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The
traditional BVI Christmas had and has many elements
familiar to the world: groups visiting neighbors
singing Christmas carols, a variety of delicious
holiday foods and drinks, and, in the center of
it all, the Christmas tree. But it
is the Christmas tree that differs the greatest
in the tropics.
Traditionally, a Fishing Rod
Tree, possessing its own natural beauty, would be
taken from the wild. Otherwise known as the Century Plant, the top of this
tall succulent spike, bursts into bright canary yellow flowers
in April.
Later, at Christmas, its radiating stems, gracefully holding
dried seed pod clusters, are decorated with
ornaments and lights, with the tree itself often
painted silver.
Christmas
on Main Street
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Shopping in
shorts makes a Christmas in the
tropics--see the bottom of a
silver BVI Christmas tree. The
first such Main Street Christmas
festival was held in 1999.
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Christmas traditions in
the BVI include other differences as well. For
instance, the resounding music was likely to be
made by a fungi group with its eclectic collection of
sounds including washboards and gourds. And
today, perhaps played by some to a reggae beat.
While mass serenading is mostly a thing
of the past, as in most of the world, one element
of the BVI Christmas remains: guavaberry spirits.
| "The guavaberries, a bright raspberry or
sometimes grape coloured berry which
looks similar to a wild cherry, would be
picked, washed and then soaked in a
demijohn or in gallon glass bottles laced
with dark Meyers Rum and an assortment of
spices." See Reflections on an
Island Christmas. |
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Club
Paradise
Christmas Tree
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The
ornaments are anything but
traditional, being inspired by
the location of this Christmas
tree outside a bar.
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