Christmas Traditions in Trinidad

As a child growing up in Trinidad, I could hardly wait for Christmas, as it meant receiving gifts and toys, visits from friends and relatives and lots of food.

CHRISTMAS  DECORATIONS

Christmas preparations usually start months before Christmas, maybe as early as September, when the stores begin displaying their Christmas merchandise. My mother would shop for Christmas curtains and decorations so she could have them ready for Christmas. Curtains and drapery have always been, and I believe still are, a focal point of decorating. New curtains and drapes have to be bought and sewn every year. The fabrics are gorgeous and range from nylon to lace to heavy brocades depending on the person's status. Every homeowner, rich or poor, prides herself on having a home that looks almost brand new for Christmas, therefore it is quite common to see homes being painted, trees and hedges being trimmed, and new furniture being delivered. The Christmas tree with all its dazzling ornaments adds the finishing touch.

Christmas Culture

Early in December, the parang bands begin appearing. These bands consist of a small group of men who go from house to house serenading the inhabitants with Spanish songs to the accompaniment of the guitar, cuatro and the marac . Where these are not available, the band may improvise by beating a spoon against a bottle in time to the melody. In exchange for the free entertainment, the home owner brings out a bottle of rum or some other alcohol and some delicacies. In addition to the house serenaders, there are parang competitions at various venues where men and women dress in colorful Spanish costumes and sing and dance their way to winning a prize, or just revel in the joy of the moment.

On the heels of the serenaders may come a band of Christmas carollers, dressed in their white outfits with red capes and carrying red paper lanterns through the darkened streets. They were always welcome at every home and they too would receive a benevolent offering along with refreshments.

CHRISTMAS  MENU 

Egg nog is traditionally served at breakfast, along with ham and homemade breads. The ham is the main item on the Christmas menu. Baked or boiled, depending on the type, it is decorated with cloves and/or pineapple. The Christmas dinner table boasts a lavish display of roast pork, pastelles (a patty made from cornmeal and stuffed with meat), turkey, chicken, stewed pigeon peas and callaloo. This is the national dish made from dasheen leaves, okra and crabs. Some homes may even serve wild game such as opossum, armadillo, deer and others. These mouth-watering dishes will be washed down with ginger beer, sorrel and homemade wines. After all of this, you may not have room for the fruitcake dessert, but that's okay, because it lasts a long time and your friends and neighbors will be all too happy to help you dispose of it.

TRADITIONAL VISITS

The main tradition of the Christmas season is going to church and visiting friends and relatives. Church services are held either on the night of christmas eve, or early Christmas morning. After the service, you may pop in for a quick visit to some friends. You will be sure to carry a gift and you can count on receiving one in return. You are also expected to eat or drink something at each house you visit, so by dinner time you may be already full. But there is always tomorrow, Boxing Day, when you can start all over again.

Trinidad Cornmeal Pastelle

Pastelle, a local favorite brings out the sophistication of any local dish and enjoyed by all.

In Trinidad, pastelle making has become another excuse to lime [get together]. Friends or family gather, possibly bringing their own ingredients and with parang music blasting and some beers chilling, everyone puts their hands to the wheel and like an assembly line pastelles are mass produced. At the end of the day, thousands are made and each person or family goes home with their share for the season and probably swaying a bit…. and that’s not from the music.

What is a pastelle?

It is a cornmeal roll stuffed with meat, fish or vegetables seasoned with fresh herbs and flavoured with raisins, olives and capers wrapped and steamed in a banana leaf.

Pastelle has its origins in the Spanish colonizers who came from South America in the 16^th/17^th century.

Thinking of trying your hand at making Pastelles? Here is a recipe.

Trinidad Cornmeal Pastelle Recipe

1 lb chicken cubed or minced

2 onions chopped

1 bunch chive and thyme

Hot pepper to taste

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp. black pepper

Salt to taste

¼ cup ketchup

1 tsp. Worcester sauce

3 tbsp. capers (optional)

2 tbsp. olives, chopped

½ cup raisins 

Crust

2 cups cornmeal

3 cups tepid water

4 tbsp. corn oil or

¼ lb. margarine

1 ¼ tsp. salt

Wrapping

2 -3 large fig (banana) leaves

String to tie

Method

1. Season chicken with onion, chive and thyme, garlic , hot pepper, black pepper and salt
2. Cook well and then add Worcester sauce, ketchup, capers, olives and raisins.
3. Adjust salt and pepper to taste
4. Mix cornmeal, tepid water, salt and oil to make soft balls
5. Using a pastille press or hands, press balls of corn on leaf. Put 1 tbsp or more of meat mixture and fold neatly. Tie
   
6. Place in steamer or colander and steam for 20 minutes.

Christmas Song (Trini Style)

For those residing in Trinidad, the end of the year means PARANG! And boy oh boy do Trinis like their Parang. So if you’re wondering what to do in Trinidad around this time of the year, just come compared to sway to the beat of this addictive local folk music. A very interesting thing happens in Trinidad during the Christmas season. The traditionally English-speaking population “goes Spanish.” This doesn’t mean they all switch languages, of course, but don’t be surprised if you’re visiting the island for the holidays and turn on a radio, only to feel as if you’ve been transported to Venezuela, Cuba or one of the country’s other Spanish-speaking neighbors.

You see, while most of the English-speaking Western world celebrate the holidays to strains of traditional carols like “Come All Ye Faithful” and “Jingle Bells,” here in Trinidad there is no Christmas without the sweet sounds of parang music. Nowadays, parang has become such a heavy part of the season that even corporate Trinidad uses its imagery and music for their holiday ads and jingles. You cannot go a Christmas house party or fete without hearing this music, or having at least one parang band in attendance.

word parang originally came from the word ‘paranda’ meaning merry making. Traditional parang bands made up of parenderos consist of singers and musicians who play the guitar, the mandolin, the cuatro, the violin, the maracs, the clapper, the box bass, the tambourine, the scratcher (güiro) and the toc-toc (claves). Parang is played mainly around Christmas time.  Areas such as Lopinot, Rio Claro, San Raphael, Palo Seco and Arima have been traditionally associated with Parang. Almost every sidewalk café, restaurant pub and traditional ‘liming’ spot will be host to live parang groups during November and December.

Trinidad’s Christmas season is so close to Carnival, it’s no wonder that soca artistes have even joined in on the holiday fun, putting their own spin on the music to produce what is now commonly called soca parang. The most successful artiste in this genre is Irwin Reyes Johnson, known to Trinidadians as Scrunter; his work has greatly influenced other artists who have entered this musical arena. Scunter’s famous hits include; ‘De parang now start’, ‘Ah want ah piece ah pork’‘Wey Yuh Mother Gone’ etc. 

Early in his career, international soca icon Machel Montano produced the track “Soca Santa,” which remains a staple until this day

Trinidad's Ginger Beer, Enjoy The Aroma, Relish In The Taste And Refresh In The Burn - So DELICIOUS!!!

In the island of Trinidad we make an aromatic ginger drink that we like to call GINGER BEER. Ginger beer is a Christmas drink in Trinidad. A  fermented brew that not only burns on the way down but also lights up your stomach briefly. It’s a refreshing favourite during the Christmas season but not everyone can handle the burn of a classic ginger beer. Some people like the drink strong, they can’t enjoy the full flavour unless it has a pepper-like aftertaste. Others prefer a light version of the drink, sweet and mildly spicy. Then there are those who want a fermented version of the drink, a version so hot you can feel your chest burn with every sip. 

It is refreshing, spicy yes and a drink that can really hit the spot is made right. One has to be careful because not everyone can make this drink that that would want to coming back for more. Ginger beer on the rocks is so good when sweetened just right and is even better when brewed correctly with that ginger smack at the back of your throat. One has to be careful with the ingredients because if you add too much clove the drink can end up with a sour taste instead of the wanted gingery flavor. Another item that can ruin a good ginger beer is the container used to ferment the ginger beer. Using plastic is a bad idea. The ideal container is one made of glass.

Ginger beer is the traditional drink of Christmas in Trinidad along with red and even sweeter Sorrel drink. However, my favorite is Ginger beer simply because of the burn that accompanies it.

 This is a mouth watering drink and a must try when celebrating a true Trini Christmas. If you live in North America or Europe or wheresoever then you need to give the recipe a try. If you do please remember to come back here and tell us what you did that made your drink so special and yes... Delicious!

·         1 lb. fresh ginger

·         8 cups water

·         1-1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

·         Lime peel

Method

Step 1

Wash and remove the skin from the ginger. Chop the ginger and blend in a little water.

Step 2

Pour into a large pot with the rest of water and leave to soak and ferment for about 24 hours or longer if you want it stronger tasting.

Step 3

When fermented, strain the mixture. Add lime peel to the ginger beer and sweeten to taste. Remove the lime peel, bottle and refrigerate. 

 All that’s left to do is pour the drink in a glass of ice, sit back and enjoy.

Christmas Rice: Reflecting Trini Culture

Christmas Rice is a remarkable dish, but what makes a dish special? Christmas Rice reflects our culture around Christmas time: festive, colourful, and flavourful.

So how do we bring about festive, colour and flavour to reflect our Trini culture all in one dish? Be innovative with the ingredients you have around you. For that festive feel, use raisins; for that trini flavour,  use a combination of pimento peppers, thyme and ginger…. And for colour, red and green sweet peppers will do the trick. 

Christmas Rice Recipe

2 cup rice
3 tbsp grated ginger
4cloves garlic, minced
2 medium sweet pepper (green), chopped
2medium sweet pepper (red), chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 spring celery, chopped finely
2 sprigs fine leaf thyme, chopped finely
2/3 cup raisins
3 tbsp butter
Salt to taste

Method

1.    Boil rice drain and set aside

2.    Melt butter over a medium flame.

3.    Saute the ginger, garlic, and onion for one minute.

4.    Add celery, thyme and sweet peppers. Let cook for one minute. Note: Try not to overcook the sweet pepper because they would lose some of their     vibrant colour.

5.    Add raisins and mix well. allow to saute for about 30 seconds.

6.    Add rice. Mix well and adjust salt to taste.

Remove from heat.  Serve hot

WHAT CHRISTMAS IS LIKE IN TRINIDAD

If you’re wondering what Christmas is like in Trinidad, this description may help; Lots of LIMING (hanging out) and MUSIC . . .  a little bit of ‘spring’ CLEANING . . . lots of LAUGHING . . .  and tons of FOOD and  DRINKS!

Think you’re up for all the action? You’ll also need a HUGE appetite as every person you visit WILL be offering you food and drinks. And you got to be in a very social mood because everybody is everybody’s family! If you think you can survive, then by all means make the trip down to share the season with us.

Because we’re in the Caribbean, we do our ‘spring cleaning’ in December! So leading up to the week of Christmas most people will be painting, doing house repairs, hanging out new curtains, putting up Christmas decorations and getting rid of old furniture and other rubbish!

While growing up in Trinidad, you know that from the moment school closes in December, you got to prepare yourself for some serious chores. If you’re not polishing every single bit of wooden furniture for mom then you’re slaving away in the kitchen making what seemed to be thousands of pastelles! That leads us to the food . . .

Talk about food . . . and . . . drinks. If you make it to January without gaining extra weight then you’ve done yourself some injustice! There are so many great tasting Traditional Christmas Recipes from Trinidad. Who could say no to Pastelles? Whether it’s Chicken, Beef, Fish, Vegetarian, you name it. To go along with that, you’ve got homemade bread, Fruit Cake, Ham, Turkey, Duck, in fact, expect to get any kind of meat!

Then comes the flood of drinks - Ponche de Creme, Sorrel, Gingerbeer, Local Wines, Local Rum and a few special concoctions that the older folks might put together!

To top all of this off, you have 24 hour Parang (Trinidad Christmas Songs) music on the radio with some traditional Christmas Songs sprinkled in between. Leading up to December there are numerous Parang Competitions, Christmas Concerts, office parties and more. If you want live entertainment, you won’t need to go very far. Almost every Restaurant, Lounge and Night club will play host to live Paranderos.

 Needless to say, Christmas in ‘Sweet TnT’ is worth your visit.