I love Christmas. I say it without exclamation point because it’s not a shout or a burst of energy. It’s a plain ole fact. I love absolutely positively everything to do with Christmas.
It’s hard when you’re married to someone “from away”, as we say in these parts, to decide where you spend the holidays and for us it is no different…but, alas, holiday travel pricing to the Caribbean usually ensures that we do NOT spend our ho ho holidays basking in the sun! BUT prior to our marriage, I had the great fortune to spend two Christmases in Gaspar Hernandez and they were everything I’d imagined them to be and more!!
I’m not sure there is enough time in the world to explain to you how much I love Christmas. That whimsical time, late in the year, when the daylight hours are short here in Nova Scotia is justifiably named “the most wonderful time of the year!” In my world, Christmas begins the day after Remembrance Day! After respect is given to our veterans and service people, it is time!! Time to start hauling Christmas decorations out of storage! I watch the forecast for a warmish day and that’s the day I tackle outside. I put up lights and bows at my parents and then at our own little spot as well. Next comes the great cleaning frenzy!! The kitchen and living room at Mom’s gets a good spring clean…before it is transformed into Santa’s wonderland!! I can sit in the living room on MacLellan, surrounded by the decorations both old and new, and just FEEL like Christmas! It’s a feeling of peace and safety and comfort and joy…all those sappy feelings talked about in Christmas carols and movies!
It’s a time of year when people bury the hatchet and come together to remember the important things in life! For my household, that means family, friends, faith and tradition…the four pillars which hold us all up. And those pillars are epitomized by Christmas!! Christmas is a time to celebrate our faith as we open our homes and our hearts to family and friends to share the traditions of our ancestors!
Once everything is decorated, inside and out, the baking commences!! I have been nicknamed “Baker Elf” because I love to bake at Christmas….it’s pretty much the only time of year that I do bake! I make apple pies and candies and cookies and breads and cakes and squares! There are a few things that are consistent year to year (I mean, come on, how can you have Christmas without sugar cookies?) but other things get changed up year to year! The baking tradition started way back when in the 80s when a cousin, who was like a sister to me, lived at my parents house while she went to university. She decided that first Christmas that she would like to learn how to make her mother a pie for Christmas! She sought my help, knowing that I’d perfected the art (side bar: my oldest girlfriend, Valerie and I were always paired up in Home Economics class and we would always get distracted…sometimes substituting salt for sugar!! Sooooo our teacher forced us to make pies every week for an entire term until we perfected the art!! Not a bad skill to have!). So we made a pie for my Aunt Darlene and one for my Mom. Every year since that first one, that baking has been expanded upon! Now, it doesn’t feel like Christmas to me until I have delivered a big basket of Christmas treats to my Aunt & Uncle!!
So how on earth was I ever convinced to give up my Nova Scotia Christmas for fun in the sun??? Well…there’s a story that goes along with that! Of course there is! haha Joan and I had been together for about 15 months when he was asked to travel to Venezuela to help his chain of resorts revamp their entertainment programming there. He was, of course, thrilled to be asked! And I was so proud of him to be singled out in this way…it showed the company had great faith in him! BUT it meant that he was no longer a quick flight away and I would be unable to visit him during his time there. He debated whether or not to accept the offer but ultimately he made the correct choice to take whatever life threw his way!!
I was always planning my next trip to him…but plans were put on hold, indefinitely, as we weren’t sure when he would be returning from Venezuela. All we knew was that the company said he would definitely be home for the month of December (when he would need to get his own resort’s Christmas/New Year celebrations underway!) sooooo….I was prepared to wait it out and go for a longer stay in December.
I did all of my baking and decorating at home before I left…delivered presents and early Christmas visits! Then flew to the tropics for a very different kind of Christmas!! Now, it wasn’t my first trip there, but it felt so exciting, as if it were the first time!! Since it was to be my first tropical Christmas!! When I arrived at the hotel in Cabarete, I got checked into my room and set out to find him! The grounds are kept impeccably well with lush greenery lining the concrete walkways, zig zagging from pool to rooms to restaurants to stage. As I stepped out into the open area outside the main buffet, I heard music coming from the stage and knew dress rehearsal was on for that night’s show! I plunked myself into the swing to watch them practice, knowing Joan would be free afterwards. But I didn’t see him anywhere. I was probably 100 feet from the stage, where Joan’s entire staff was rehearsing various numbers. It was strange that he wasn’t there but then I remembered they had had to carry on without him while he was in Venezuela so maybe they were able to do this kind of stuff without him now.
I waved to some of the staff members that had noticed me sitting there and settled in with my book to wait for them to finish. They, however, couldn’t concentrate. At first I didn’t notice the giggles but then they were all overcome with laughter so I couldn’t help but look up! And then I saw him. Standing amongst the props and the people was an almost unrecognizable Joan Ortega! You see, I had only ever known him with long, beautiful, curly hair…to his shoulders! But there in front of me there were no curls!! He looked like he was 20!!! It also didn’t help that he was laughing uncontrollably over the fact that I’d sat there for a good 10 minutes, watching them, but not recognizing him!!!
And so Christmas in the DR began!! Just like at home there was so much hustle and bustle! There was decorating to be done and Nativity plays to prepare for! All in the midst of a packed resort filled with guests from around the world! Joan’s days were jam packed but we would find time where we could to spend time together. On his breaks, we would go across the street to his cousin’s place where we would build a fire and cook lunch or dinner. Or we would go to the local gas station where people just hang out…there is food and music there. We’d buy big bottles of beer and share it in small plastic glasses! You don’t, however, want me to extrapolate on the bathroom!!
And during those busy days, I would fill my days swimming at the beach or lounging by the pool, making friends from a variety of countries! You would think I’d stand out like a sore thumb for traveling solo but I didn’t. There were many solo travelers, particularly at Christmas. We connected and formed our own make shift families! I started tutoring the General Manager’s son in English. He was studying to be an engineer in the oil and gas industry and wanted perfect English…and I was right there anyway, so it worked out well!
We didn’t have a lot of opportunity to spend at Joan’s home during the lead up to Christmas but we would most definitely afterwards!
Christmas Eve arrived and it was yet another gloriously hot, sunny day! Resort staff were hopping all day trying to put the last minute preparations together! The smells of roast pork, on a spit, over a barbecue at the main buffet, filled the air. Just before dinner, Santa Clause made his appearance!! The kids went crazy for him!! And he took the time to visit with every single one. Then Santa made the grand announcement that the real star of the show was happening now. All the guests gathered towards the entrance of the buffet and watched as Mary and Joseph made their way, on a real, live donkey to their stable. Mary cradled baby Jesus in her arms not long after settling into the stable and soon 3 wise men showed up on horseback to pay homage to the King of Kings! Resort guests looked on in wonder, taking pictures with the players and their animals…before settling in to a feast!! And feast we did!! We started off with hors d’oeuvres like deviled eggs and oysters (well not me, I’m allergic but they were there!) and soooo many kinds of fruit; some of which I didn’t even know the names of!
The main meal consisted of the roast pork that had been tantalizing our senses all day long! It was so tender it just fell from the bone! There was rice with peas and potato salad and just about anything else you could imagine!! I’m not gonna lie, it was more than a little strange to be feasting in a buffet restaurant on Christmas Eve with friends from around the world I had just met (shout out to Patrick from Ontario!)…while my signifcant other was stashed away in the makeshift stable dressed as Saint Joseph, having his picture taken over and over with dozens of tourists!
Christmas Eve on MacLellan at home meant mass and then family time and loads of good things to eat! And so I called home to stay as connected as I could to my Mom and Dad, knowing exactly what they’d be doing at any given time!
After the show that night, Joan and I finally got to celebrate our own Christmas! It was late and he had been working all day so he was tired…but we decorated our own mini tree together. And we opened presents. And we had a toast to family and friends, near and far. And had the chance to spend the first of many Christmases wrapped in each others arms.
Christmas morning was not as exciting on the resort! Most of the guests had stayed up late, partying, which meant it was practically a ghost town! Joan had a million things to finish up before he could leave at noon for a couple of days. So I did what any Christmas loving, snow- missing Canadian would do…I went to the beach!!! Splashing and swimming in water that was warmer than our Northumberland Strait EVER got on Christmas Eve was not something I took for granted!
We spent the next few days surrounded by Ortega family…eating amazing food, drinking good liquor, dancing and visiting! We had a family reunion that Chritmas as all 7 of the Ortega kids were home for the holidays. We kept referring to ourselves as the united family of Ortega as Spanish, German and English cultures, languages and traditions collided!
The most extraordinary part about my first Christmas in the tropics was that it was not at all commercialized. Sure Joan and I exchanged presents but that’s cause it was MY tradition. Presents simply weren’t part of how Christmas played out! It was about spending time with family and neighbours, sharing stories and songs and dominoes and dancing and good food!! We could all learn a lesson from them, placing the emphasis on family and togetherness. I’m truly blessed to have a firm foothold in both Canada and the DR. As we get set to celebrate Christmas here in Canada, a little piece of my heart will forever be in a little seaside town on the north coast of the Dominican Republic.
As you reminisce and think about your own traditions ahead of Christmas next week, I hope you’ll take a minute to think about how you truly want to celebrate! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!
Dandelion Wishes 