Carnival overtaking Christmas

THE EDITOR: Long before we celebrated the Christmas season, the songs of Carnival were being heard. What has become of the twelve days of Christmas? Is the Christmas season just limited to one day? I was saddened on Boxing Day when I turned in to one of the FM radio frequencies and heard, “Today is the first day of Carnival 2004.” On that day no Christmas music was heard or played. Similar FM frequencies were also known to be playing calypso music on Boxing Day.

Christmas season is such a joyous and happy time, when families and loved ones get together to celebrate. Although the season has become so commercialised, it is still a time of the year people all over the world look forward to. Carnival is just seven weeks away after the New Year’s Day celebrations, and because it is a short season there will be a mad rush to put everything in place for the two big days. Most Carnival band launches have taken place as early as August 2003, and they continued as the months went by. The Carnival season is usually a time citizens allow themselves to “free-up” (whatever that means), and they get carried away by the madness.

With Christmas season still a few days more, people would have started dismounting the Christmas tree, putting away Christmas decorations, lights etc. Our focus will now be on Carnival. What will Carnival 2004 bring to us citizens? Will we see a cleaner crop of calypsos? What can the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago expect? I am still a traditionalist and I believe Christmas is a season of twelve days, that does not say Carnival will affect me one way or another. Here it is, we will be leaving a season that is blessed and holy for a season of wine, women and song. What a contrast, only in TT could this happen.

KEN SMITH
Woodbrook