Merry Christmas.
Before I start, I want to make a disclaimed that my experience if based off of my site location and word of mouth from other volunteers.
Christmas in my village is nothing like in the United States. For starters, you wouldn’t even know it’s Christmas if you didn’t see the lights and hear the music because (as of today) it is 85 degrees, not a cloud in sight, and …. honestly, I am sweating like a sinner in church. Now for those reading in Texas, this might be normal but at least you are use to hearing about the snow in the north, here not so much.
In Guyana, the Christmas season is also known as the cleaning season. It is when all families do a big clean of the house: putting up new curtains, sweeping (everywhere) and possibly doing repainting to the house. Some families will put up Christmas lights but (at least in my village) it is not very common. The season is much more about family coming home and being together. Most of the males that have been in the hinterlands doing logging and mining come home for the holidays; usually for the first time in about 3 months.
Now like I said my experience is going to be different. The villages, from what I am told, do not have a big Christmas experience but within the towns and the capital there are more lights, rushing around, and even parades. My village, like a lot of villages, was a part of a crusade, meaning now they are of Christian belief. Because of this, the three different churches in my village and families who go out for mass will all be having religious services like you would expect.
I will be spending Christmas in my Village and then traveling for some fun to Suriname. Hopefully, I will get to post about that when I get back. Until then…..
Merry Christmas and Happy New Years