Christmas in Jamaica is warm, loud, and full of food. If you grew up with snow and hot cocoa, it looks a little different.
The drink: sorrel
A Jamaican Christmas begins with sorrel, a red drink made from hibiscus and ginger. Families make it by the jug and offer it to every visitor. Read more about sorrel.
The cake: Christmas cake
Jamaican Christmas cake, sometimes called black cake, is a dark, dense fruit cake. The dried fruit is soaked in rum and wine, sometimes for months, and the cake is colored with browning. It's rich and moist, nothing like the dry fruitcake people joke about.
The dinner
Christmas dinner often includes ham, chicken, curry goat, and oxtail, with rice and gungo peas instead of the usual kidney beans. Gungo peas are in season in Jamaica at that time of year, so for many families they taste like the holidays.
Grand Market
On Christmas Eve, towns across Jamaica hold Grand Market. Streets fill with vendors, music, food, and families shopping late into the night. Children often get new clothes to wear.
Jonkonnu
In some communities you may still see Jonkonnu, a masquerade tradition with roots in West African culture. Costumed dancers and drummers perform characters such as Pitchy Patchy and the Horse Head.
Boxing Day
December 26 is Boxing Day, a public holiday in Jamaica. It's usually spent visiting family, eating leftovers, and going to the beach.
A Jamaican Christmas in Waco
If you're hosting an office party, church dinner, or family gathering this season, we cater. Ask us about holiday catering early, because December fills up fast.
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