Holiday Traditions and Dutch Treats in the Caribbean

Warm Season’s Greetings!

As Canadians from coast to coast prepare for the upcoming holiday season, we asked some of our Dutch Caribbean islands to share some of their treasured holiday traditions (and their treats!)…and how some of these traditions came to be. Our thanks go to the tourism offices of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Aruba…as well as the Boardwalk Boutique Hotel in Aruba.

On behalf of all the tourism offices, hotels and Caribbean Airlines that make up One Caribbean Canada…we extend our very best wishes to you and your families for a wonderful holiday season filled with peace and joy!

We look forward to welcoming you to the Caribbean countries of your choice in 2025! Happy New Year!

Tasty Christmas traditions on Bonaire

Bonaire’s ‘ham di pasku’ is a tradition at Christmas

Christmas is coming up fast, and where better to spend the holidays than the warm, breezy, and beautiful island of Bonaire.

Bonaire is known for diving and nature and has been recognized as a Culinary Capital. You may wonder how we bring on the Christmas cheer in Bonaire – what’s our go-to food, drink, and what things do we like to do?

What do we eat in Bonaire?

As soon as Regatta (an annual October event) is over, you will notice something familiar reappearing at all the breakfast hotspots for the locals. Namely, the “ham di pasku”, which is translated to Christmas ham. This ham is cooked in the oven with several ingredients, including star anise, cloves, and, of course, pineapple. In case you thought that pizza was the only dish that had this tropical fruit that represents hospitality on it!

This dish is served with a nice ham and eggs sandwich in the morning, next to a delicious dish for lunch, as a dessert or a snack after lunch, and included in all the Christmas dinner buffets. With time you can see it being incorporated in other local favorites, like the jonny cake.

The best thing about the “ham di pasku” however, is not that it brings the smell of Christmas to the entire house while it is in the oven or the fact that you have a go-to snack every time you open the fridge. What makes this dish stand out is that it brings people together during the holidays and helps create the best memories. I can still remember sneaking a whole plate of slices to my room to share with my cousins as a kid.

Packing a punch, enjoy Bonaire’s ‘Ponche di Crema’

What do we drink in Bonaire?

Enough about food. What do we drink, you may ask. It’s not rum. Well not just rum, since the Caribbean is known for its fun rum cocktails. Ponche di Crema is the staple drink that you get in every Christmas package, see Christmas deals for in every supermarket, and can even ask for during this festive time at almost every restaurant.

What is Ponche di Crema, you wonder. Imagine eggnog served from a nice glass bottle. It is officially classified as a liqueur, has a creamy consistency, and packs quite a punch if you don’t fill up on all the goodness at the Christmas buffet.

Some families drink it from a plastic cup, others have special glasses, some have mugs they use for the occasion, and then there are those who see this as an opportunity to use the Christmas-decorated shot glasses. Whichever way you drink it, you never drink it alone.

Preparing for the Christmas season in Bonaire

So, looking at activities done for Christmas, three stand out. First, people start painting their houses so that they can open up the new year with a nicely painted house welcoming all the good fortune that the new year has to offer.

Secondly, something that really helps the Christmas feeling come to life is decorations. So, in the spirit of Christmas, we spend money buying a tree that brings that real Christmas scent into the house and then buy a ton of decorations to make it pop. However, due to the overflow of sun and heat that we have here, the poor trees barely make it to New Year’s. But that does not stop us, we still enjoy them for the time that we can. At the end of the day, when they are dead and crisp, we put them in the yard and set them on fire to symbolize the end of the season.

Lastly, people come together (usually at the house with the best food) with the entire family to start preparations for the Christmas meals, which always lasts longer than two days, and investigations for the Christmas presents, because of course we waited until the last minute to buy gifts and can no longer order online and have to make do with what we have on the island.

To conclude, we do a lot of things, and every family puts its own spin on each dish, activity, and tradition. The main theme throughout remains the same: We all come together to eat, drink, and spend time together. We find small ways to let the people around us know that we care about them. That is the whole meaning of Christmas, after all. Ho, ho, ho!

History in St. Eustatius extends to a traditional Christmas beverage

Miss Blyden, a tasty ‘Statian’ treat at Christmas is made using the fruit of the Prickly Pear

Just becoming known in Canada is the lovely island destination of St. Eustatius (aka “Statia”), which is a Dutch island located in the northeastern Caribbean sea, northwest of St. Kitts. Known for its marine park and perfect for avid divers, Statia also has an extinct volcano called The Quill, offering hiking trails and extraordinary views. History buffs will enjoy the active dig sites and ruins that are found all over the island. Enjoy the local Statian Christmas beverage…and its history!

Miss Blyden is a drink traditionally made on the island of St. Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands, from the fruits of the cactus fig, locally called ‘prickly pear’.

Blyden or Blijden is a family name that has been present on Sint Eustatius since the 18th century.

The fruits of the opuntia cactus from which Miss Blyden is made is found locally on St. Eustatius.

The pulp of the prickly pear is mashed and gently boiled with sugar and spices such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger and aniseed. When the whole fruit has been boiled down, the liquid is sieved and bottled. Rum is added. The traditional way of preparing it was to bury the pulp with the sugar and spices in demijohns in the ground. A natural fermentation process would then start.

Another recipe described how the spines were carefully removed from fruit of the Prickly Pear cactus. It was often the children on Statia whose job it was to gather the fruit of the Prickly Pear. Being careful to avoid the thorns, the fruit was then cut open to reveal the blood red seeds. The fruit pulp was then placed in a kettle with water, sugar (equal in volume to the fruit) and a stick of cinnamon. This was simmered slowly until the mixture thickened. The mixture was then cooled, strained and vanilla and rum were added to taste.

Originally the drink was associated with Christmas and the bottle was unearthed on December 24th.

Miss Blyden II (recipe courtesy of Vilma Rivers)

Ingredients:

Red prickly pear fruits
Aniseed
Cinnamon
Cloves
Ginger
Allspice
Brown sugar
Rum or wine

Pick the red fruits and scrape off the prickles. Cut open and take out the meat. Boil it with spices: aniseed, cinnamon stick, cloves ginger and allspice. Allow to boil until it thickens. Drain and sweeten with brown sugar. Let it cool and you can add rum or wine. It can last a long time in the refrigerator. The longer it stands, the thicker and stronger it becomes.

Red & White Parade in Statia

The annual Red & White Parade in Statia brings everyone out to enjoy the Festive Season

The vibrant spirit of St. Eustatius comes alive each year during the Statia Red & White Parade. Statians are good at putting on a show and the Red and White Parade is no exception. Starting at Buzzy Bees Day-Care Center, the cheerleaders, dancers, seniors and supporters, all dressed in red and white, set the island buzzing. The annual Christmas parade has been organized by “Lady of Culture” Marcella Marsdin for more than 18 years. Christmas melodies mixed with carnival beats echoes throughout streets as the procession makes its musical way to the Lion’s Den.

Initially a small event, the parade has grown exponentially over the years, now attracting participants and spectators from all walks of life. The colours red and white were chosen not only for their vibrant appeal but also to symbolize the upcoming Holiday season. At the end of the Parade in the Lion’s Den, participants and spectators alike are greeted by Food and Craft Stalls. Vendors offer delicious local cuisine and handcrafted items, allowing visitors to experience the flavours and artistry of Statia.

The Statia Red & White Parade has become more than just an event; it is a symbol of the island’s resilience, unity, and cultural richness. Each year, it serves as a reminder of the importance of community ties and the celebration of diverse cultural background during the Holiday Season.

The tradition of Sinterklaas and Kerstboomlandia in Aruba

Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat to Aruba; photo courtesy of The Boardwalk Boutique Hotel.

The story of the traditions of Sinterklaas and Kerstboomlandia come to us from The Boardwalk Boutique Hotel in Aruba…

Sinterklaas

The very first ‘main event’ to open the holiday season in Aruba, is the official arrival of Sinterklaas. Sinterklaas is the Dutch version of Santa Claus, who is extremely popular with -young- children as he showers those who were nice with presents and candy.

He arrives by steamboat from ‘Spain’ in the second half of November, the weekend before Thanksgiving, and attracts enormous crowds of families with children to the main harbor of Oranjestad to welcome him to Aruba.

In the weeks leading up to Sinterklaas Eve on December 5, kids can place their shoe in front of the door or by a chimney in hopes that their empty shoe will be filled with typical candy like pepernoten and marzipan or small toys the next day after a visit by Sinterklaas and his helpers, called Pieten, or Pete’s.

Sinterklaas travels over the island on a white horse and he is formally dressed in red velvet bishop’s robe with a golden staff and carries a long white beard, while the Pieten are dressed in costumes with festive colors, wearing hats with feathers and showcase funny behavior. His helpers carry a big book with a list of names how’s been naughty or nice. On December 5 gifts miraculously appear in a bag at each house by -often- invisible Sinterklaas and his Pieten. Only a happy few get to meet Sinterklaas or have him over for a house visit. Meanwhile, adults have gift-exchange parties and games, often with satirical poems to accompany the gifts.

Kerstboomlandia

Sinterklaas hasn’t left the island yet, or a huge tent on Vondellaan erects with hundreds of Christmas trees, called Kerstboomlandia. Aruba is an island with a desert climate so over 90% of all Christmas trees used for the Holidays are imported, and therefore quite costly. A large amount of these fresh, imported trees are collected for sale in the Kerstlandia tent. Because of the warm temperatures in Aruba, the Christmas trees give of an extra strong ‘tree smell’, which makes a visit to Kerstboomlandia very worthwhile.

Most locals set a real tree for only two weeks as the high temperatures also cause for the needles of the tree to drop sooner than in colder climates; those who do not appreciate the fabulous smell of a real tree or can’t stand the mess of the needles settle for an artificial tree. As a side note: Boardwalk Boutique Hotel sets a real tree in the hotel lobby, and this is a very special tree with its own persona! Coni The Conifer lives in the Boardwalk gardens 11 months of the year and is relocated annually to the air conditioned lobby during the entire month of December.