Trinidad and Tobago nationals abroad all agree : 'Trini Christmas is the best'

BAVINA SOOKDEO

"Oh yes, Trini Christmas is the best!" may be familiar lyrics from the late Susan Maicoo’s popular song, but for many lyrics ring true. While at home many revel in the sweet sounds of parang, the flavours of sorrel and ginger beer and the warmth of togetherness, TT nationals living abroad find meaningful ways to recreate the unmistakable spirit of a Trini Christmas.

De Avion Daniel - Switzerland

Living in Bern, Switzerland, 26-year-old De Avion Daniel from Chaguanas says what she misses most is the sense of community. “I miss the feeling of togetherness: parang, the laughter, the liming and the whole preparation that comes with a Trini Christmas,” she shared. For Daniel, even the smallest details are deeply tied to the season. “From simple things like smelling fresh paint, cleaning and changing curtains... there’s a unique feeling that only Trini people could relate to during the holidays” she said. “There’s nothing like the smell of black cake in the oven, baking bread on Christmas Eve and neighbours paranging by your house. Christmas in Trinidad is not just a day, it’s a full season of prep, music, food and community, and that sense of belonging is what I miss the most.”

While Christmas in Switzerland is “quieter and more structured,” Daniel has found ways to recreate home. “I still cook the dishes I grew up with, make sorrel, play parang and prepare a proper Trini Christmas lunch for myself and my daughter Havana Seepaul. Many families here celebrate on Christmas Eve, but my daughter and I still keep our tradition of celebrating on the 25th,” she said. At the same time, she has embraced Swiss traditions like visiting the Christmas markets and partaking in their traditional hot wine known as Glühwein. She also gets a real pine tree each year, decorating it with her family and even goes skiing during the holidays.

Blending both cultures, Daniel shared, has become her own little tradition. “And it allows my daughter to grow up feeling rooted in where she comes from while also connected to where we live now. No matter how far I am, a little Trini Christmas always follows me,” she added.

Tyreka Russell - Germany

In Duisburg, Germany, Tyreka Russell, 27, originally from Cocorite, says the absence of family gatherings is the hardest part. “Every other day there was some get together happening at an aunty or uncle’s house,” she recalled. “Being in Europe now, I mostly experience it through WhatsApp calls. It’s definitely not quite the same but still very important to stay connected to my family.” Russell also misses the food and drinks.

Though residing in Germany, since 2021 Russell has spent Christmas with her cousin in Brussels, where they intentionally preserve Trini traditions. “The night before Christmas is usually a late one spent in the kitchen cooking, laughing and listening to soca parang,” she said. Pastelles, callaloo, peas, baked chicken, lasagna, ham and a version of home-made sorrel (using hibiscus leaves) remain staples.

But the cousins also follow some European Christmas traditions. “We love visiting the Christmas markets and never miss a chance to enjoy some Glühwein” she said. Russell usually gets an Advent calendar for her cousin from Germany. “This calendar prepares us for the Christmas holidays and helps build the excitement” she said. “It’s a great blend of Trinidadian and European culture and it has become our own little Christmas tradition in Brussels.”

Catherine Andrews - The Gambia

For Catherine Andrews, 58, born and raised in Piparo and now living in The Gambia, Christmas is deeply tied to parang. “I miss the rehearsal and performances,” she said, recalling visiting homes and secretly entering porches to announce the birth of Christ through song. Andrews once sang with the House of Marketing Universal Parang Group. In The Gambia, she said she “highlights the traditional parang music with the modern spin sharing how the music has transformed into parang soca and chutney parang.

While in The Gambia, Andrews is immersing herself in local customs, including a church pilgrimage and a Boxing Day masquerade. Still, she ensures Trini traditions live on. “I am making pastelle, sorrel, ginger beer and ponche de creme,” she said, adding that she introduces traditional foods – and even gift customs – to friends abroad. Boys there will receive footballs and girls, tea sets – “Not plastic” she explained, “but the real stuff as the girls are taught to cook from toddlers.”

Amelyah Roach - France

In Paris, France, Amelyah Roach, 26, from San Fernando, says what she misses most is the familiarity of home. “I’ve lived in the same house since I was five years old and that’s one of my main associations with Christmas in Trinidad,” she shared.

“There’s so much warmth in being at home and knowing what to look forward to, like the familiar smells of black cake, sorrel and ham,” she said. “And I really miss hearing parang and soca parang everywhere as well.”

While she enjoys Parisian Christmas markets and traditional French treats, Roach insists on keeping Trini staples close. “The last two years, I made it my mission to ask my mother to send me a black cake and ponche de crème. It’s not Christmas without these things in my opinion,” she noted. She makes sorrel and sometimes orders Shandy and Peardrax from an e-commerce website based in the UK which sells Trini goods.

Henrietta Phoebe Pereira - Turks and Caicos

In Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, 42-year-old Henrietta Phoebe Pereira of Tabaquite – daughter of parang legend Henry Pereira – says she deeply misses the traditions that defined Christmas back home, from house-to-house parang and carolling to visiting relatives she rarely saw during the year. “The food – pastelle, paime, black cake, home-made wine, ham and hops,” she said, remains especially close to her heart. She also misses seeing all the houses with their elaborate Christmas decorations and lights. “My mother’s ponche de crème that you have to drink sparingly too” she laughed.

Working in hospitality often means Christmas Day is spent on the job, but Pereira makes it a point to attend midnight mass and prepare her own pastelles with corn meal she took to Turks and Caicos from Trinidad. “These I would share with other Trinis or my close friends who aren't familiar with it” she explained. She also stays connected through video calls with family in Trinidad. Ensuring she visits the beach, on the drive there, she fills the car with her father’s “sweet parang music,” letting the familiar sounds carry a piece of home with her, even while living abroad.

Alex Nedd - Turkey

For Alex Nedd, 43, from Scarborough, Tobago, now living between Tobago and Ankara, Turkey, Christmas abroad feels particularly distant. “What I miss the most about Trini Christmas is checking the neighbour, checking your friends – the drink up and the lime up,” he said.

Spending Christmas in Turkey, he sets up a Christmas tree with his family and listens to Christmas music. But he admitted that in a predominantly Muslim country, Christmas celebrations are limited. “It is nothing near to a Trini Christmas,” Nedd admitted, adding that access to sorrel and ginger beer makes recreating the atmosphere difficult. “Long story short, I truly will always miss my Trinbago Christmas.”

Although they may be thousands of miles away, TT nationals share an unwavering connection to home. While Christmas may look different abroad, through our food, music and warmth, the spirit of a Trini Christmas certainly knows no borders.