Christmas With Grandchildren

Christmas in the Caribbean is a lot different from Christmas in Canada, which I discovered to my dismay shortly after my arrival in 1977.  I was teaching as a volunteer at the Bequia Anglican High School, and was still trying to get used to the tropical heat when the Christmas season rolled around. For the very first time in my life I experienced waves of intense home-sickness; I had never been away from my family for longer than a couple of weeks, and the thought of Christmas without my parents or any of the familiar festive activities depressed me terribly.

On Bequia I would not be feasting on stuffed turkey, and the heavily salted hams sold at the shops were an insult to my Canadian taste buds. There would be no Christmas trees decorated with colourful lights, neither would there be any gaily wrapped presents. Instead, I was exposed to the late-night noise and heavy drinking associated with the keeping of “nine mornings”, and the vast differences between Christmas on Bequia and that in Canada made me wish I had never left home. The lack of snow was like the final insult, how could I possibly enjoy Christmas without snow? I was downright miserable that first year, which in retrospect seems pretty dumb! I was living on an island most people can only fantasize about, and I was moaning about the absence of snow!?

Christmas Day on Bequia took on a whole new flavour once my children were born. By that time my parents were always here during the winter months, and the 25^th of December became a joyful occasion filled with food, laughter and love. Realizing that Christmas is a family time the restaurant was always closed, the island could live without pizza for that one day! Once the turkey (yes, turkey! Grocery shopping had improved by then!) had been stuffed and put in the oven we always headed to Lower Bay Beach, and played happily in the sea throughout the afternoon.  Yes, I still missed the snow during the Christmas season, but its absence no longer made me miserable!

Times changed gradually. Mac and my parents passed away, I re-married, and my children grew up and left Bequia. The Christmas turkey still happened, but once again I found myself missing my family, especially once the grand-children had been born. I sold the Pizzeria and retired in 2016, and now have all the time in the world to celebrate the holiday season. However, Christmas just isn’t the same without family, and Nik and I began to spend December 25th quietly with just one or two friends. We would see the grand-children whenever we went to Canada, and they have visited us a few times on Bequia, but we have never spent Christmas together.

This year Nik and I have something to celebrate, Family Christmas is on the agenda! We haven’t seen the grand-children for more than two years, not since we were together for Canadian Thanksgiving in 2019, and they have grown so much during that time. As I write, they are in the air en route to St. Vincent and I am SO looking forward to seeing them! Covid-19 has made travel very difficult to and from Canada, and up until this week it was still touch-and-go whether they would be able to come.

This year we will decorate a tree, wrap presents, and once again share food with loved ones from abroad. I will try not to miss the snow too much on Christmas Day, teaching my grand-children how to snorkel will take my mind off the cold white stuff, of THAT I am sure. I feel blessed.  Merry Christmas everyone!