Every Christmas is different but how was it in the past? The Pepperpot Magazine took a trip back in time this year to hear the stories of what Christmas was like for Guyanese back then.

Yvonne Monroe recalled her childhood days in Bartica when she fully believed in Santa Claus but found out he was not real when she saw her grandparents put gifts beneath the tree.

“You would be told to have your dinner early and sleep and wait for Santa to come and that Santa would not come unless you sleep,” she recalled humorously.

“So, this one time I decided to peep…I noticed grandfather and granny putting these long stockings and they were pushing gifts inside them.”

Looking back, she was pleased to say that, no matter the present children were simply contented.

In comparison to today, she said that some children are picky with the gifts they receive and some even become upset when they don’t get what they want.

However, it’s not only the kids who have changed. Yvonne said that while many choose to go out and celebrate with parties on Christmas day these years, in the past things were different.

“Christmas was so solemn. It was very quiet. You wouldn’t hear this big music and lawless noise that you hear now. The streets were quiet, every neighbour was quiet. They knew that Jesus was the reason for the season,” she said.

“No stores were opened. You didn’t see men walking down the road drunk and the rum shops open. It was really nice and, to me, no matter how bored you were then you enjoyed it because you were with family.”

In more modern times, Yvonne said it’s a bit harder to decide on gifts for the kids as there is so much to choose from.

When she spoke with the Pepperpot Magazine she had earlier come from Children’s Home in West Ruimveldt where she shared clothing and shoes to those in greater need.

She has found such ways to give back over the past five years as she remembers how fortunate she was growing up and knows that all children deserve to feel special, despite their circumstance.

“I believe in just giving,” she said. “You have to cheer up the little children. Some are less fortunate. I was the first grandchild so I didn’t know anything about want and I have a lot to thank God for and when I see some children my heart goes out.”

On Christmas in the past, Michael Wilson, now in his 50s, celebrated Christmas with his mother and three siblings.

He told the Magazine that he believed that Christmas was better in the past than it is now because it was more of a “family time together”.

“On nights we sang Christmas carols amongst ourselves. We looked forward mostly to preparing for the Christmas by putting up decorations on Christmas eve night and the next day, putting the lunch together,” he said.

“Now-a-these-days people are all over in different places and do different things,” he said, informing that he now has eight children and eight grandchildren.

Also reminiscing on the joy of singing carols was 80-year-old Shelia Alexander who was baking black cake all the way up in Linden with her neighbour when the Pepperpot Magazine caught up with her.

Thinking back to her days in Primary School, she said: “Christmas in the old times was very nice because we used to go out and sing house-to-house carols and my father used to cook the beef rice and we used to get the drinks. When we finished singing the carols and come back at the school we used to celebrate it there with eating, drinking and dancing — merriment.”

She thanks God to have lived so long to be able to spend yet another Christmas with her family, to be able to share the little they have and visit other relatives.

“You had nice times those days,” said Alexander who now has one daughter, five grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Also busy with the cooking for Christmas was Joan Cox who was continuing on the pepperpot she began preparing the day before. She had already baked her black cake and planned to bake sponge cake the next day.

“As a small child, we enjoyed Christmas with the decoration and we looked forward to getting presents but, as I grew older, I had my own family, my own home and I looked forward to doing it for the children. Setting up the Christmas tree, setting up your home, cooking and baking,” the woman in her 70s said.

As a child she spent Christmas with the extended family in Georgetown and her family had now grown to be even bigger to the point where she alone has 16 grandchildren and three great-grands.

“On Christmas day, most of the family come to my home and on Boxing day they go out. I look forward to that,” she said. “I’m involved in a lot of church activities and I look forward to that also.”

The only peeve she has with Christmas today is that it is more commercialized than ever before.

‘Skimming through’ some of its old newpaper articles, the Pepperpot Magazine went as far back as December 25, 1982 and found records of Christmas celebrations.

In that year, then Prime Minister Cde. Ptolemy Reid was photographed making his annual Christmas visit to the Palms on Brickdam to bring Christmas cheer on behalf of his family and the ruling government.

The front cover of that Christmas edition was a photograph of a ‘Lady Santa’ captioned: “A woman Santa Claus! Seems unbelievable but it’s true! Yes, perhaps for the first time, a female Santa Claus has made her appearance in Guyana.”

She was photographed on Duncan Street and Vlissengen Road distributing gifts to children.

Some pages down featured ‘Fashion in Xmas Festivities’ where young women showed off the creations of Solo Xanadu in satin, tulle, taffeta dresses and more.

Just one page over, the article ‘They’re Home for Christmas’ showed a group of Guyanese returning home with loads of luggage for the season at the then Timehri Airport from places such as New York.

Take it or leave it, some things like coming home for Christmas never change while others such as tradition and customs may very well evolve.

Either way, Guyanese countrywide continue to celebrate Christmas their way, seeing it as a season of good cheer, giving and spending time with the ones who matter most.