Christmas Holidays

Christmas joy, even in a pandemic

The Milford, Connecticut town green. (Gemard Guery/YJI)

Milford, Connecticut, U.S.A. – Christmas is always a special time of year. Here in Milford, Christmas is a very fun and exciting time of year, but as a Haitian-American, Christmas is even more special because it is a huge part of Haitian culture.

All around the town you can see beautiful lights and our town green is covered with Christmas trees. Many small businesses have deals for residents and have set up fun activities for kids.

A Christmas tree on the Milford town green. (Gemard Guery/YJI)

Of course, with the covid-19 pandemic, a lot of the activities that make the holidays special were canceled, but it is still a beautiful time of year.  

But as a Haitian, Christmas is even bigger.

Every Christmas Eve, we have many celebrations. Churches have Christmas parties where we eat, sing, dance, and laugh. Families have dinners with each other where we congregate, watch some television, laugh, and just find out what is happening in each other’s lives.

It is often the only time we see other members of the family, which is part of the reason it is such a big deal.

A different singing group of the church hosts a Christmas party every year and it’s a big part of our celebration.  One year it’s the children choirs and they sing, put on a play and dances, say poems, and make fun skits. 

Another year, the young adults take over with their own fun things to make everyone enjoy the night.

Caribbean culture is close-knit, so it was especially unfortunate that it was canceled this year, but it was still a very fun Christmas.

My family was able to make a wonderful meal and take part in our fun holiday tradition of watching “Everybody Hates Chris.” 

While this year wasn’t ideal, it should never mean we shouldn’t try to make the most out of it.  Merry Christmas!

Gemard Guery is a Junior Reporter with Youth Journalism International.

Gemard Guery/YJI

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