Amina Blackwood Meeks, Contributor
YU FEEL de Chrismus breeze? Once upon a time yu know, Chrismus breeze didn't feel like any odda breeze. It wassen jus dat it was cooler, it did smell different. That is to say, it was not polluted. Dem days when big executive from World Health Organisation goin roun de worl to measure pollution, dem did know betta dan to come to Jamaica. Dem wudda come to smell Eucalyptus and count butterfly, measure de lent a de plant dem what people manage to grow into paint pan fe decorate dem gateway and count de decibels of fee-fee. Dem wudda go up into de John Crow Mountains to count de lawful residents before hard times meck dem migrate.
An yu see when yu smell our Chrismus breeze dat use to blow off dem mountains, it didn't jus smell like coffee. It did smell like love an like it had in plenty messages. Yes, dat was long time BC, Before Cellular, Before Computer, even Before Corruption. Yu nayba wudda sen yu a message pan de breeze say "Me meck a strong brew a firs sorrel, come drink some wid me". For it was not right to drink firs sorrel by yuself.
But now we sorrel get globalised, perrenialised, grow all year to sen to foreign. Well de bes part get visa an some of de wat lef sell-sell bout de place an chu nobaddi can tell if is firs, secon or also-ran sorrel dem just drink it by demself like is lemonade. An chu many people doan tink dat lemonade have anyting special bout it fe share, plenty a de sharing blow whey. Ah so comes it dat plenty a we falla de breeze gane a foreign fe sing an dance an kip Chrismus merriment fe who survive September 11 but all now not a abeng blow fe who survive flood dung a Portland. You ever hear a Chrismus Abeng yet? Is dat use to carry some quality message! Ask Daddy Sharpe if you buck him up.
For once upon a time when yu get de nayba message pan de breeze an yu goin for de firs sorrel, yu heart an yu whole body wudda know sey yu kean just walk wid yu empty han. An yu wudda get a shet-pan an put in likkle sumpen an when yu reach yu wudden gwaan like sey yu bring charity. Hear yu, "Aunt Lize, look into dis shet-pan an see if yu fine use fe enyting in dere". An Aunt Lize look and start tell yu what an what she fine use for and ask you how yu did know to bring dat.
Hear you now, "De breeze, me love, de Chrismus breeze'. An yu and Aunt Lize wudda siddung an drink de sorrel an jus wonder to de breeze if Mass Jabez feeling any betta an if him can move round, whose house him goin to spen Chrismus Day, and if him kean move roun who goin to spen it wid him. An unnu never had to come to no big conclusion and let it be so noted in the minutes, for by de time de breeze dun carry it roun, Mass Jabez have more place fe choose fe spen de day dan letters in de salutation "Merry Chrismus." Dat is when Chrismus breeze was Chrismus breeze.
Is it why people up inna Brandon Hill have wan sayin say de tin "free like Mallet hag". My Auntie tell me sey, dere was a butcher by de name of Mallet who use to raise pig fe de season. An one year him didn't see a nayba who was also a good customer come to buy anyting an is almost Chrismus Eve. So de butcher falla de breeze go visit de nayba an de nayba sey him didn enquire bout no pig because money low. De butcher get vex how him going to have a sad time because of low money and him gi de man bout ten pounds of de ting dere. And den him invite de man an family to come eat dinner wid him and fe him family. De man gane talk bout money again. An de butcher sey, "Yu hear me talk bout money? De dinner free like Mallet hag". An dat saying remain in Brandon Hill whre my Auntie come from, as a tribute to how de breeze use to blow in de season. (Me hope me Auntie nuh read dis article for she have it sey everyting she tell me en up inna story. Merry Chrismus, Aunt Renie. Heh heh)
An all now when we tell me Uncle down a Mandeville sey we will cook an bring de dinner, him an him wife behave like we don't have any broughtuppsy, chu wan year me an me sister did mention de word "cater". Him wudden have none of it. For cater an Chrismus doan go tegedda, "Yu think is birtday party?" Me did want to say yes but my Uncle love use word like "blaspheme". De only Chrismus cater him know is when people cater to one annadda. So everbaddy haffe pack up from bout two nite before and journey to Mandeville so dat we can have Chrismus like is de breeze blow we come. For a same way we look wen we reach wid we whole heap a bangarang.
Dis is how it go. By de time we dun de procession from Kingston, de Chrismus process is long advanced by several weeks. One week is to wash curtains, one week is to clean out cupboard and wash de special Chrismus wares an so on. An if de children dem was still small, one week would be to draw dem foot pan paper an journey to Orange Street or King Street and pick out dem Chrismus shoes. If de fit wrang, yu journey back an fort till yu get it right. Nuh pikney get no franchise fe falla parents go inna store fe go pick out no bran name enything. When Chrismus Sunday everbaddi have awn de same brand a go Church. It name satisfy-Wid-What-Your-Parents-Can-Afford. An no chice bout go to Church eida. Da name Yu-Har-What-Yu-Madda-Sey?
So by de time breeze blow yu go a Mandeville now, is de white lime fe go roun tree trunk an pan de curb outside de gate and such. Me did hear wan time is de European dem bring dat here fe memba dem bout snow, butmy Uncle say is also protection and nourishment fe de tree dem. Wan day me ago ask him if de sidewalk need nourishment too. Lawks what a prekkeh me into dis Chrismus if him ever read dis too. For family prekkeh is a necessary part of de season. Dat mostly happen de night before Chrismus. Bans a confusion fe lay de linoleum an nobaddy can get it straight. All me likkle niece dem who born inna blender haffe a grater ginger fe meck ginger beer. Serve dem right. For dem did have de job fe serve de pudden after de dinner an wan year dem strike, sey dem grow out dat. Poor likkle innocents. Meck dem gwaan grow wid de ginger den. Prekkeh, now.
Smell of baking
My sister-in-law walk from town wid evryting dun season up arredi. In fack she pre cook some an hide it from me Uncle an mi sister have de cake mixture dun ready into a ole yellow pudden pan. (I knows not where she fine it but wan day she is goin to fine it mongs my coroaches. Pure prekkeh.) An dem easy back ah laugh after de res a we who a go wid tradition an sweat out Chrismus Eve like we doan know what century we into.
But de place smell up a de baking an ginger beer an linoleum an we a sey Chrismus is de season for olfactory sensations. For is like wan whole factory of smells into de house an wen de Mandeville Breeze ketch it an mix it up wid de chatting an de laughing and who get pan who fah nerves, lawks it sweet.
When de Day come now, bans a more generation come from all bout an before yu get fe sey howdee to all who yu meeting for de firs time, is almost time to eat. How long "almost" is depends pan who sey de grace. After yu belly full yu open present. Some a dem love talk bout "Seeing you is present enough". Not me. Me love present an furdermore, me is a Miss Hot Newwy, if you give me de present pan December 1, me open same time, Aoh. And at present opening time now somebody go meck some egg nog. When me likkle me use to drink plenty. But eida de whole Jamaica tun vegetarian now or breeze blow whey dat too.
Wan year me did sey me nuh into de whole heap a excitement fe de season and me fada did racks me aff an sey me nuh have "no Chrismus ambition." for when him was a boy de Chrismus ambition was to know dat de ting was nat about you, per se, but about how you fit into de scheme of tings. Dat is why, ascardin to him, John Cunnu man spen so time a meck costume an practice life an figgle an heel an toe an music what sweet like de breeze surroun de village an everymanjack come out an dance up an laugh togedda an rally celebrate how dem live good wid wan annadda fe de whole year.
An every year somebody haffe sey, "Me come to enjoy de laas one far me nearer to me Gad dan furder". Lissen fe it again next year. De likkle pikney dem play sey dem nuh fraid a de devil an horse-head but meck sure sey dem pay John Cunnu wid de exack money for "John Cunnu nuh gi back change". Him did sey some more tings but me inna enough prekkeh dis Chrismus arreddi.
So de adda day me driving down Trafalgar Road and every intersection had a different set a peopple wid a different colour pan an wan a dem mark "Need Knows No Season". An me tink to meself sey, dem right. Den me tink again sey, summuch Chrismus ambition gane dat years from now when yu ask some people what dem remember bout de breeze dem might sey "Begging" and somebody is going to have to explain how come is only dat leave outa all de nice tings from what we had outa de breeze. Outa soso nutten we did have summuch an now wid everyting we a struggle fe keep de balance.
Seasons come and seasons haffe come again, but sometimes yu haffe laugh and memba bout nutten firs. Dat a de mose important ting bout ole time Chrismus, afta yu memba sey yu really celebrating dat you are a Child of the most high and a manifestation of His living will.
Amina Blackwood Meeks is a consultant and story teller.
