The things I miss about a Guyanese Christmas

Dec 24, 2022 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Kaieteur News – There are so many things that I miss about Christmas. I however have to content myself with the thought that not everything ensures forever and therefore things must and do change.

But there are few things that I have sorely missed over the years and today I wish to list them.

The first one is the cinema. I really do miss the old days of the cinema and this feeling intensifies at Christmas since it used to be the time when you could look forward to the best movies being showed in the country. The new cinemas that have mushroomed at shopping malls and at the other locations simply do not compare to that of the old time cinemas which showed double headers and released the best movies at Christmas.
The second thing that I miss is the carol-singing that used to form a part of Christmas celebrations in Guyana. Groups of persons used to come knocking at your door, ready to sing carols for you, after which you would give then some refreshments and a donation for their group or church. I know the public is skeptical about allowing any Tom, Dick and Harry into their homes in these crime-ridden times. But this should not have downsized the art of carol-singing which I am sure could have adapted to the security concerns of citizens.
The third thing I miss, and have missed for decades, and which I will probably never live to see return to Guyana is window-shopping. It used to be a delight for the entire family to go and walk around the commercial districts admiring the showcases. These showcases have long given way to grillwork and now steel doors, which have made showcases redundant, and in the process has killed an important Christmas event – window shopping. I liked admiring the show windows of stores in the old days. In some instances, there was a sort of unofficial competition among store owners to see who would have the best showcases. I love to spend Christmas in Guyana but I do remember that one of my best holiday seasons ever was when I went overseas and had the privilege of admiring the wonderful displays in their show windows. It made me nostalgic about the old Christmases of Guyana.
What I hate most about the Christmas of today is the lack of variety, especially for toys. In the old days, you could find all manner of toys and every store that you went in, you could be sure to find a great deal of different things from the one you visited before. Today, there is no variety in toys. And finding a good toy can take some looking and can cost a fortune. I miss the old stores such as Bettencourt and Cosmopolitan who really imported good quality and interesting toys that lasted a long time and left indelible memories in the kids that received them.
I miss Santa Claus. This year very few stores advertised Santa. I know just how much kids look forward to visiting Santa. We had developed a great idea over the past few years of having Santa take out photographs with the kids. This gave the children an unforgettable experience and a chance to really believe in Santa which is something that no parent should deny their child. The decline of the department stores and the high cost of toys have brought an end to the excitement of taking the kids to Santa. There are lots of Santa around at certain event but nothing compares to joining the line at Fogarty’s long ago to see Santa.
Radio used to be an important part of setting the mood for Christmas with lots of Christmas music and greetings. Today, there is more talking than music even though there is now a proliferation of radio stations.
Finally, for years now, I have seen a gradual decline of the Old Year’s Night home parties. People are now more outgoing and are prepared to spend a large amount of money to go out with their partners and have a good time. Others are prepared to stay at home and do nothing. This was never quite the way that Old Year’s Night was spent.
I loved the home parties. I loved the smell of that pot of cook-up on the stove. It did not matter where I was, how rich or how poor, were the hosts, I truly identified with these gatherings as we waited for the midnight hour. These are the things that I wish could return.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)