This may seem a trifle odd to those who don’t know me but you must understand that it’s wonderful to retain links, of any kind, when I’m a 28hr plane journey from 98% of my family and the place where I was born and bred.

The “ginger” episode was made more poignant due to the fact that the festive season had begun in earnest with all the street decorations and window displays appearing around York. This is a dramatic contrast to Christmas in Fiji where we decorate with colourful local foliage and some tinsel.

Our homes are also modestly decorated when compared to the extravagance seen in Western cultures. Christmas in Fiji has never been about extravagant decorations and innumerable presents. In fact, presents are very few. I remember getting a basket of fruit when I was seven years old and being highly content with this gift. Christmas, for us, is definitely about family and LOTS of food!

This familial atmosphere is evident particularly two weeks before Christmas and two weeks after New Year when the community gathers together to go on the “fara”. This event involves calling on local houses in the neighbourhood and doing traditional “meke” dances and singing very loudly. It’s a sight to behold as it’s lit by hurricane lamps only, and a great deal of fun, and according to my mother, it’s the perfect opportunity for the younger generations to court!

The “fara” is analogous to Carol Singing, only the Fijian version is boisterous and much more … entertaining!

During the lead up to Christmas relatives congregate at the biggest house. I lived with my grandparents (my “nanna” and “afa”) in a substantial house so our relatives would usually travel from their homes to spend Christmas at our house. Just imagine every form of relative imaginable (including obscure ones like your 4th cousin twice removed on your mother’s side …) multiply this total by 10 and you have a rough approximation of how many people we have for Christmas. Triple figures ISN’T an exaggeration! Basically it’s lots of people, even more food and extreme amounts of rejoicing.

Christmas day itself is spent preparing food to be cooked in the “lovo” which is an outside earthen pit oven. As you can imagine, having so many relatives at this festive period means obtaining large quantities of food. We are a very hearty race, who enjoy our food, and no mores so than at Christmas when we cook whole pigs, numerous chickens, a special cow (or 3) as well as having a special treat of salted beef which is incredibly delicious. There is also curry, octopus soup, crabs and various dishes which are cooked by different members of the family, but the baking is always done by my nanna who makes the BEST ever Pineapple and Custard pie and the fluffiest sponges in the Universe!!!

Church, not surprisingly for an extremely religious society, also plays a predominant role where we meet, greet and give thanks for the special day. We usually always have a service of our own at home as well as going to Church. Then it’s time to EAT!!!!!!

To say that I miss these huge celebrations which would often end in traditional singing and dancing and some local “yagona” (potent pepper root extract drink) for the eman, would be an understatement. I miss it because it’s a very different experience from the British Christmas which has become the norm for me. This saddens me because as time passes I know that the traditions I remember are slowly being forgotten and replaced by new ones.

However, it’s not all bad as I also enjoy Christmas in Britain as I’ve forged great friendships and I have a lot more opportunities open to me. Christmas for the Frary family still remains a family affair (there are eight of us this year as I have a new nephew) and we remain true to Fiji by preparing LOTS of food (no turkey though) and making LOTS of noise!

Bula vina

Vika Frary