High tide after thick rain. The waters lap close to ones feet while you relax in a hammock awaiting the festivities that are Christmas. It’s a warm Christmas in Tuvalu as the island bring in the joys of the birth of Jesus.
The even before Christmas there is an evening prayer that is recited somewhat similar to mid night mass but this is much earlier and it’s a reminder to the children that Christmas festivities are around the corner.
Christmas is always sunny and sticky hot in this realm of the southern hemisphere, far from the white Christmases. Decorating for Christmas happenes entirely in the two days before. Kids will hang up a string of multicolored lights around the perimeter of the room and tape a gold and red sign that reads “MERRY CHRISTMAS.”
Parents will cut a branch of a bush-like plant from the shore that, when stuck in an empty tin of biscuits filled with sand, served as a tree. Kids will the wrap more lights around the bush. The whole thing was so simple and beautiful. Being part of a family celebration here in Tuvalu dispelled any loneliness.
Tuvaluans open their gifts on Christmas Eve. At dusk, a mom or dad will lead the kids in a long prayer followed by a bigger feast of barbecued chicken and a heaping plate of the local root crop, followed by another blessing. After the last streaks of barbecue sauce have been licked from the plates, the oldest child is in charge of handing out gifts. Each family member has one gift hanging on the tree.
Meticulously wrapped each item in left over lined paper from a school notebook. Each with a handle that could be used to hang the present directly one of the Christmas bush’s branches. Each person’s name is scrawled on the paper in permanent marker in all caps.
