A GUYANESE Christmas is replete with pepperpot and bread, Danish butter cookies (soon to become sewing kits) and, without fail, last minute cleaning. While you can have these wherever in the world you are, Guyanese know that, at Christmas time, there’s no place like home.

For much of this year, flights were suspended and borders were closed. With travel either limited or at an outright standstill, the Guyanese diaspora might have been uncertain whether they would be able to come home for the holidays. But, with the reopening of the local borders, their magical Christmas in Guyana was again a possibility.

“I love coming back for Christmas whenever I can,” Conrad McFerson said. He returned to Guyana on December 23, just two days before Christmas and just could not wait to bask in the hot Guyanese sun after being stuck in the wintery cold for a few weeks.

McFerson will be spending just under one month here in Guyana, before heading up back to the United States. But in the meantime, he assured that he was going to enjoy as much pepperpot and ginger beer as he possibly could.

Desiree Facey, another Guyanese who returned on the 23rd, shared her enthusiasm for the Guyanese foods she would be enjoying while spending some time here. Beyond the black cakes and pepperpot, she assured that she is also going to have her fill of delectable seafood which, she argues, is the best in the Caribbean.

There was Nathalie Liverpool, too. You couldn’t miss her, nor her husband, Errol, at the baggage claims because they were decked out with their matching ‘Guyanese’ t-shirts. The duo would be heading to Essequibo, the Cinderella County, for 10 days. Interestingly, Natalie was not overly excited about her Christmas delicacies. What she was excited about was devouring the countryside mangoes — all kinds of mangoes — and sugarcane.

Just the thought of the serenity that awaited her in Essequibo made her tell this newspaper that she is seriously considering to leave her life in Michigan behind and retire here.

They all shared the sentiments expressed since time immemorial, immortalised through Slingshot’s timeless classic, “Christmas in Guyana”; there is, indeed, nothing like being home on Christmas morning, ‘liming’ with friends and family.

But Bernice Bristol has a double shot of happiness. While many might be recovering on Boxing Day from too much Christmas food or the El Dorado — best in the world — specials, Bristol would be celebrating her birthday with her family and friends on that day as well. She emphasised, as we say in Guyanese parlance, that she ain’t ‘tekkin leff’.

And for a touch of the schmaltzy, there was Joshua Boodram who would be reuniting with his wife after 14 long months. And he brought his son who did not see his mother in four years!

“I’m happy to see my mom and spend Christmas with her and the rest of my friends and family,” the younger Boodram said. Guyanese weren’t the only ones who came to enjoy a Guyanese Christmas, though. Thaylee Figueroa, travelled with her Guyanese boyfriend from the US, to spend Christmas here with his family.

She said that she is looking forward to meeting those family members and just enjoying the time with them. Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) Corporation, Shunza Samuels told the Guyana Chronicle that the Guyanese, and passengers, who travelled to the country for the Christmas season, seemed to be generally elated to be here.

Cognisant that 2020 has been both a strange and challenging year, she highlighted that the airport wanted to provide some cheer to persons arriving, given that this port of entry was their first point of contact to Guyana.

And so, through collaboration with other agencies and businesses, the passengers were all greeted with a snippet of Guyana and Christmas in Guyana just after they disembarked. Pieces of black cake, beverages, sweets and even toys (for the children, of course) were given to them.