An actor's dreams and doubts: Advent Calendar - December 22

An actor's dreams and doubts Advent Calendar proudly presents - December 22 - Juel McNeilly from Canada and Trinidad and Tobago. Juel is a lady who knows how to party. She is very special and I think most people feel great in her presence. I know I do. The word is hers.

The sound of crunchy snow beneath your feet. Pretty mistletoe hanging around (that sometimes actually catch people really kissing underneath it). Sleds for sledding. Little chocolate advent calendars counting down the days in a yummy way. Snuggling up under blankets with steaming hot cocoa. Eggnog or gluhwein (depending on where you're from) warming you up from the inside. Mittens and scarves on to go skating. The exciting panic shopping for presents. Turkey and stuffing with all the roasting hot warming veggies and stuff to accompany it. Tree shopping and decorating, or even digging up your Christmas tree from your backyard. Little shortbread cookies that crumble when you touch them. Lights of all colours up and all over the damn place making things look magical…. all work with us to build that special Christmassy feeling….. right? That feeling that makes you want to at least mark this period or occasion with something…not necessarily religious but something… just by eating or doing something, anything, christmassy.

But what if there was no snuggling under a blanket, or even snow to snuggle up from. Or chocolate was rare because it would melt. Skating made impossible because there will never ever in a million years, (unless we truly kill earth) be any ice to skate on… What if that traditional turkey was replaced by curried shrimp and roti (flat indian cooked bread)? What do you build Christmas spirit up from? What is Christmas spirit?

Being half Trinidadian brought with it two completely different ways of celebrating Christmas. Unfortunately for most, the one I enjoy most is 'trini' style. I say 'unfortunately' because the initial response or comment I've always received regarding Christmas time in Trinidad is: "how can you feel that special feeling if it's 33 degrees and sunny all the time?" This is usually followed by "you need snow!!". Well my answer to that is "you make your own Christmas feeling", and the Trinis do a good job at that. Sunshine and palm trees is what they know, they've never had snow to roll around and make snowmen or angels out of. Regardless of how religious they really are (or what religion they are from, for that matter), they get that little Christmassy elf inside them to come out and party! Revamping the once dry and boring British Christmas pudding (a dried fruit bready like cake drizzled with some form of alcohol) into black cake. And well…. the best way to describe it would be to explain that its black because of the amount of sherry, wine and rum that has been poured into it for months (my grandma's process started in July!). I used to love eating tiny little squares of it as a kid, sneaking behind everyone, stealing more and more cause I couldn't think of a decent reason for cutting such a delicious cake into such small pieces. Lights up all over the place, and they shine on the palm trees outside, giving it a special glowing atmosphere that entices you to strip down to your bikini (because you can!) and slide into the pool with your 'punch a creme' (the more alcoholic and dangerous version of the innocent eggnog). Getting all dressed up for non stop invites to parties, without the excess mantel you've got to put on elsewhere. No more worrying about damaging your heels with the weather or carrying extra boots to trudge through the snow with (this is more for the ladies but i'm Canadian too). Christmas lunch with friends and family exquisitely and sexily dressed, liming (hanging out) around a buffet of lamb chops, pastelles, pork roast, scrambled spicy eggs, garlic pork, macaroni pie, curried shrimp, stewed chicken, spinach, pumpkin, pigeon pea stew….washed down with some ginger beer (not actually beer but still alcoholic). Someone's having a tassa band (an indian drum band) go play at their house tonight, "bring some sorrel (a hibiscus drink at Christmas..yes also with rum cause Trini's like their rum) and come lime with us". The excitement that came when my uncle would exclaim "Christmas eve… we go parang!!". My aunt, uncle and father were part of a parang band, where singers and all sizes of guitar came together to sing special spanish venezuelan Chrsitmas songs at friends and family when i was a child… the sound of the ukulele still reminds me of Christmas and makes me wanna break out in song and dance… it also brings with it the smell of palori frying in the kitchen…mmmmm.

Black cake

Sorrel

So even though all the wrapping paper rolls are covered in fir trees and snowflakes, and the carols talk about roasting chestnuts on an open fire… the spirit of christmas is what you make it. I like experiencing the essence of Christmas through different traditions and adding them onto my own celebration. Imagine if Chrsitmas had just withered away with the people who emigrated to Trinidad because they were missing a few ingredients. Imagine how much would have been missed or left uninvented…(oooooh the punch a creme would be dearly missed). So I guess what I'm trying to say is it's up to each of us individually to take the essence of Christmas (or whatever occasion) and make it our own. Make it work for you. And I will leave with an unusually un-Christmassy person to quote from, just because it's Christmas: “We must become the change we want to see in the world.” Gandhi. (I guess that means I secretly want everyone to do some internal searching and open their brains to become giant christmas confetti)

ps. this idea can also be applied to approaching any form of performance. take the essence, add your own personal touches in the details and make it your own. I'm just saying…. I mean it is a blog about acting right…

fade out…..

Here's a link to a parang song: Parang song