Christmas in Trinidad and Tobago

The festival of Christmas in Trinidad and Tobago was first celebrated in 1569. It was observed by six priests of the Observantines order led by Fr. Miguel Diosdados (Reyes) who visited a number of villages where they were treated to local cuisine.

Christmas in Trinidad and Tobago has always been an occasion for joy and cheer: it marks the end of year and the imminent arrival of carnival season. Families commemorate the birth of Jesus by attending the midnight mass in the church. This is also the time for food and drink, music and celebration, and peace and love, as the birth of Christ is honored and rejoiced.

Friends, relatives and all near and dear ones get together and celebrate this memorable event in large festal gatherings. The traditional Trinibagonian Christmas meal includes ham, turkey, pastelles, sweet home made breads, and other select delicacies, are served at Christmas time besides traditional drinks like sorrel, ginger beer, ponche de crème and local wine. The traditional Trinidadian Christmas fruitcake is also a must-have in most homes. The fruits to be added in the cake, like raisins and sultanas, are normally soaked in cherry wine, sherry and rum months before Christmas.

Groups of people, known as Paranderos, go from house to house and sing indigenous Spanish carols known as Parang, to the members of the home and neighborhoods to stir up the spirit of the season with joyous melodies and rhythms. The Paranderos are accompanied by instruments like cuatro, bass box, mandolin, ‘chac-chac’ (maracas), flutes, tambourines and guitar. Everyone gets in to the festive mood and join the lively rhythms of Parang music. The hosts of the homes invite the Paranderos to join in the Christmas feast to reward them or show appreciation.

The festive environment is replete with radio stations playing Trinidadian Christmas carols and songs besides Parang, a cheery Venezuela-Trinidad hybrid. Many people get their homes painted or get the repairs done. Hanging new curtains, lights and other adornments are also done to decorate the house for Christmas. People prefer to buy new electrical appliances and furniture t this time. Families opt to spend Christmas Day at home with friends and family members.

Trinidad and Tobago entertainment on Christmas is unique in its own ways. Carnival began in Trinidad over two centuries ago, and Trinidad fast turned it into something very much its own. Trinidad-style Carnivals are now held in large number of countries and cities all over the world, including New York and London, Toronto and Miami. The festive season kicks off after Christmas with nightly performances in the calypso “tents”, dozens of steel orchestras practicing in their “panyards” and “fetes”, some of them with hundreds of revelers and three to four live bands.

The entire country is upbeat with music and partying on the final weekend, while the Calypso Monarch or the new champion steel orchestra, is declared by the Panorama contest. On Carnival Monday and Tuesday, following the bacchanal of the pre-dawn J’Ouvert, masquerade bands, some with over 4,000 members, throng the streets and competition sites in what is famous for being the world’s biggest, most peaceable and most euphoric street party.