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Christmas in the Caribbean

© Carol O'Donnell

There is a popular post card in the U.S. Virgin Islands that feature a woman standing on a beautiful white sandy beach looking afar as a white foamy wave splashes over her legs. In the same picture is a woolen attired individual shoveling mounds of snow. The caption reads over the woman: “Me” and over the wooly mammoth “You”. This picture says it all. The only white concoctions of nature seen here are foamy waves and puffy clouds, certainly not the freezing snow of the northern tundra. To the traveler, this card is irresistible.

Yet even the most cynical toward the winter months cannot help their programming for appropriate seasonal senses during this time of year. The U.S. Virgin Islands will not have a white Christmas nor will we build snowmen complete with coal eyes and a carrot nose. That, my friends, is part of Christmas in the Caribbean.

The joy of Christmas in the Caribbean is building sandcastles on the beach and snorkeling with the fish. It may not be cold but the ice cream and milkshakes make up for the heat. It is strange see a Christmas tree, compete with icicles and frosty ornaments when the temperature outside is around 90 degrees or so. But the gifts of the Caribbean are fascinating.

This time of year is by far the most popular time of the year for travelers to visit the islands. It is true that the colder it gets in the states, the more the visitors to the area. Add to that the number of people that have time off during the holidays and you get a great number of visitors to the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Even after the events of September 11, the season looks promising for tourism. Projections are positive, so positive in fact that the number of visitors is expected to be more than those during the 1999-2000 season!

What do visitors have to look forward to? A great deal. There will be a Christmas tree lighting in Havensight Mall for the public on Friday, December 7 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. Many day sailboats will feature Christmas dinner on their boats served with champagne. Local school children will wind their way through all of the islands’ resorts as they carol through the month of December. Local talent is endless; as steel pan players will perform lively Christmas tunes in downtown Charlotte Amalie. That is on top of the usual crystal clear water, superb snorkeling, diving and beaches.

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