Dear Editor,
I remember it well, growing up in the rural parts of Portland. At Christmastime we would all look forward to the lights, food, carols and the Christmas spirit that hovered in the air. Though the mornings were so cold, and we were drenched with sleep, we still looked forward to getting up out of bed and dashing out into the street to join the early morning carolers as they came singing past our house.
As we walked around singing in our sweaters, with the damp morning air on our faces, we would stop at random houses with nicely decorated Christmas trees blinking away on verandahs. Most, if not all the houses had Christmas lights, "pepper lights" we called them. Not all the houses had the usual Christmas tree, but somewhere in the yards householders found a tree and decorated it with Christmas lights. Some persons didn't care much for Christmas trees, but they would fashionably decorate the outside of the house with pepper lights -- the eaves, window frames, verandah rails and the grilles, for those houses that had grilles. They winkled from dusk till dawn. Every now and then you would see a house with a single string of lights, though only one string, it had lights, and as children, we would laugh and make fun of those houses.
It was, for some, literally a competition among community members to be labelled "the prettiest house" for the Christmas. At night; having nothing to do, people would gather in small groups and idly move from gate to gate to have discussions about whose lights looked better and what adjustments needed to be made, Sigh.
Those were the good old days when we had Christmas in Jamaica.
Now, as an adult, I look around, year after year, hoping to see some Christmas lights to help bring back that spirit of Christmas, but there are hardly any lights in sight. Yes, I myself could dare to put up some lights, but like the rest of the country, I am afraid. Afraid of the electric bill that will greet me in the new year.
Sometimes I hear stories of children asking their parents for a Christmas tree, but a Christmas tree without lights is like a party without music. So the parents doing the best they can for their children, have to take them to a park or the bank or any other public place where there's a Christmas tree, and sit and wait while the children enjoy the tree.
Because of the constantly increasing price in electricity bills, we can no longer spend time with our loved ones putting up and decorating a Christmas tree in our homes, not even to appease our darling children. They will never experience Christmas like we did as children. There are no carolers, except for those on the radio, and there are definitely no Christmas light competitions. As a matter of fact, if you can look around in your community and find one, just one house, decorated with Christmas lights, that house is an automatic winner by default.
JPS has stopped the lights from twinkling in Jamaica, and maybe has put them out for good. No more "Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas Tree...," only "Oh JPS, oh JPS, have mercy on me". Christmas in Jamaica has suffered a cruel, painful and unjust blow, but thank God for that free Christmas spirit that still hovers in the air that cannot
be captured by no man to put a price on.
Jody-Ann Barclay
barclay_jodyann@yahoo.com
Dark days of Christmas in Ja
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I remember it well, growing up in the rural parts of Portland. At Christmastime we would all look forward to the lights, food, carols and the Christmas spirit that hovered in the air. Though the mornings were so cold, and we were drenched with sleep, we still looked forward to getting up out of bed and dashing out into the street to join the early morning carolers as they came singing past our house.
As we walked around singing in our sweaters, with the damp morning air on our faces, we would stop at random houses with nicely decorated Christmas trees blinking away on verandahs. Most, if not all the houses had Christmas lights, "pepper lights" we called them. Not all the houses had the usual Christmas tree, but somewhere in the yards householders found a tree and decorated it with Christmas lights. Some persons didn't care much for Christmas trees, but they would fashionably decorate the outside of the house with pepper lights -- the eaves, window frames, verandah rails and the grilles, for those houses that had grilles. They winkled from dusk till dawn. Every now and then you would see a house with a single string of lights, though only one string, it had lights, and as children, we would laugh and make fun of those houses.
It was, for some, literally a competition among community members to be labelled "the prettiest house" for the Christmas. At night; having nothing to do, people would gather in small groups and idly move from gate to gate to have discussions about whose lights looked better and what adjustments needed to be made, Sigh.
Those were the good old days when we had Christmas in Jamaica.
Now, as an adult, I look around, year after year, hoping to see some Christmas lights to help bring back that spirit of Christmas, but there are hardly any lights in sight. Yes, I myself could dare to put up some lights, but like the rest of the country, I am afraid. Afraid of the electric bill that will greet me in the new year.
Sometimes I hear stories of children asking their parents for a Christmas tree, but a Christmas tree without lights is like a party without music. So the parents doing the best they can for their children, have to take them to a park or the bank or any other public place where there's a Christmas tree, and sit and wait while the children enjoy the tree.
Because of the constantly increasing price in electricity bills, we can no longer spend time with our loved ones putting up and decorating a Christmas tree in our homes, not even to appease our darling children. They will never experience Christmas like we did as children. There are no carolers, except for those on the radio, and there are definitely no Christmas light competitions. As a matter of fact, if you can look around in your community and find one, just one house, decorated with Christmas lights, that house is an automatic winner by default.
JPS has stopped the lights from twinkling in Jamaica, and maybe has put them out for good. No more "Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas Tree...," only "Oh JPS, oh JPS, have mercy on me". Christmas in Jamaica has suffered a cruel, painful and unjust blow, but thank God for that free Christmas spirit that still hovers in the air that cannot
be captured by no man to put a price on.
Jody-Ann Barclay
barclay_jodyann@yahoo.com
Dark days of Christmas in Ja
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