Chris.nival (krsnval)
n.
1. Trinidad and Tobago fusion of the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus with the period of merrymaking known as Carnival which immediately follows the commemoration of Christmas on December 25th.
2. November/December are the months of Chrisnival celebrations in Trinidad and Tobago with the official Carnival festivities beginning on December 26th.
I was first introduced to the word "Chrisnival" on Friday at a mini bloggers lime where a few of us met up to hang out with blogger cb who was visiting from D.C. over the weekend. At the time I thought the word was in jest, slang made up to identify the fact that Carnival 2008 is so short that celebrations are usurping Christmas in all quarters.
It was to my surprise that I saw an event advertised in the daily news papers as a "Chrisnival Lunch"!! So the word has now become official! The lunch, which was held yesterday, featured a Christmas menu of ham, turkey, pastelle with parang and pan as the entertainment. In addition, Carnival costumes were on display! I can just imagine the Christmas purists gritting their teeth at this blurring of the already fine line of where Christmas ends and Carnival begins!
Year after year you hear complaints that not enough "respect" is paid to Christmas over the anticipation of Carnival; too many calypsoes on the airwaves and fetes start as early as Boxing night. Having band launchings commence from July set the ball rolling for Carnival 2008 and it seems as if Carnival is going to smother Christmas this year. Being someone who is not big on Christmas, this hybrid of two polarized celebrations does not irk me, however I feel somewhat emphatic to those persons who just want to celebrate Christmas without having Carnival tacked on!
When bands have yet to sell out and merchants are also vying for the Christmas shopper’s ONE pay check before Carnival “Chrisnival” translates into a poly to try and woo both the Carnival and Christmas enthusiasts to me. So, I am looking forward to Santa showing up at my house singing soca and carrying a bag full of goodies like fete tickets or a Carnival costume this year.. merry, no, happy Chrisnival ya’all!
It was to my surprise that I saw an event advertised in the daily news papers as a "Chrisnival Lunch"!! So the word has now become official! The lunch, which was held yesterday, featured a Christmas menu of ham, turkey, pastelle with parang and pan as the entertainment. In addition, Carnival costumes were on display! I can just imagine the Christmas purists gritting their teeth at this blurring of the already fine line of where Christmas ends and Carnival begins!
Year after year you hear complaints that not enough "respect" is paid to Christmas over the anticipation of Carnival; too many calypsoes on the airwaves and fetes start as early as Boxing night. Having band launchings commence from July set the ball rolling for Carnival 2008 and it seems as if Carnival is going to smother Christmas this year. Being someone who is not big on Christmas, this hybrid of two polarized celebrations does not irk me, however I feel somewhat emphatic to those persons who just want to celebrate Christmas without having Carnival tacked on!
When bands have yet to sell out and merchants are also vying for the Christmas shopper’s ONE pay check before Carnival “Chrisnival” translates into a poly to try and woo both the Carnival and Christmas enthusiasts to me. So, I am looking forward to Santa showing up at my house singing soca and carrying a bag full of goodies like fete tickets or a Carnival costume this year.. merry, no, happy Chrisnival ya’all!
4 comments:
What a fantastic read! :D
Nice one saucy - the only down side I see bout Carnival being so close after Christmas is that we all have to really watch that we don't pack on those Christmas pounds lol
Looks like no bottle of Baileys in my desk for my morning coffie this December :(
hmmmm what is Christmas going to be like on a Carnival diet!!!!!
haha.... u thought I was kidding. I heard that the word was officially launched last week. I hope it doesn't become a normal thing though. That is pushing it!
Working nights over Christmas, so to prevent being depressed about that, it officially just doesn't exist for me this year. I'm skipping straight over to Carnival thank you very much! Not a carol playing in my house - only soca right down the line. And everybody present coming from online shopping so I don't have to think about giftwrapping etc.
Carnival is my light at the end of the tunnel...
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