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. 

Memories Of A True Trini Christmas

CHRISTMAS has always been my favourite time of year. I grew up in Trinidad, where the traditions of the season are deeply rooted and highly enjoyable. It is the time of PARANG when in each village groups of musicians would go from house to house singing a special type of Christmas song accompanied by guitars, mandolins, cuatros and sometimes a box-base while rhythm is kept by beating empty (or half-empty) rum bottles with spoons.

Christmas also had its SPECIAL FOODS. Apart from the 'international' ham and fruitcake, there were others, like pastelles. It was the time when strict parents relented and allowed youngsters to drink alcohol, the youngest having cherry brandy and ponche crema, a home-made alcoholic delicacy.

CHRISTMAS CAROLS like Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bells and Deck the Halls together with all the carols sang around the nativity scenes are blasted in all  radio stations and airwaves. While trinis flock the streets SHOPPING for curtains and gifts all in preparation to celebrate Christmas.

At Christmas time, my family, like many others, continued a tradition of waiting until Christmas Eve, the end of the ADVENT SEASON (with all its solemnity and reflection) to welcome the birth of Christ.

CHRISTMAS TIME DOES BRING SOME OF OUR BEST AND WARMEST FEELINGS AND MEMORIES.

So, needless to say, I love Christmas time.