Belize: Things to Experience in the Caribbean Country During Christmas Season

Every December, Belize has a variety of Christmas celebrations, including countdown events, parades, parties, concerts, shopping trips, and more.

As a result of the season's warm and beautiful weather, visiting Belize during the holidays is a pleasurable experience. There is no shortage of activities leading up to Christmas that aim to get people in a festive mood.

Countdowns, tree lighting, parades, holiday concerts, and downtown merchants playing Christmas music are all events that fall under this category.

Things to Experience in Belize During Christmas Season

According to Belize Adventure, depending on one's cultural background, residents of Belize usually observe one of several different traditions leading up to Christmas Day.

For example, the Creole community observes Christmas Bram, the Mestizo community celebrates Las Posadas, and the Maya community observes the Maya Deer Dance.

Christmas Eve

Belizeans celebrate Christmas Eve by blasting music from their homes and setting fireworks in the distance. People go to downtown districts during the day to run errands and buy last-minute Christmas presents.

A traditional nighttime dinner includes a bone-in ham leg, rice, beans, tamales, potato salad, and rompopo (eggnog with rum). After dinner, the elderly go to Midnight Mass, while the young and the young at heart stay home to watch Christmas films and let off fireworks.

Christmas Day

As a tradition, Christmas Day is a time to relax and spend time with loved ones. While the kids play with their presents, the adults gather for an evening of drinking, listening to music, and playing card games or dominoes.

The same traditional meal is often served for both lunch and evening. In the evenings, many young people in Belize head out to bars and clubs. In Garifuna culture, the Wanaragua festival is held annually on Christmas afternoon.

Garifuna Jankunu and Charikanari Dance

Residents of Belize's Garifuna communities gather to watch Jankunu and Charikanari dancers perform on the streets for the holidays, according to Island Expeditions. Jankunu dancers wear masks and costumes as they parade around the streets and visit local homes to the sound of traditional drums.

The Charikanari is yet another dance typically performed during this time of year. This dance involves a hunt for a "Two Foot Cow," with the dancers wearing masks.

The dancers wear cow head attire with real horns and a wire screen mask. Jankunu-style musicians and dancers go from home to home to entertain locals. Boys and men dance in drag or dress as women with masks. The "Two Foot Cow" tease children who make fun of him.

Caroling Belize Style

As revelers slither through neighborhoods, they sing, dance, and play instruments as part of the Christmas Bram. The Christmas Bram is rooted in the Kriol culture of Belize. Therefore, the country's holiday customs include a distinctive kind of caroling, according to Cahal Pech.

If you are familiar with Brukdong music, sing along or dance to the fast beat. Gales Point Manatee also hosts a Christmas Bram if you cannot travel to Belize City.

La Posadas

Plan to be in Belize on December 16, when Las Posadas will take place. The Spanish roots of this nine-day festival are evident in every aspect of the event, from the food to the music to the dances.

Visit Benque Viejo del Carmen in Cayo to take part in the dramatization of the Holy Family's search for a place to stay on their way to Bethlehem, with a performance that will be repeated nine times over the next two weeks.

Maya Deer Dance

If you want to see an authentic deer dance this holiday season, skip Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and watch the Maya Deer Dance in the Santa Cruz area.

Watching the 24 dancers perform their ancient folklore-based dance relives the Belizean performance art from hundreds of years ago when the Mayans first arrived in the country.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

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