By Michel Outridge

Haslington/Grove Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) Councillor Ingrid Holder told the Pepperpot Magazine she is a “Christmassy” kind of a person and one can tell from the way her house is decorated because she went over and beyond to ensure her abode is adequately decorated.

During a visit to the village, Holder told the Pepperpot Magazine that Christmas is a season most people look forward to and it is a time when people are very giving and villagers celebrate by decorating their houses inside –out.

She explained that in Haslington, Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays and they do outshine the rest of villages because the cleaning and putting away would start from weeks ahead of Christmas.

Holder added that the residents wanted to do a “Christmas Village” on the road front but the time is too short since Christmas is next week and they cannot pull that off so quickly.

“People around here are big on Christmas and they share and spread joy in their own ways to make others happy and we do have a real traditional Guyanese Christmas in this village,” she said.

Giving some information about the village, Holder stated that Haslington is a large place which extends from the seawall, on both sides, way down to the backlands and even accommodates a large housing scheme.

She disclosed that the community has good roads, drainage and the basic infrastructure and strides are being made to regularise all sections of the village including the squatting area.

Holder related that the people in Haslington are not lazy and do not sit by idly and they get up and do many things to sustain themselves and they participate in a lot of self-help initiatives to beautify the environment and to enhance the lives of others within the community.

She told the Pepperpot Magazine that many residents are either soldiers, police, teachers or cash crop, cattle or poultry farmers and some work in offices in both the private and public sectors.

Holder added that Haslington has a nursery school, a large playfield, many shops and churches among other things and the nearest secondary school is at Golden Grove.

Presently, she is engaged in the cleaning of the cemetery at Nabaclis and some other community projects in which funds were provided at the NDC level.

Haslington Village is about 15.2 miles from Georgetown and is bordered by Enmore and Golden Grove.

What Christmas is like in Haslington
The Pepperpot Magazine met a lovely young lady, Kelisha McCaulay, who has invested a lot of time to make Christmas bright for her family.

Being the only daughter in the household of seven siblings, she knew from the onset it was her place to get going with the decoration of their two-storey house in Haslington.

The 21-year-old said she started one day from 07:00hrs and finished around midday, just to sort out decorations and then affix it to the walls and ceiling of the verandah.

This young woman stated that doing the decorations is no hassle and in fact, it is something she enjoys doing because she likes Christmas and feels there is no better time to give.

“Being the only girl for my family, I took up the place to decorate because I feel so happy this season like every year. Christmas is all about giving and not just receiving and we plan to share and just spend the season at home and it is usually a festive season here indeed,” she said.

The nurse related that this year, for their meal they decided they will make a stuffing for the chicken and roast it instead of baking it to go with the rest of the meals they will prepare.

“We are a giving family, and if we don’t give we don’t feel it is Christmas and not just during this holiday season we normally give all year from the little we have and I feel Christmas is all about making people happy especially children,’ she said.

McCaulay told the Pepperpot Magazine that inside the house is almost set for the holidays and on Christmas Eve night they will prepare all foods including, pepperpot and bread so on Christmas they don’t have to spend all day in the kitchen cooking.

“Almost every year, it does rain so we normally spend Christmas indoors and I feel it is the way to pass the holidays with family, friends and others and we will share as well because things does be just nice around here,” she said.