How is Christmas celebrated in Haiti?
Christmas is more of a religious holiday in Haiti. It is celebrated by attending a special service at church. This service begins on Christmas Eve and goes into the early morning. In the last 30 years, people have started decorating the outside of their homes with lights and other Western-style decorations. Village or town squares are decorated with lights, and Catholic churches may have a manger scene. It is a low-key day spent eating rice and beans with fried pork or goat pieces and root vegetables as a family. They also enjoy time spent with family.
You will frequently see homes decorated with fanals, colorful paper lanterns shaped like churches, or Caribbean-style gingerbread houses. You will hear Jwaye Nwèl (Creole) or Joyeux Noël (French) shouted out as a greeting. Gifts are not usually given at Christmas. They are given out on New Year’s Day as a part of those celebrations. January 1 is the biggest holiday of the Haitian calendar. Besides being the beginning of a new year, it is Haitian Independence Day (1804). This is when a special meal is served (pumpkin soup), families gather for parties, gifts are given, and time is spent with friends and family.
How is Christmas celebrated in the Dominican Republic?
Christmas is a family time in the DR. Dominicans will come from far and wide to get home and be together as an extended family. Christmas Eve is the main time to celebrate and have the Christmas meal. It usually includes a feast of rice and pigeon peas, roast pork, tamales, fried plantains, salads, and is finished with cakes, cookies, and sweet potato pudding. This meal may go into the early morning, topped off with fireworks. They may take the party outside to the street, where they will play loud music and dance.
Most families will decorate their homes with lights, perhaps a tree, and garlands. The town squares and churches are decorated as well. Presents aren’t usually given on Christmas but will be given the evening/night of the 5th January, Epiphany Eve. They hope that the Three Kings will bring their presents.
Special church services are held on Christmas Day, and the day will be spent visiting with family and eating the leftovers from the previous night’s feast.
Poinsettias decorate many homes and towns. It is a tropical plant with leaves that turn red in December. They are festive on their own or stacked in a triangular tree shape. You will see them sold on many street corners in December. In the Dominican Republic, most people speak Spanish, so Happy/Merry Christmas is ‘Feliz Navidad’.
