Christmas in Belize 

Happy Holidays from Rainforest Realty

Christmas in Belize is very much alike the North-American Countries and the rest of the world when it comes to celebrations and beliefs. In Belize Christmas means sharing, eating, spending quality time with family and friends and most importantly, opening presents. It is celebrated on December 25th, and it is a season to be jolly and celebrate the birth of Jesus as well as the gift of sharing.

THE CELEBRATIONS

During the Christmas season; Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus; for many Roman Catholics, the birth of Jesus is celebrated with Posadas followed by a mass that is being celebrated on the 25th of December. Posadas start 9 days before Christmas which signifies the 9 months of pregnancy for Mary the mother of Jesus. It entails a group of people carrying a baby Jesus doll and placing it in a decorated stable. Each night for the 9 nights praising and singing is given to Jesus and the doll is left to spend the night at a different home. This is a way to remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Christmas in Belize hay-manEven-though Most Belizean children have probably never seen a snowman except for the ones on television. We still get to see our “hay-man” from Running W Brand Meats, which is also the place where most come to get the ham, and other meats for the celebration.

Looking forward to Christmas preparations, always starts with house cleaning and decorating. Perhaps it is the time of the year when everyone takes time to make a thorough cleaning of their homes so that Christmas decorations can sparkle and shine and bring in the spirit of giving and sharing. Christmas season is always the time where Belizeans would go the extra mile to buy new carpet, change the linoleum new curtains and sometimes even household furniture and appliances.

THE FOOD

In Belize there is always the FOOD for the foodie lovers. Food Food Food. Due to its rich melting pot, there are always a variety of culinary dishes during Christmas season. Turkey Dinner is the most popular dish on many Belizean homes for Christmas. This is comprised of Rice and beans, with sliced ham and stuffed turkey along with cranberry sauce, bread crumbs and a salad of their choice. For the Belizean Mestizo people, this dish can be accompanied or replaced with Bollos/Tamales. These are made of ground corn with different seasonings and chicken inside, wrapped in a plantain leaf.

Christmas in Belize cakeNow the best part of course, Belizean Christmas Signatures are the famous black fruit cake and rumpopo (similar to eggnog) which is a must in almost every household during the Christmas festivities.

The Black Fruit Cake: Main ingredients include, flour and mixed fruits, nuts along with its unique ingredient which is the caramel coloring/burnt sugar that gives it the black color. The black fruit cake also has rum or wine or stout in it to make it the baker’s choice. Some people prefer little alcohol, others prefer more but the more it has the longer it can last as the alcohol preserves the cake from spoiling. Some People store Black cake for even months by just soaking it in rum every so often.

 THE DRINKS

Christmas in Belize rompopoChristmas in Belize brings on the The Rompopo: The Rompopo is the signature drink for Belizeans which is made out of evaporated Milk (Carnation Milk) Condensed Milk, Eggs, Cinnamon Powder, nutmeg and of course the Rum. This is a fairly easy drink to make by just combining all ingredients together and mixing them in a blender. Most Belizeans, have childhood memories of drinking or making rompopo. As mentioned in some Belizean homes, black cake and rompopo are a must for Christmas.

Christmas season is always one of the best seasons and most exciting seasons of the year in Belize. As mentioned before; it is a time for giving and sharing, having a great time and remembering the birth of Jesus!

With this Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you from your Keller Williams Belize Rainforest Realty Friends!!

Come Enjoy Christmas in Belize!