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Barbados is a beautiful tropical island all year round but is an extra special place to visit for the Christmas holidays. Being a very religious country you will feel the solidarity of the nation as everyone comes together to celebrate this magical time of year.
If you live in a cold country, then you will always think of Christmas as a cold time of year, but in Barbados the temperature is a minimum of 28 degrees and is therefore a welcome alternative to spend Christmas day in the sunshine.
However just because you have white sandy beaches and warm Caribbean Sea doesn't mean that your Christmas in Barbados comes without the traditional trimmings.
In fact Barbados is a very festive country when it comes to celebrating Christmas. Generally the nation of Barbados is very community focused and at this time of year everyone gathers at their local church for special services to remember the birth of Christ.
A very popular service attended by a lot of Barbadians and visitors is the 'Carols by Candlelight' service, which is held in the grounds of the Prime Minister David Thompson's home, Illaro Court. This will be held on December 14th, 2008 and gates will open at 3pm. This is a very moving service as everyone gathers for a few hours to sing all the traditional Christmas Carols with lighted candles in hand.
Tickets are available from Starcom Network, River Road, St. Michael and are priced at $20 BDS for one adult, each adult ticket includes the admission of two children under 12 years of age. For more information on this event please see the Barbados Events Calendar for December 2008.
Christmas is a very hectic time of year as people rush around doing Christmas shopping, groceries, writing cards and attending parties to celebrate with your friends. The beauty of spending Christmas in Barbados is that you can do all of your gift shopping duty free, with a lot less queues!
If you are self catering then you can still buy all the traditional trimmings for your Christmas dinner such as turkey and ham, stuffing and brussel sprouts. Barbados was a British colony up until 1966 and there is still a very strong English influence on the island. Therefore you will even find the supermarkets sell traditional Christmas puddings.
You can even decorate your apartment with a real pine Christmas tree, which are available at the local supermarkets. Barbadians love to decorate their homes for Christmas and you will enjoy looking at all the pretty lights used. From the tiny chattel house through to Sandy Lane mansions, no expense is spared when it comes to celebrating Christmas.
If you are staying in a hotel then you will find that a special Christmas menu will be available for Christmas Day. A traditional Barbadian Christmas dinner will include roast turkey and a honey glazed picnic ham served with golden applesauce, Bajan stuffing, sweet potato pie, rice and peas, jug jug and vegetables. This would be complimented with a traditional Christmas pudding covered in rum sauce. For more information on Christmas recipes please read the Bajan recipes section of the site.
Another bonus of being in Barbados for Christmas is that you can write your Christmas cards on the beach, while sipping on a cold cocktail, making it a very relaxing experience as opposed to the usual stress you would feel at home. You can also take part in as many or as little Christmas activities as you please.
Another great attraction for the nation is the school plays that are staged at this time, in particular St. Winifred's School is well known for putting on the most professional production. This year the school is staging Robin Hood and performances run up until December 21st, 2008.
As many visitors and many Barbadians living abroad come to Barbados for Christmas you will see an increase in flight prices therefore you will need to book early. This is also the opening weeks of the winter season and therefore the hotels start to fill up quickly as well.
On Boxing Day it is also traditional to attend the horse racing at the Garrison Savannah; for more information please read our section on Barbados horse racing.
So however you want to spend Christmas, whether it is sitting down to a full Christmas dinner at one of the island's grand hotels or having a BBQ on the beach, you are guaranteed a Christmas to remember in Barbados.
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