Santa Clause in Belize?

Christmas in Belize….

Christmas Eve I woke up at 4:00 am in order to catch the bus into town. The market buses run from the far villages here in order to take all those men and women who haul their veggies and corn and rice into Punta Gorda Town in hopes of selling some at the market. Christmas Eve was no exception, and there were many more on the bus as well. It was crammed with women and men and their children going into town, or to visit families farther away. I was lucky to get on the bus and had to stand near the door it was so full, trying my best to keep my balance – not to end up on the dirt road outside the bus.
In town I expected more festivities and celebrations for the holiday, but there was no Santa Claus or Christmas trees, only the Cobaneros and 80 degree weather. Cobaneros are vendors that are set up all around town that sell anything and everything from hammocks to shoes to silverware to thread. They are called Cobaneros because they are originally from Coban, Guatemala – and the name stuck. Even though there weren’t formal celebrations in town, you could still feel a certain buzz in the air. The families were getting ready to visit with family and friends. They were buying supplies for a nice Christmas meal perhaps, or as they say here in Belize they were “just taking a walk” – which means just hanging out basically.
I was in town all day just visiting and spending time with my host sister Melissa. We reached back to my village – Blue Creek at about 6:45 pm. Just as I was unlocking my door and trying to get settled a friend came by on his bicycle. I nearly forgot about Church! On Christmas Eve, there is a big church gathering. We have two main churches right in the center of the village; one Baptist church and the other Catholic. The Baptist church was traveling away on Christmas Eve, so I decided to go to Mass at the Catholic Church. I dropped my things and changed into a skirt and walked across the street to my house into the church. There are two rows of wooden benches filled with families and children running around outside and playing with each other. One side is the women’s side and the other is for the men. I quickly took my place on the Women’s side in the back row. It was the last seat in the house, almost like it was saved for me. The Church leader and a couple of guys playing the guitar were playing and singing some songs in Ketchi (Mayan language). I sang along by reading what I thought the words would sound like in a small hymnal type book. While we were singing, the bush doctor comes with a small container filled with herbs that he lights on fire and spreads throughout the room. The pastor soon arrived after that. An old white man – who travels in once in a while. Church lasted until about 10 o’clock and would resume again at 11, and last until about 2 am. I didn’t make the last service because I was simply exhausted. So I went dreaming.

The next morning the loud pounding of the rain on my rooftop awakened me. Zinc roofs don’t make quiet raincatchers. For Christmas I was invited out to a friends house in another village. We arrived there at around 11 am. After traveling through the rain it was nice to find shelter. I found a typical meal to eat on Christmas is BBQ. BBQ here is literally putting the meat over the fire with lots of seasoning and BBQ sauce, served with beans and cabbage cole slaw and with homemade flour tortillas. We had BBQ pork. Also, when describing food here you use the word “nice” rather than “good”. Anyway – the barbeque was really nice. We also had tamales later on. Tamales are ground corn which is called Masa and a mixture of meat and seasoning on the inside. It is made in what they locally called a waha leaf, and boiled. They are a Belizean favorite. Christmas is simply a time to relax, remember the meaning of the holiday and eat delicious food. It is a time to enjoy family. My Christmas day was relaxing and I was welcomed into this family’s home with such kindness. There was the mother and father and then 11 children. 9 of the 11 children were there. I enjoyed the day very much!

The next morning, I woke up and enjoyed more tamales and barbeque and boiled plantains. Then I was lucky enough to ride a horse to their farm. We walked through the yard and picked oranges, mandarin oranges, tangerines and ate those. Then we came a little further and tried some kind of berry. Then we came across some green coconuts. We pulled those from the tree and cracked them open with a machete. We drank the coconut water which was nice. We crossed the river and walked into a cacao patch. We finally found one that the birds hadn’t spoiled and ate the cacao seeds. You suck on them and then save them in order to roast and grind for fresh cacao. I saw their pastures and called their cattle – I never thought cows were pretty until then. Finally we crossed across the next pasture and got to the “bush”. When I saw the bush I mean the end of the cleared land. We ventured further – found some jippy jappa – which is a type of vegetable of sorts. We ate it right then and there. It is good with rice and can also be used to make baskets. Being resourceful isn’t an option around here. Anyway – we finally made it back to the house after gathering more waha leaves and firewood. The whole little outing was amazing. Eating things here and there right off the vines and trees, seeing the beautiful country side that belonged all to this family. It was all so beautiful.

Overall Christmas this year was culturally rich and I was lucky to have spent my Christmas in Belize and with such a warm family. I was boldly mistaken thinking I would be sad during my holiday, which I am thankful for. Although I missed the smell of pine and a cold breeze, don’t get me wrong. The lack of egg nog was a little upsetting as well.

Well I hope the holidays went great for all of you. Until next time….