Tobago's Boxing Day culture

DR RITA PEMBERTON

Christmas celebrations in Tobago traditionally spill over into Boxing Day. All businesses except parlours, remained closed on Boxing Day, which was an opportune time for visiting relatives and friends. Those homes in which the doors were closed on Christmas Day because of the sticky floors and/or furniture, or because their decorations were incomplete or the smell of wet paint was overpowering, opened their doors to visitors. The carollers and choirs continued to share the Christmas spirit and they were joined by groups of music makers who paraded through the villages playing music with their guitars, banjos and other instruments.

This was a time when several important activities occurred on the island which placed a heavy demand for the services of skilled people. but were also indices and expressions of the peculiarities of the island’s culture and in particular, the language of dress.

The day provided the opportunity to maintain the cross-island links which had been established during the period of enslavement. At that time, despite plantation restrictions, it was customary for the enslaved Africans to travel across the island to share in the celebratory and funerary practices of their fellows. This helped to strengthen their social bonds, provided the opportunity to exchange information and, in the process facilitated the maintenance of their African cultural traditions. While the plantation owners did allow Christmas celebrations on the estates, the enslaved added their traditional flavour to the activities which they extended during the post emancipation years when as freed Africans, they were able to exert greater control over their time.

Their planned activities to mark particular days and time periods placed a heavy emphasis on visiting and sharing. Hence it became customary for people to travel from one end of the island to visit and participate in social activities, and considerable effort was placed on preparation for the reception of the expected visitors.

There was always enough on the food table for all who passed by at any time. The custom of selection of spouses from different villages strengthened this practice of cross-island visiting on Boxing Day, which became virtually institutionalised as Visiting Day.

For many, this was an essential outing to and from the more distant parts of the island. Within the villages, visits were made to the older members of the community, and children were sent to carry gifts to relatives in their communities and to their godparents who lived outside the villages. This was a very happy task for the children who were rewarded with treats to take back home.

In addition to the social visits there were other organised community activities in some villages. In Charlotteville, the activity which was the highlight of the day was the annual Boxing Day bazaar, which was held under the auspices of the Methodist Church. Preparation for the event was a community effort and virtually all villagers congregated at the venue bedecked in their new clothes, which were specially made for the occasion.

In Speyside, there were two fetes at the Anglican School. The first, for the younger folks, took place from 2-6 pm and the other, a non-stop dance, went from 8 pm. It was a regulation of the Anglican church that when December 26 fell on a Saturday, all dances must end at midnight to respect Sunday as the holy day. Otherwise they went on into the wee hours of the morning.

At Mason Hall, there was a grand Boxing Day dance from 8 pm at the Government School which did not have the church-based restriction and was an islandwide attraction. Music for the non-stop dances was supplied by a steelband and a string band, each of which played up to the intermission when the band members were refreshed. The end of the fete was signalled by the playing of a breakaway tune, when it was expected that the special people would dance together, and then the British national anthem, God Save the Queen, brought the curtain down on the partying.

These events provided another treasured opportunity to dress up and reveals what one historian calls “the language of dress” – the social role of dress on the island. Those who could afford scored the available catalogues and through the local agents, ordered their outfits from the English clothing companies such as Odum and Littlewoods and Lennardo, the shoe company.

The rest of the population relied on the services of the resident dressmakers and tailors who were overwhelmed by the demand. As the day approached and even on the morning of the event, there were impatient crowds of anxious customers waiting at the shops, mumbling their displeasure. hoping to get their outfits in time, while monitoring every whirr of the machines and the movements of the dressmakers and tailors while they laboured in front of stacks of uncut cloth.

However, the demand for their services continued unabated at this time of year. because Boxing Day was a popular day for weddings. These weddings provided another special event for the communities from which the bride and groom came. The bride and groom and the wedding party had to be outfitted, and weddings were events which the entire community was automatically invited, so the residents of the two village homes of the bride and groom, as well as their extended families across the island, needed new clothes for the occasion.

It is a peculiarity of Tobago’s culture that kite flying is associated with the Christmas season – particularly Boxing Day. New kites were released on Christmas Day. During the weeks before Christmas the village kite makers were busy filling orders for “mad bulls,” as the popular kites were called, for the approaching kite-flying season. Costing $1 per kite, they were made to order in varying sizes from crepe or kite paper in the colours specified.

On Boxing Day, the Tobago sky was ablaze with a carnival of colourful mad bull kites which buzzed as their long tails swung with the breezes which kept them afloat. Males, young and old, engaged in the sport and sought the nearest elevated area to launch their kites to catch the breeze which would propel them into the sky. The Battery at Buccoo Point, the Ridge near Lambeau Hill in Speyside and hillsides in Castara, L’Anse Fourmi and across the island, were popular kite-flying locations. For the young boys of Canaan/Bon Accord, it was a full day of serious activity, so they went to fly their kites armed with food in their pockets to sustain them across the day: bread and ham, cake and extra-large paime.

What is very interesting is that Boxing Day activities reveal the importance attached to items that were required for special events, which was reflected in the careful attention that was paid to the selection of both fabric and style. In particular, this was very evident where clothes were concerned. Dressing for occasions was important for Tobagonians, demonstrating the significance of clothes as a social signifier in the culture of Tobago.