Nine mornings is a holiday celebrated in St. Vincent to celebrate the nine mornings before Christmas, starting on December 16 and ending on December 24. It starts early in the morning around 3am-4am and ends around 7am-8am. Festivities include live performances, singing and dancing.
During slavery, slave owners would take their slaves and servants to church on Christmas Eve. However, the slaves and servants weren't allowed inside the church, so they found a way to entertain themselves by singing. This eventually became the celebration of Nine Mornings.
The night before it began, a few friends and I went to a community called Point to see the holiday lights or the "light up." Point has won the best lights in it's region six years straight. It was really beautiful. There was a tank, an angel, a jet and people sitting at a dinner table. You can see a man pouring wine.
I went to the capitol, Kingstown, for Nine Mornings the Friday before Christmas with a friend. There was a big crowd and the music was great. I really enjoyed the live band with the steel pans.
Christmas didn't exactly feel like Christmas. I think not having any snow played a huge factor in it because I'm used to seeing snowflakes falling from the sky in Illinois. That and I'm so far away from family, that I couldn't partake in making cookies or wearing footsie pajamas in front of the tree unwrapping gifts.
To get into the spirit, I made a tree out of cardboard box. I also used recycled toilet paper rolls and painted them to look like Rudolph, snowflakes, a Christmas tree and a penguin. I put paper at the bottom of them and filled it candy to give to neighbors and friends. Christmas Eve, I drank Egg Nog with a little rum and played games with friends.
Christmas felt like another day, but was still fun nonetheless because I invited friends over for food and exchanged gifts to a Christmas playlist. A personal favorite is "Santa Looking For A Wife." If you haven't heard it, listen to it. It'll be extremely hard to forget.
Another holiday in St. Vincent is Boxing Day, which is the day after Christmas on December 26. This holiday stems from masters or employers giving a Christmas box or present to their servants or employees the day after Christmas. Here in St. Vincent, it's a day to relax and spend time with family and friends.
I'm used to only having a White Christmas back in the US, but during this season, I was able to experience so much more and couldn't be more grateful.
To get into the spirit, I made a tree out of cardboard box. I also used recycled toilet paper rolls and painted them to look like Rudolph, snowflakes, a Christmas tree and a penguin. I put paper at the bottom of them and filled it candy to give to neighbors and friends. Christmas Eve, I drank Egg Nog with a little rum and played games with friends.
Christmas felt like another day, but was still fun nonetheless because I invited friends over for food and exchanged gifts to a Christmas playlist. A personal favorite is "Santa Looking For A Wife." If you haven't heard it, listen to it. It'll be extremely hard to forget.
Another holiday in St. Vincent is Boxing Day, which is the day after Christmas on December 26. This holiday stems from masters or employers giving a Christmas box or present to their servants or employees the day after Christmas. Here in St. Vincent, it's a day to relax and spend time with family and friends.
I'm used to only having a White Christmas back in the US, but during this season, I was able to experience so much more and couldn't be more grateful.
No comments:
Post a Comment