Jamaican Christmas Memories: Christmas time growing up in the 1980s and 90s.

 Author: S. Jeffery

When mi wuz a likkle pickney yuh si, Krismus wuz mi fayvarit time of year! Mi cudnt wait fi it fi come. Dere wuz alwayz someting delishus fi try an' mi wud get into di Krismus cake yuh see!

I was born in the early 1980s so I remember somewhat of the 80's and the transition into the 90's. By the time the 1990s rolled in I was pretty much a teenager. 

The 1980s-90s seemed almost surreal compared to now! In terms of folks' mannerism and culture, they were unique and special, and influenced the Christmas traditions I grew up experiencing. I want to share some of what I remember as a child growing up in that time, today in this blog post. So, what do I remember? 

Let's get into!

Friendly disposition

Around this time of year persons would be even more kinder and friendlier than usual --mi nuh sure why, maybe just the Krismus spirit --persons had a greater tendency to share what they had. They would bake rum cake/Christmas cake and bring a huge slice of it to you or call you to pick it up. I remember one year our neighbours invited us over for dinner, and that was something I have never forgotten even though I was a child. I believe we returned the favor the Christmas after, but generally people shared their food with each other. 

Child's Play 

Kids would be encouraged to play with each other. We would have sleepovers and bear romping; play hide and seek, ring games and other types of games. Sometimes kids would play a game called 'Chiney skip' which is where they would a very long chain with thin elastic bands. Two persons would stand at either end turning the bands into a rectangular shape and kids would jump in and out of it, trying not to touch the bands. They would also try to make symmetrical shapes with the bands while the two persons used their bodies, feet apart to keep it steady. 

Here is an example of how it's played courtesy of 'Jamaican Story Time' Youtube Channel:  https://youtu.be/6dnVGicVZ4s  

We also played Hopscotch and Jax and Balls. Oh! And I remember playing 'Marbles' a few times, but wasn't any good at that.

For Hopscotch, children would take a piece of chalk and draw boxes (with numbers in them) on the sidewalk (walkway) or on a concrete paved part of their yard, maybe the driveway or the front porch.  

Here's an example of the Hopscotch diagram drawn out on a street courtesy of Childhood 101.

Christmas Lights 

My dad was a welder, that was his trade. One year I must have mentioned the fact that we couldn't afford a Christmas tree. I was a child then, and I didn't understand economics or anything like that, but I was aware that my parents weren't rich. 

Well my dad decided he would surprise me. At that time (1980s and 90s) fake Christmas trees weren't a thing yet. Nope no faux trees. My dad decided to use his welding skills and make his own. So he got some very thin metal rods and welded them together in the shape of a Christmas tree. It had a triangular shape with a little square piece at the end, representing the foot of the tree. He painted it green and then decorated it with Christmas lights, what we Jamaicans call pepper lights, and then fastened it to the window facing the street. 

We had small sized lights and bigger ones, and my parents would hang them up at the windows and around the walls in the living room. I remember one year, they discussed hanging some on the hedging bushes outside but decided against it. They also put up decorations with the words 'Merry Christmas' on them and little colourful trinkets that would remind anyone of the season.

Sweets

Almost every year, up to the point when my grand aunt became sickly and passed away, she would bring me sweets from the U.S.. She would bring me the candy cane sweets children in my time loved. She would also give me some toffee sweets and chocolates. Yum! The candy cane sweeties were my favorite though.

Food, Drink & Alcohol

The famous Jamaican Sorrel plant used to make the tangy, tasty Sorrel drink.

I developed a real appreciation for wine and rum as spices in food when I was growing up. Back then, Jamaicans would put alcohol in almost anything around Christmas time. They would jerk the chicken or pork and spray some hot Red Stripe beer on the meat. They would put a dash of wine in their baked chicken. They would pour wine in their sorrel drink, and of course Christmas cake isn't real Christmas cake without some Red Label Wine. Although some folks would use Appleton Rum. 

If we weren't drinking sorrel we would be drinking something Jamaicans call Magnum drink. My family would water it down. My mom would make a mixture of Dragon Stout, condensed milk (usually Betty milk), blended peanuts (blended very finely) and Irish Moss. Other times we would drink soursop juice (from the soursop fruit also known as graviola), with Dragon Stout and condensed milk. Nice!

No, not being sponsored by these companies, just stating what it was back then. I dare say most Jamaicans still keep these traditions alive but with the cost of living so high, people have to cut back. 

The traditional Christmas meal/dinner in Jamaica was baked/roasted or jerked chicken, raw veggies which would comprise of raw cabbage finely shredded, finely shredded carrots, sprinkled with water mixed with sugar and a tups (a dash) of salad dressing thoroughly mixed into the veggies. Potato salad was the side dish. The potato salad was made with irish potatoes, boiled eggs cubed or roughly chopped (depending on how you like it), black pepper, salt and mayonnaise, and a tups of sugar. Some people would mix in a little mustard in it to give it a kick, but traditionalists would leave that out.  Some folks do a two (2) meat plate. So they will have chicken and pork, curried goat/mutton and chicken, or chicken and beef, or even fish and chicken, but chicken meat is king around Christmas time. 

Rice and peas was the go to carb for the meal (besides the salad), but this rice and peas had no red (kidney beans) peas in it. Nope, around this time of year, we use green Gungo Peas, also known as Pigeon Peas! Older folks would go to the market and by the peas by the pound. They would buy them still in their pods and bring them home and 'shell dem out', basically remove them from the pods, wash them and then cook them like how you would cook kidney beans (red peas), with coconut milk and fresh herbs and spices. Shelling Gungo Peas was like an event. Usually the women in a Jamaican family would sit together around the kitchen table and chat while shelling out the peas. I started learning as a child. It would take a while to get everything done (every pea de-shelled) but at least you could hear the latest gossip. Some vendors would (and still do) remove the pods for you, but it would cost a bit more to buy. Nowadays, people just buy the peas in the can for convenience.There are some people who would say it doesn't taste the same way and would prefer doing it for themselves. Yeah, I am one of them. Although, this year we're deliberating as a family as to whether or not we should buy. Gungo peas are very expensive to purchase this year. I'll let you know what we decide to do.

Worship

Worship! Every man, woman and child went to church on Christmas morning. Christmas day was one of the days that people made it their duty to attend church. Even if they hadn't attended church for most of the year, on Christmas day, they would rise up early, drink some tea (chocolate tea, coffee, mint, green --every hot beverage is called 'tea' for us), press out (iron) some nice 'Sunday best' (church clothes) and head to church as a family. Yes, even the man who said he didn't like church or church folks would go to church on Christmas morning. 

Christmas Breakfast

When the family returned home they would have breakfast, which is usually accompanied by a slice of ham (well cured) and a sliver of Christmas cake to whet one's appetite for later. For breakfast we usually had cooked kidneys or liver (from cows) with boiled green bananas, boiled yams and boiled dumplings. Other times it was ackee and saltfish and fried dumplings. People would have a variety of foods for breakfast. Some people would have a light breakfast such as fruit so that they could have a huge appetite when it was time for dinner.  Most folks would eat their Christmas dinner early, around 3-5 pm and then have the cake later on in the evening. Some of these traditions continue today, but I am sure that with more Jamaicans getting the opportunity to travel, other foods have been added, such as turkey.

Fun times to cherish

Christmas time was a fun time for me as a child. Traditions were passed on that give me comfort even to this day when I think back on them. Most kids in the 80s and 90s had a pretty cool childhood and we learned so much about what makes us Jamaican. I will always remember them and cherish them.

So, these are the things I remember as a child growing up in the 80s and 90s. I hope you enjoyed the journey with me. I would love to hear from you. Drop a comment nuh, and don't forget to share this post. I appreciate you guys. One Love!