‘Tis The Season: Authors Talk Holidays is a special seasonal feature on Pop! Goes The Reader in which some of my favourite authors help me to celebrate the spirit of the season and spread a little holiday cheer. So, pour yourself a cup of hot chocolate and snuggle in by the fireside as they answer the question: “What does the holiday season mean to you?”
About Sarah Dass
Sarah Dass was born in Trinidad but has lived in Tobago since she was two years old. A graduate of University College London, she works as an office administrator by day and writes stories about the Caribbean by night. When she’s not writing, she’s reading or taking walks with her dachshund. Sarah’s debut novel is inspired by her childhood, spent in a seaside hotel.
For the holiday season, we stay with my grandmother. Her house is in southern Trinidad, not too far from the huge electric star that lights up the San Fernando hill. This place is the setting of my earliest memories. Where I took my first steps, said my first words.
Every year, my family returns to this house. There are quite a few of us, so we fill it and then some. We’re forced to share rooms. I almost always get stuck with my sister for an inevitably chaotic experience. I talk in my sleep. She twists, rolls, pushes me into a corner, or kicks me right off the side. She says it’s never on purpose but I’ve had my doubts.
Then there’s the food, of course. A tradition. A highlight. The scent of baking ham, glazed with orange and honey fills the house for hours. There are pastelles (cornmeal traditionally filled with meat, olives, and capers, and then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed), sorrel (a sweet red drink brewed from the fruits of a sorrel hibiscus plant), black pudding (if you don’t already know don’t look it up), and my favourite, pumpkin ponche de crème (see the recipe below).
On the night of Christmas Eve, we go to mass, the church decorated to its finest, and the choir at their liveliest. After the service, in the churchyard, the choir might break out the maracas, cuatro, and woodblock for a parang session (a type of music for the Christmas season, sometimes sung in Spanish). The drive home is slow so we can count the houses with lights. We make it a competition. The winner is the person who can spot the most. We pause in front of one or two places that have truly gone all out. We stare in wonder, then wonder at the electric bill.
Before bed, all last-minute gifts are wrapped and stealthily deposited under the tree when we think no one is watching. Someone reads Twas The Night Before Christmas but first we see how much of it we can perform from memory. We go to sleep and I might not end up on the floor this time, God willing.
The morning comes too fast, and the presents are opened too quickly. Family visits – they come to us or we go to them. We see people that we haven’t seen since the year before.
This year will be different. It will be virtual. It will be Skype and WhatsApp. We might do a Christmas morning Zoom session, take a moment to show off the gifts we’ve gotten, then take another moment to give everyone’s pets some screen time. This year, the only way I’ll see and like my grandmother’s Christmas tree is on Facebook.
It will be different and we’ll adjust, because this is not just a time for joy but a time for reflection and hope. When I look back at the years, all the wonderful holidays with my family, I know we have been lucky. If staying apart this year is our best chance to be together next year, we’ll make do and stay hopeful.
TL;DR – For me, the holiday season is about family and food. Since I can’t share the former with you (I mean I could try, but I would have to ask them first), here is the recipe to one of my favourite holiday drinks!
Pumpkin Ponche De Crème Recipe
Ingredients
1 lb. peeled pumpkin
1 (250ml) carton of evaporated milk
2 (14 oz) tins of condensed milk
3 tbsp Angostura bitters
2 tsp of grated nutmeg
2 tbsp vanilla essence
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Dice and boil pumpkin. When the pumpkin softens, strain to remove the water, pop the pieces into a blender, and puree. Add the other ingredients and blend well.
Extra
Ponche de crème is usually an alcoholic drink. For the adults who’d like a kick, add about 1½ cups of rum, and remember to drink responsibly. Happy holidays!
Title Where The Rhythm Takes You
Author Sarah Dass
Intended Target Audience Young Adult
Publication Date May 11th 2021 by Balzer + Bray
Find It On Goodreads ● Amazon ● Chapters ● The Book Depository ● Barnes & Noble ● IndieBound
A young adult contemporary retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion set in the Caribbean.
Seventeen-year-old Reyna has spent most of her life at the Plumeria, her family’s gorgeous seaside resort in Tobago. But what once seemed like paradise is starting to feel more like purgatory. It’s been two years since Reyna’s mother passed away, two years since Aiden — her childhood best friend, first kiss, first love, first everything — left the island to pursue his music dreams. Reyna’s friends are all planning their futures and heading abroad. Even Daddy seems to want to move on, leaving her to try and keep the Plumeria running.
And that’s when Aiden comes roaring back into her life — as a VIP guest at the resort.
Aiden is now one-third of DJ Bacchanal — the latest, hottest music group on the scene. While Reyna has stayed exactly where he left her, Aiden has returned to Tobago with his Grammy-nominated band and two gorgeous LA socialites. And he may (or may not be) dating one of them…
Inspired by Jane Austen’s Persuasion, Where The Rhythm Takes You is a romantic, mesmerizing novel of first love and second chances.
