Category Archives: Festivals

Guyana: Dolling Up for the Year-End Festivities

05 Sunday Dec 2021

Posted by in Festivals, Guyana, People

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Photo by Inga Seliverstova on Pexels.com

December was the most hectic month for my stay-at-home working Mom. As a sought-after dressmaker among middle-class women in the capital, Georgetown, Mom had little time for Christmas shopping, home decoration, and preparation of our traditional Christmas dinner specialties. Guyanese love to party. The Christmas and year-end festivities meant parties galore: office parties, nightclub parties, and house parties. The greatest fete of all was the Old Year’s Night Ball to welcome in the New Year with a bang.

As early as October, to ensure that their dresses were done on time, Mom’s clients who had several functions to attend would start bringing in their dress materials. For the Old Year’s Night Ball, no expense was spared when choosing the best imported fabrics. Clients could select designs from fashion magazines—JC Penney, McCall’s, Sears, and Vogue—Mom made available. A few clients brought clippings of photos from women’s magazines featuring the rich and famous. At the time, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jacqueline Kennedy were the rave. I enjoyed a front seat view of the woman’s world of dolling up for parties and other social events to attract a mate or to hold onto your man or husband.

I was a thirteen-year-old teenager in high school when Mom began sewing for three attractive working-class women of Portuguese descent. All in their twenties, the three friends worked in the office wing of Bookers Guiana General Store. To protect their identity, I’ll call them Catherine, Marcella, and Yvette. Catherine was the most beautiful with hair and features to rival those of the French actress Catherine Deneuve. Yvette had muscular shoulders and arms from playing tennis at a competitive level. Marcella was a dark-haired beauty like the American actress Rita Morena in West Side Story (1961).

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On giving this Christmas

08 Sunday Dec 2019

Posted by in Anthropogenic Climate Disruption, Festivals, Human Behavior, Nature and the Environment

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Christmas Cactus – Gift of Mother Earth – My succulent garden
Photo taken November 23, 2019

 

Our climate emergency is for real. In his address at the opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference held on December 2 to 13, 2019, in Madrid, Spain, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said:

The latest, just-released data from the World Meteorological Organization show that levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have reached another new record high. Global average levels of carbon dioxide reached 407.8 parts per million in 2018. And I remember, not long ago, 400 parts per million was seen as an unthinkable tipping point. We are well over it. The last time there was a comparable concentration of CO2 was between 3 and 5 million years ago, when the temperature was between 2 and 3 degrees Celsius warmer than now and sea levels were 10 to 20 metres higher than today.

Yet our collective behavior indicate that we humans are still in denial. Here in the United States, beginning on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, commercial activity has exploded with preparations for the Christmas festivities. Whether we’re Christians or not, Christmas traditions permeate our lives.

Christmas tree lighting ceremonies, organized by our town and city halls, mark the beginning of the season. We decorate our homes. In some neighborhoods, homeowners seem to outdo each other in decorating their front yards. Our children take part in Christmas pageants that enact the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the cause of joyful celebrations among Christians worldwide. Traditional Christmas carols lift our spirits. Another important part of our Christmas traditions is Santa Claus with his workshop of elves, toiling year-round to make gifts for children for delivery during the wee hours on Christmas Day. Continue reading →

Wintry Blues

21 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Family Life, Festivals, Save Our Children, United States

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Rain clouds hover over Downtown Los Angeles - December 2014Rain clouds hover over Downtown Los Angeles – December 2014
Photo Credit: ABC7 Eyewitness News

 

In the Northern Hemisphere, today is the first day of winter. The North Pole will tilt 23.5 degrees away from the Sun, making the Winter Solstice the shortest day or the longest night of the year.

I’ve got the wintry blues. In Southern California, we’ve been getting much needed rain. But the gray, heavily loaded sky crushes my Christmas spirit. The long nights cloak me in gloom. To add to my wintry woes, some bad news has further chilled my Christmas cheer. Such is the ever-changing journey called life. Anxiety can quickly smother our joy. Continue reading →

No Magic this Christmas

22 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by in Festivals, Human Behavior, Religion, Social Injustice, United States

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Homeless and Hungry - United StatesHomeless & Hungry
Photo Credit: DoSomething.org

 

Since a kid growing up in Guyana, Christmas has always been a magical time of the year. My poor, working class parents always found a way to make Christmas a special time of the year for me and my four siblings. My happiest childhood memories are of our Christmas celebrations.

Following the world economic crisis of August 2008, I’ve been downsizing our Christmas celebrations, in keeping with our new socio-economic reality in the United States. Job security is a thing of the past. Joblessness, homelessness, and food insecurity are new experiences for the American middle class. The situation is no better for the working poor.

What’s also disturbing is hearing high-profile people in the media, in the business community, and among our government representatives blaming the poor for their poverty. In a number of cities across the United States, it has even become a criminal offense to feed the homeless in public spaces (National Coalition for the Homeless).

This Christmas, the magic finally fizzled out.

How can I celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ – born into a poor, working class family – when it is now a crime to be poor and homeless?

How can I celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ when the labor of the poor has little value?

How can I celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ when my value as a human being is determined by my buying power?

How can I celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ when millions of people across the United States and around the world do not enjoy the basic human rights needed for their survival?

Am I expecting too much of humankind? Are we incapable of doing what is morally correct when we wield power? Was Jesus’ coming all for nothing?

Christmas in Brazil: My “Secret Friend”

15 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by in Brazil, Festivals, People, Relationships, Working Life

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Christmas PresentPhoto Credit: nopatio.com.br

 

At Christmas time in work places around Fortaleza, the exchange of gifts between co-workers is common. A popular practice is to select the name of your amiga secreta or “secret friend” from among the undisclosed names of all participating co-workers.

During the years I worked in Brazil, one amiga secreta stands out from all the rest: Angélica,* my nemesis.

Angélica and I started out on the wrong foot. She was responsible for the control of all incoming and outgoing merchandise. I made the unforgiveable error of pointing out discrepancies in the product codes. Other related questions about stock control resulted in a rebuke from Angélica’s boss. I was meddling in matters outside of my job description, he told me.

I paid the price in full for questioning Angélica’s competence. Her subsequent covert attempts to discredit and sabotage my work turned my work environment into a quagmire. Over time, I harbored resentment and anger towards her. When I pulled her name as my amiga secreta, I knew that it was not by chance. I was being forced to take action, to take another path.

I resisted the temptation to exchange my selection with another co-worker. I knew that I had to resolve my enmity towards Angélica.

On the Saturday evening of our Christmas staff party, Angélica and her husband were noticeably absent. The opportunity of presenting my gift in a safe and festive atmosphere did not occur as I had planned.

Some situations are never as easy as we would like them to be.

The following Monday morning I found the courage to go to Angélica’s office with my gift offering. I had discreetly found out what she most wanted for Christmas. I made my peace with her. That’s what Christmas is all about, isn’t it? Peace and joy and goodwill towards all.

She was open and responsive. We cleared the foul air between us. I freed myself of all those dark emotions. I became lighter and joyful.

In the New Year, I became a part of Angélica’s small group of friends. We shared many enjoyable Happy Hours on Friday evenings after work. Over glasses of Brazilian light beer, the four of us made plans for our future.

Then the bombshell fell.

My amiga secreta had secrets of her own. She was embezzling the company. I don’t know the details of her scheme. I didn’t want to know. I could not gloat. I could only lament that she had lost her way.

The Christmas my nemesis became my “secret friend” changed the course of my life as well as hers. This Christmas, wherever she may be, I hope that the star shines brightly atop her Christmas tree.

* Fictitious name

The Magic of Christmas

23 Sunday Dec 2012

Posted by in Brazil, Family Life, Festivals, Guyana, Religion, United States

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Christmas StarThe Christmas Star

For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him. Matthew 2:2

 

Our Christmas traditions demand a flurry of activities, some of which can be quite stressful. This year, I stayed clear of the frenzy at the shopping mall. My yearly gift-buying spree ended when the American economy crumbled in August 2008. Since my adult sons no longer believe in Santa Claus, I only put up a Christmas tree and decorations when my spirit craves the festivities.

When my siblings and I were kids, our mother did not put up the Christmas tree and decorations until Christmas Eve Night after we were all asleep. It was a magical moment to wake up on Christmas morning to find a tree with presents stacked beneath it.

In the United States, some homeowners go all out in decorating the exterior of their homes and yards. The Christmas lighting extravaganza holds its own magic for me. My childlike fascination for festive lights has never waned with age.

When it comes to food, every region and country has its own traditional specialties. In Guyana, I enjoyed eating pepperpot with bread at breakfast and black cake at teatime and in every home we visited during the Christmas Season. During the years we lived in Brazil, I carried on our Guyanese Christmas tradition of making black cake and, for breakfast, began having coffee with Panettone – an Italian sweet-bread popular in Brazil at Christmastime. My sons and I buy our favorite brands of Panettone at the Brazilian Shop in Culver City. As my sons no longer appreciate black cake, I have stopped making it and now enjoy the American Christmas fruit and nut cake. Christmas Dinner has its own magic when family members, living apart in faraway cities and countries, come together to share a meal.

A lot more happens during this festive season. There are parties and gift-giving in workplaces; school Nativity plays for those who have young children; Christmas caroling; Christmas Eve Midnight Mass; and a variety of festive shows. We even have Christmas songs and movies.

We can get so caught up in all our preparations, activities, and events that we lose touch with the essence of Christmas: a celebration of hope and joy at the birth of Jesus. You may or may not accept Jesus as Christ our Savior, but this spirit of hope and joy at Christmas was passed on to us through the generations in our traditions of giving and receiving, forgetting our differences, and letting our goodness shine through for all to see. Our transformation in revealing our inner light is the true magic of Christmas.

Carnival in Brazil

26 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by in Brazil, Festivals

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Carnival in Fortaleza – Ceará – Brazil (wwwcarnaval2012.org)

Almost everything stops during Brazil’s four-day carnival extravaganza and festivities. The most celebrated festival in Brazil takes place yearly before Ash Wednesday. For some revelers, four days are not enough. They continue partying and binging throughout Ash Wednesday and the rest of the week.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Christian forty-day Lenten Season. It is a period of fasting and penance in remembrance of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, and culminates in Jesus’ resurrection (Easter Sunday). Carnival can therefore be considered as a kind of last indulgence in worldly pleasures before cloaking oneself in self-denial during Lent.

In the early years in Brazil, I watched the Rio Carnival broadcast live on the TV. The vibrant colors and sparkle mesmerized me. I fell in love with the samba. With lessons from my girlfriends, I learned to dance the samba… somewhat.

During carnival in Fortaleza, capital of the State of Ceará, thousands of people leave the city for the beaches and the interior, as well as for other cities across Brazil. The exodus starts on Thursday night and escalates on Friday night. To avoid the bumper-to-bumper drive along the coastal and other highways, we left the city early on Saturday morning.

For those who stay in Fortaleza and the tourists who visit the sunshine, coastal city for carnival, there is Maracatu – an Afro-Brazilian street parade in which the participants dress up like the Portuguese royal court of the Baroque period. Since most Cearense are moreno (brown-skinned), they paint their skin black. (I found this weird the first time I watched the parade.)

Aracati, 87 miles distant from Fortaleza, is one of the popular carnival destinations in Ceará. People dance through the streets behind trios elétricos – large trucks specially equipped with high-power sound systems and platforms for musical bands and singers to perform for the crowds. The favorite rhythms are forró and axé.

The year my sons and I spent carnival in Aracati, the sun was merciless. Jet streams of water sprayed the crowd, keeping body temperatures in check. Conservative and a teetotaler – a spoiler for ‘playing’ carnival – I observed the revelry from the sidelines of the crowd. Exhausted at the end of the day, I stayed with my sons at the pousada (inn) while my friends danced through the night. With the sound of the trio elétrico reverberating throughout the small town, sleep did not come easy.

After a few years, the Rio Carnival lost its allure. For me, it became a tourist attraction that thrived on debauchery. Across the nation, carnival appeared to be a pressure cooker valve for the working class: a release from the year-long pressure of living on minimum wage. People do whatever it takes to raise money to ‘play’ carnival.