Christmas in Trinidad and Tobago
“When Santa Clause arrives in Trinidad and Tobago, it is to the rhythm of Parang. The climate is warm and the flowers are in bloom, which makes for a colorful season.”
This quote from writer Bill Egan wonderfully describes Christmas on my twin island home of Trinidad and Tobago where the holiday is celebrated in a most unique way with many ingrained traditions.
By mid-November, the stores of the capital city, Port-of-Spain, are flooded with early Christmas shoppers. The most popular places are textile and drapery stores. I remember coming from school one evening and seeing women, whose faces were beaded in sweat, hauling big white bags toward the bus terminal. For me, this was a sign that Christmas was just a stone’s throw away.
Hardware stores thrive during the Christmas season. As a custom, a house should be re-painted or touched up. If you were to drive through any neighborhood the Saturday prior to Christmas, your eyes would meet quite an amusing site. You should expect to see men and women alike, some on ladders and others seated on stools all painting houses and fences. For some neighborhood children, this provides an opportunity to earn some extra money.
I loved to walk through my neighborhood at night. The entire atmosphere is one of merriment and quiet anxiety. I could see Christmas tree lights twinkling through open windows and icicle lights draping the galvanize roofs of some houses. The smell of freshly applied paint and floor varnish often lingered into the night and was carried by a warm breeze.
It also becomes hard to avoid the infectious rhythms of parang. Parang is the Christmas music of the twin island. It has solid Spanish roots and comes from the Venezuelan...
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...ns. Punch de crème is a thick drink made from blended scotch, evaporated milk, eggs, spices and condensed milk. The dish that reigns supreme is ham. Many parang songs have been devoted to just this one dish: songs such as, “Ah [I] want ah [a] piece of ham” and “Neighbor bring out de [the] ham.” Christmas would simply not be the same without ham.
Surprisingly, when the big day arrives, it is often a quiet one, with the exception of visiting family, friends and the neighborhood parang group. These parang groups go from house to house singing with the expectation of receiving food (preferably ham). These groups are similar to North American carolers. Christmas is truly a highlight in the life of a Trinidadian. It is greatly anticipated and filled with many humorous traditions. Most importantly, it is a season when the true Caribbean spirit of togetherness emerges.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare is one of the world’s most revered literature. The main character, Hamlet, is arguably one of the most intriguing characters the playwright ever developed. Hamlet is daring, philosophical, mentally unstable at times, and clever. Throughout the play though, these characteristics change and/or diminish as Hamlet is put through a plethora of unfortunate events. His father is murdered by Claudius, his mother soon after marries Claudius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern betray him, and his girlfriend most likely commits suicide. While Hamlet is incredibly philosophical, indecisive, and full of resentment in the beginning of the play, he becomes violent, instinctive, caring and sympathetic towards the end of the play.
Christmas is almost here again, but have you ever thought how odd some of the holiday traditions are and how they became so popular? Buying a pine tree, setting it up in your house and then decorating it with festive lights and ornaments; hanging up stockings filled with candy over the fireplace; or how an old guy in a red-suit comes to your house the night before Christmas and leaves presents. This, too many Americans is normal, but why? Learning about these holiday traditions will get you into the Christmas spirit and show you what Christmas is truly about.
The blue bottle experiment is a chemical reaction in which a bottle with a water solution containing glucose, NaOH, methylene blue and air turns from a colorless substance to a dark blue substance after shaking. In this reaction, glucose is oxidized by dioxygen and forms C6H12O7 (gluconic acid):CH2OH–CHOH–CHOH–CHOH–CHOH–CHO + 1/2 O2 --> CH2OH–CHOH–CHOH–CHOH–CHOH–COOH. The solution loses color again after a short period of time. This color change can be repeated as many times as the bottle is shaken. First step is when the alkenols of glucose is formed. During the second step the redox reaction o...
... Religious Customs, History, Legends, and Symbols from around the World; Supplemented by a Bibliography and Lists of Christmas Web Sites and Associations. Detroit, Mich: Omnigraphics, 2003. Print.
The principles of marketing (The Times 100, n.d) are a range of processes concerned with finding out what consumers want, and providing it for them. This involves the ‘4ps’ of marketing; price, place, product and promotion. The product decision in any company involves dealing with goods that should be offered to a group of customers (Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick, 2012). Burberry maintains a product line with great width and scope in which their products fall into two main categories; fashion or continuity. Their fashion products are designed to be responsive to fashion trends and are introduced on a collection to collection basis (Burberry, n.d). Continuity products however have life cycles that are expected to last for a certain time period. Burberry also has 3 primary collections; womenswear, menswear and accessories, with the variety of products they can utilize their product mix greatly. Burberry also has...
While there are many other components to culture on the island of Trinidad, these can be named as the most defining aspects. Carnival is a celebration and display of all aspects and diversities of culture on the island. Trinidad's culture is defined by a merging of many. The fact that this sort of integration in able to strive and be celebrated in such brilliance, is an example of how diversity can be celebrated and accepted.
Before we examine the new Christmas celebration during the Victorian era in England- due to Mr. Dickens, we must review the pre- victorian, or Regency Period Christmas (1811-1820). The Regency Period was the contrary to popular belief, early Christmas celebrations were very much different than the Christmas we all know and love today. This Christmas was much more boring with “Simple decorations” according to Paula Wrightston. Unfortunately for the younger people Wrightston says that a Regency Christmas was more of an adult affair. Not only were traditions and age requirements different, but the actual dates differed as well with the first day of the season being the 24th of December running through the 6th of January making the Christmas season 12 days in length (Wrightston). So far it seems as if dickens’ made Christmas much more enjoyable for future generations most definitely. Although the early Christmas was different, some traditions never change. One example of this is the Christmas puddings, Wrightston says that although the Regency era people did not specifically have Christmas Pudding, they had a more liquified version of this t...
Throughout history, countless traditions have been created to celebrate several holidays. Many of those who celebrate the holiday traditions are unaware of their origins, but naturally accept them as cultural customs. To be specific, the popular Christian holiday, Christmas, has influenced many traditions including the stories of Santa Claus, the exchanging of gifts, the placement of trees in homes, and the decoration of glowing lights.
Who wouldn’t think Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year? Santa comes to give presents to good people who have done good things each Christmas. People anticipate to see what presents they will get for Christmas each year. Families get together for the holiday and play games, talk, and celebrate what Christmas is all about. Christmas is all about Christ, and people learn about Him by listening to the radio, which may play Christmas carols, such as Carol of the Bells.
...Christmas.” Readings on Charles Dickens. Ed. Bruno Leone, et al. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 1998. 82-85. Print. Literary Companion Series.
... increased. Hiring adults decreased the profit for the factory and most adult workers couldn’t fit into the small spaces in-between the machinery. The only option was child labour. Their rights as well as the rights of the adult workers were improved with the passing of the Factory Act. The sudden concentration of workers in cities caused diseases to spread. Diseases were being transferred from human to human in the cramped living spaces and spread by water or animals such as rats. In 1848 when the Public Health Act was passed, it created a Board of Health in each city to look after and stop the spread of diseases. The Industrial Revolution may have caused many problems which meant Acts and laws had to be passed (and then monitored, regulated and enforced created more work for the government of the day), but without them, we wouldn’t have many of today’s luxuries.
Christmas is the most popular holiday in all of the land. Mostly everyone loves Christmas. There are three categories of Christmas people. Number one; the haters. They despise Christmas and think it is the devil and nothing good comes from lying to children and giving gifts for absolutely no reason at all. Number two; the average person. The ones who just buy the gifts, wear the holiday sweaters, and go to the annual Christmas gathering at Grandma’s where gifts and laughs are exchanged. Number three; the die hard Santa’s of the group. The few mothers or fathers who decorate the day after Halloween to get into the Christmas spirit. The tree is up on November first and the Christmas lights are hung all year round. They make sure to go black friday shopping to get everyone a gift, even cousin Nicholas, who is three times removed. Christmas is
Christmas to me is a celebration, which includes spending time with my family, decorating the entire house, inside and out, and shopping, for the people I love. Doing this with the people I love is what means the most to me. Spending Christmas with my family is very important to me. We usually gather and celebrate at my parent’s house, in East Tennessee. My husband, our three children, and myself travel from California. My two sisters, their husbands, and children come from a nearby town, for our celebration.
Ever since I could remember, I have spent Christmas at my grandmother’s house, a house which is full of comfort, warmth, and happiness. At Christmas, I have always been able to escape the cold and dark real world allowing myself to truly enjoy just several moments in time. These moments have left impressionable memories from my childhood making Christmas a holiday that is special to me and my family. It is a time for my family to get together, share stories, laugh, and even cry.
Fast Fashion may be the most significant disruptive in the retail industry today. Troublesome novelties, or product or services, that alter an prevailing market by presenting minimalism, suitability, convenience and affordability, have the most positive influence on a company. Because fashion is ever changing and technology is always evolving the amount of production time it takes for something to be manufactured