“Now it’s the Crismus Season and the fun cyan done, so have a joyful irie Crismus in the Sun.” With Christmas only weeks away you can already feel the excitement of the season in the air. The evenings are slightly cooler (slightly) and already there is a little buzzing about Christmas plans.
Undoubtedly, for many of us the most anticipated part of the season is the coming together and celebrations on the day. Nothing makes the chocolate tea sweeter or the ham juicier than laughing and chatting with those who mean the most to us at one of the best times of the year.
Though traditionally known as the season for gift giving, nothing really compares to the gift of a well prepared Christmas meal. The rich aromas of a traditional Jamaican Christmas breakfast and dinner, can leave many mouths watering. Each tantalising aroma starting where another one stops, yet richly complementing the other. Simply, it’s the food that really brings us together, always has. From as far back as slavery, food was customarily prepared in larger quantities and varieties during Christmas than at any other time during the year, which allowed the slaves to gather and celebrate; a tradition that has been passed down
from generation to generation and remains a staple in most homes today.
Christmas breakfast still starts with the smell of freshly made chocolate tea and a hint nutmeg lightly grated on top. This merely opens the appetite to the enchanting smells of the stewed liver or kidney, mackerel run-dung, ackee with the fried skin from the ham, complemented by boiled bananas, dumplings, roasted breadfruit and the
delectably warm duck bread. Though this may not be a staple for every home, the tradition of preparing more than average on Christmas morning remains an important aspect to the tradition.
Lunch is rarely had, as the time after breakfast is almost immediately spent in final preparation and sleep, for the final festivities.
Christmas dinner acts as the climax to the season. Often bringing together the
extended family and acting as a reunion. The sharing of food marks the importance of the season by bringing together family and friends. Perhaps even more telling about the food traditions is the preparation of dinner. Often you will find that for Christmas, at least four types of meat are prepared. The ham, has become a staple in the home for those who are inclined to
eat pork which is often prepared the night before Christmas. Garnished with
pineapples,cherries, cloves and glazed with honey, baked ham is often the centerpiece for the dinner table. Other dishes such as curried goat, stewed/roasted pork or beef, fried/baked or barbequed chicken and oxtail, serve as mere complements for the ham. While the rice and gungo peas,
macaroniand cheese, potato salad and tossed salad round out the entrée menu. Dinner is generally accompanied by an equally wide array of juices. Sorrel punch with rum and ginger, soursop juice and carrot juice with milk and dragon often form the drink menu for dinner.
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