Christmas in the Caribbean

I’m currently in Barbados with my family, and of course, Christmas is in the air.

What strikes me as we travel around and listen to the radio, is the presence of Santa Claus.
Santa Claus is Black here, of course, which may surprise some people and certainly shakes up the image that is typically presented. I like that. If Santa is meant to represent the secular spirit of Christmas, then he should look like the people he is sharing that spirit with. But I wonder about the tradition and how the guy in a sleigh with reindeer who comes down the chimney translates to an island of sunshine, palm trees and sand – with no chimneys. Who sold that story and how did they do it?

Photo credit: Cover of December 2016 issue of I Love this Rock

But here is the bigger question:

The Caribbean Islands were colonized by the British, French, Spanish and Dutch when Indigenous people populated these islands. Eventually African people were brought over and sold into slavery to do hard labour. The colonizers brought Christianity with them, hence there are many churches on the islands. The Christian version of Christmas makes sense from that perspective, although it is a history that includes the wiping out of Indigenous cultures and traditions.

A little Barbadian history:

The first known Indigenous inhabitants of Barbados were the Arawaks, followed by the Caribs. Then the Portuguese arrived and stayed for a while on their way to Brazil. British colonization occurred between 1625-1644, followed by the arrival of people forcibly removed (stolen, really) from West Africa, and sold into slavery to build the sugar industry. Slavery was abolished in Barbados in 1834, although it was followed by a 4-year apprenticeship program that meant those same people continued to work a 45-hour work week for no pay in exchange for a tiny hut to live in (reminiscent of Jim Crow laws in the USA). In 1838 the apprenticeship period was over and 70,000 Barbadians of African descent were free. Barbados gained independence from Britain in 1966. (Information gathered from this website)

Food for thought:

As I walk around Barbados, I notice the trappings of commercial Christmas including Santa Clause (including a house with all the typical Santa paraphernalia with a sleigh and reindeer on the roof). It strikes me as bizarre from a cold weather / warm weather perspective. I also wonder about what Christmas replaced. It’s more pronounced here (because of the weather, I’m guessing) but it’s an equally important question in Canada or the USA or elsewhere. I wonder about what rich cultural traditions were here before which have been lost, removed, or forgotten.

It reminds me of how easy it is to walk around revelling in the Christmas cheer, believing that this is what has always been, without thinking of how it got here, and the price some people (most often Indigenous people) paid for what is now simply often seen as “the way it is”.

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