MEMOIRS OF A TEACHER A TEACHER’S REFLECTION OF CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS IN TWO DENOMINATIONAL SCHOOLS

by Patricia Bissessar
Today, Christmas treats have become sordid affairs of sometimes dubious motives, but those who were educated in the primary schools of several decades ago still cherish memories of the joy felt at the bestowing of small gifts which meant so much. I was fortunate to work at three primary schools during my teaching career which spanned 43 years. In each of these schools one being a Presbyterian School and the other two Government Primary Schools all students were exposed to the cultural history behind all religious and National holidays including Christmas . In fact I am pleased to report that the teaching of the significance and traditions of celebrations such as Christmas are included as part of the Primary School’s Social Studies curriculum programme at all levels.
I was first introduced to “Christmas Treat Tradition “when I began my teaching career in 1972. My siblings and I attended the St. Christopher’s Anglican School where at the end of the year each class had their own Christmas Party. I remembered how challenging it was for my mother to organize 100 items for myself and two other siblings to carry for our Christmas Party. You see the thing with individual class party is that each child selects one item on a list prepared by the class that his or her parents has to sponsor . Whatever, the party snack, the parent has to send at least one for each child. If like me you had two other siblings and a father working for a low income as a County Council worker in those days you would realize the strain on the family’s budget . But nevertheless my mother always came through since the easiest thing for her to prepare for all three of us to take to our Christmas Party was cupcakes. There were instances when this did not always work as planned. One year I had to carry cheese paste sandwiches, my sister cupcakes and my brother Rudolph soft drink. I am not sure how my mother managed but she made sure we all had our bag of goodies to take along with us to the class parties. The class teacher would always be the one to bring the traditional ice cream pail and mixture to make ice cream. Children had fun chipping the ice with an ice pick, and turning the pail. We found it a magical experience seeing the liquid mixture turn into yummy ice –cream. When the ice cream was ready children would line up with their little enamel cups or plastic glass they brought with them from home and the teacher would proceed to turn the pail. It happened one year that the aluminium pail got a whole at the bottom and that year we had salty ice cream. Some class parties turned out better than others depending on the socio economic status of students in the respective classes. I remembered one teacher remarking to the other teacher that despite carefully planning the party in advance on the day the majority of parents sent popcorn so there was no variety in treats for children to enjoy. It was only when I reflect that I realized that in larger families maybe popcorn was the only affordable item for the parent to make to ensure each child had something to contribute to his or her Class Christmas Party.
I began my teaching career on 13th September , 1972 at age 17. Luckily for me it was Christmas Term. At Erin Road Presbyterian the Principal Mr Seesaran was a man although he had no children of his own tried his best with the help of his teachers to ensure every child in the school experienced the magic of Christmas . Christmas Treat for the entire school. For the teachers at Erin Road Presbyterian School, this meant preparing for the event in advance.Funding came from the Christmas Frolic or School Bazaar held annually. Preparing the budget for the Christmas Treat was left up to the School Treasurer and the Principal, but at a staff meeting all teachers would have an input as to what would go into a treat bag for each child. An apple was a must , since many homes could not afford to buy apples for the Christmas season. All items for the treat bag would be purchased a few days before the last day of school and stored in the Principal’s Office which was the only room that was secured . On the day of the treat tubs cut from barrels filled with ice would be used to keep the soft drinks cold. The school would order large blocks of ice from the ice truck to fill the half barrels. The Std 2 classroom which was the one nearest to the Principal’s Office was transformed into a make shift room for packing the 300+ treat bags. It reminded me of a factory . Bags opened the first teacher would place the apple and pass on the bag to the other teacher to put what was in the box in front of her and the bag kept passing from hand to hand until filled closed and packed in a box with name of class written and number of students in each class. A little tic tok toy, a whistle and a balloon was included in each bag.
On the day of the Christmas Treat all children came to school dressed in party clothes and could bring a borad game to play with their friends.While bags were being packed the designated teachers would take charge of the School’s Christmas Concert. One of our most cherished school tradition was the annual Nativity play which took centre stage each year. The scene that remains imprinted on my mind during my early years as a teacher is the tiny faces at recess time peering into the BRC wire frame in the Std 2 classroom ( classes had no windows) trying to see the different goodies that were being packed into their treat bags.
After lunch all students would reassemble into their respective classes and the treat bags would be distributed. By now you would probably guess which item would be eaten first. The Principal never forgot his teachers who all worked hard to raise funds at the school bazaar for the Christmas Treat. As a special bonus each teacher also was given a treat bag with ten apples , one pound of grapes , a Cadbury chocolate , a small cake he usually bought and a few soft drinks . Whatever remained after the packing of the children’s treat bags would be divided up and place in the bags of teachers who had young children or young siblings. So as teachers we too looked forward to our treat bags. After , training college I was reassigned to the same school , but although under new administration the tradition continued. In the 1980s a new addition was made , a visit by Santa Claus bringing gifts for all. This was something all children looked forward to throughout the year. Sometimes two or three teachers would be given the day off to go the week before the treat to travel to Port of Spain to purchase toys for all children in the school . I was always among this bunch =since the heads of each department of the school were usually the ones entrusted with this task. This was quite exhausting since we had to make a number of stops at various whole sale stores looking for toys to suit our budget, but I had fun.
For quite a number of years my home became the storage area for toys and treat items as our school population began to grow. My brother would often remind me of those days and how the entire house smelt like apples . My mother was the one who sponsored the Santa’s Outfit and past student Ezekiel Mathura was the designated resident Santa Claus at Erin Road Presbyterian until I left for another position in 2004.
Christmas at Erin Road Presbyterian during the 33 years I spend there as a teacher was always a special time for students and teachers to celebrate together. It was important for us to create happy memories of Christmas for children to look back on when they’re adults, and we hope those memories remain etched in their minds forever.
Look out for part 2 to find out about how Christmas was celebrated in two Government Primary Schools. (Source: Angelo Bissessarsingh Virtual Museum of TT, Dec 23, 2022)