebrows and howls of appreciation from one's friends.

Decorations and music thus far seem to be fairly similar, the radios are full of climate specific songs such as "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" which to me are just amusing given that we are driving by coconut and palm trees while it's a balmy 85F outside, but they are crooned by people on the bus with gusto. The local ice cream truck (a pick-up with a freezer in the back) has joined in by playing Silent Night as it makes its rounds, I've never thought of that song as a "come and get your ice cream kids!" sort of tune, but it seems to work :)

Papa Jab

 Another very fun tradition is that of Papa Jab and the Pai Banan. Now any of you who have had the pleasure of reading David Sedaris' Six To Eight Black Men will have an appreciation for the genre of scaring children for Christmas,  if you have not, you should definitely read it after you are finished with this post. I haven't actually seen the dance yet, but I did track down a few photos and from talking with friends and reading a blog-type post, here is what I know about the tradition: Papa Jab is a devil like character who carries a pitchfork, is red and has horns.  He dances in a scary manner, chases children, and when encouraged by parents, will grab a child who has been reported for having bad behavior and publicly spanks them (more for show and humiliation than anything else). The Pai Banan are accompanying dancers that travel around with Papa Jab, they are dressed in costumes made from dried banana leaves that have been dyed bright colors and they often walk on stilts and play musical instruments. The whole group travel around a community and then people gather in the center of the community to watch the show. This can happen in the build up to Christmas through to New Year's Day. I'm really looking forward to seeing this when it happens!!!

Pai Banan dancing in Castries

Christmas cards are also big here, and just in case anyone out there is thinking of sending Christmas cards my way- wink wink! hint hint! ;) address them in the following manner:
Name
C/O Gros Islet Post Office
Massade
Gros Islet, St. Lucia
West Indies
 Don't send anything important though and expect a minimum of 3 weeks to arrive and most likely more, because this is how organized the post office is:

 

Last but certainly not least, food! Food is of course a very important part of most holiday celebrations, St. Lucia being no exception. The most popular thing here is the Christmas Fruit Cake aka "Rum Cake". I'm planning to try making it, though I'm a little behind on soaking the fruit in rum for up to 3 months! I'll try to share more recipes once I learn about them.
Here is a recipe for it:

INGREDIENTS:
1lb / 2cups currants
1lb / 3cups raisins
8oz / 1cup prunes
2/3 cup mixed peel
14 oz / 2 ¼ cups dark soft brown sugar
5ml / 1tsp mixed spice
½ pint / 1 ¼ cups sherry
90ml / 6tbsp rum, plus more if needed
2 cups softened butter
10 eggs beaten
1 lb / 4 cups self-raising flour
5 ml /1 tsp vanilla essence

DIRECTIONS:
Wash the currants, raisins, prunes and mixed peel, then pat dry. Place in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Transfer to a large, clean jar or bowl, add 115g/4 oz of the sugar, the mixed spice, rum and sherry. Mix very well and then cover with a lid and set aside for anything from 2 weeks to 3 months - the longer it is left the better the flavor will be.  Stir the fruit mixture occasionally and keep covered, adding more alcohol if you like. Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF/Gas mark Grease and line a 25cm/10in round cake tin with a double layer of greaseproof paper. Sift the flour, set aside. Cream together the butter and remaining sugar and beat in the eggs until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
 Add the fruit mixture, then gradually stir in the flour and vanilla essence. Mix well, adding 15-30ml/1-2 tbsp sherry if the mixture is too stiff; it should just fall off the back of the spoon, but should not be too runny. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake until done. 

Happy holiday season everyone!!!