Christmas in New York

No comparison to Christmas back home – Guyanese

IT is Christmas Eve in Brooklyn New York, but for those of us who have grown up accustomed to the pomp and ceremony of this season, there is much to be desired in these streets. There are a few decorated houses with some scatterings of fairy lights and decorations here and there, but for many of the Brooklynites, it is business as usual. There is no “putting away” of the house; no blazing of carols in the street; no sign of Christmas, except the blistering cold that is characteristic of December.

Two women in Santa hats as they walk down the streets of Brooklyn on a chilly day

Among all the normalcy, live hundreds of thousands of Caribbean natives whose accents can be heard as they pass and talk on almost every street corner, doorstep or in neighbourhood business establishments. For these persons, what they experience here at this time of the year is not Christmas at all, particularly in comparison to the Christmases they have grown to know and love- a time for family; a time for lots of merriment and colour and drinks and celebration; and even a time for Boxing Day- yet another beloved tradition that does not exist in this land of betterment.

If you’re Guyanese, this time of the year is particularly difficult, especially due to that popular saying: “There’s no other Christmas like a Guyanese Christmas.” For this simple reason, you will find thousands of Guyanese returning to their homeland for that special time of the year just to get a taste of the true Christmas they know so well. But not everyone is so fortunate to be able to escape and return, and as Christmas creeps ever closer, these persons express how much they long for Christmas back home.

Sarfraz Ragman will be spending Christmas in Guyana this year

For Jonathan (only name given), Christmas in Guyana is but a dream, since he has not returned to the country during the 29 years since he left those shores. “Christmas back home was lots of fun and celebration and I miss it so much- the food and the festivities leading up to it. Nobody basically works back home on that day except for the police and nurses. I don’t even celebrate Christmas no more- about five years ago I stopped celebrating Christmas because I work every Christmas day here,” he said. Once his financial situation gets better, however, Jonathan said that he hopes to return to Guyana at Christmas time to renew that joy he once felt.

“I prefer Christmas in Guyana- of course!” Faadil Ally said. He has been living in the US for eight years but remembers vividly just how (literally) warm and exciting Christmas was for him there. “You enjoy it more, you have time for your family, you have time for your friends. Here, you don’t have time, you don’t even have time for your kids, you have to be at work 24/7- I am working on Christmas day,” he said. “In Guyana, we stop working on Christmas Eve and you have Boxing Day, there is no Boxing Day here, Christmas is more joyful in Guyana. I wanted to go back with my family this year but the ticket price – it is like US$1,500 now so I am going later in January so I can spend Mashramani over there.”

Some persons still decorate their houses, though not as extravagant as you would see in Guyana

The same sentiments were shared by Sarfraz Ragman. In his 13 years since moving to the US, he stated that he has never experienced a true “Guyanese Christmas” even though his family is here. “It’s nothing like back home in Guyana. Normally here at Christmas, you have to work or you go out and have dinner. It’s just like a normal day though. Back home, as of Christmas Eve, you have a lot of fun with friends and family,” he said. But Sarfraz returns home every so often for the holidays just to make sure he keeps that feeling alive. His last Christmas visit was in 2016 and he will also be spending this year in Guyana- something that he said he cannot wait to experience.

But the longing for being back in Guyana is not always the same for all Guyanese, as some who have settled here after a while, try to make the best of what they consider their new home. Annette is a mother of four and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two younger children. “I loved Christmas back home but I am here now so I try to make a Guyanese Christmas in America where we live,” she said. So she ensures that she does the annual cleaning as was the tradition in Guyana, and decorates her home as much as possible. She also tries to cook as many traditional dishes so that her children, who were born here, can get a taste of her home country. “You don’t always get all the ingredients, but there are places you can go to get some of the things and you can still make your pepperpot and so on. We make the best of it,” Annette said.

Faadil Ally will miss Christmas in Guyana, but will return home in time for Mashramani

Meanwhile, Jairam, a mechanic who has been living here for 16 years said that he does not return home for Christmas because he actually prefers it here. “I like Christmas up here because you get something in your pocket. In Guyana the spending power is weak, you cannot buy what you want in Guyana, but you can do that here and you can send back to Guyana to make their Christmas merry,” he said. Nevertheless, he stated that while he lived in Guyana, he still appreciated those days because that was his home at the time, but now that he is here, he has gotten accustomed to the North American way of things and has come to accept and enjoy his new life.

So as you sit back in your homes in the warmth of Guyana, it is good to remember that for many, the grass is indeed always greener. And for those living in the cold and surrounded by work, work, work, the relaxation and festivities of a Guyanese Christmas constantly beckon to them- some can afford to answer the call, while others can only wonder when is the next time they will be able to return home.

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