December comes then everyone already knows where to be and what’s happening in Haiti: Reveyon. “Reveyon” or the waking in Haiti around the holiday season is a time when family and friends are doing variety of activities to celebrate the eve of Christmas and the upcoming New Year Eve displaying in a feast. Due to the fact of Haiti’s past relationship to France, many of our cultural norms are heavily influence and derive from France societal tradition—Reveyon is one; however, we’ve added our own unique vibes to it. Le Réveillon for French or Reveyon for us—Haitians, is sometimes considered as the most important time of the year because that’s when everyone will travel back home to celebrate with their families and friends in the island—especially those they’ve not seen for many years after leaving the island for oversea. Reveyon is not simply a family gathering as regard in the French culture, it often trickles down to sizes 😊 by age group of friends as they’d do their own gather to celebrate together. As much as the family reveyon is going on and highly regarded, many times, the celebratory of friends bring the most fun because it’s always at a remote location away from home so much more freedom and tends to be most adventurous. Common Activities in all setting of this celebratory events are: Lots of board games: specially – dominoes and cards Lots of dancing and showcasing your skills which often ended having some bet on the side as far who’s the best dancer 😊 Klorat (our own ways of making affordable firework using a sparkplug with matches), yes, there’s competition with that too (as far who can make the loudest, it can remain local or extend to cross-town neighborhood villages) lol Common meal preparation around those settlement: Goat soup with vegetables and greens knowns as (Bouyon Kabrit) Lots of fish presentation, most common – red snapper steam (pwason Gwo Sèl) Black rice with sweet green beans (Diri djondjon—dry mushroom) Lots of beer consumption To prepare for this festive time around the year, lots of creativity is on the display whether in food preparation, or games or other various events that are happening at each unique social setting. Each family or group will have their own way of celebrating. Although, many things aren’t fully guarantee in the island but in those events, every participant will surely get a wonderful sociable time, great laughter through comedy skits and riddles, all night long music and dancing, and penniless folks arguing after losing their bet lol… I’ve experienced quite a few of those in my years in the island and have traveled there as well to be with the family for the holiday season since I moved to the Sunshine State, Florida. It’s simply just the best of joy celebrating with everyone. Thank you and I’d love to hear from you in the comments, if you celebrate like we do, or you have your own unique experience for the holiday season. I'd also like to recommend you joining the Welcome Corner to introduce yourself, pick up tips and tricks, and connect with other members or just catching up with some favorite dish or snack from other members. Please keep an eye out for other posts for #SAPCommunity24 and find out more about it the original blog post.
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melissafruss
