The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1979, Blaðsíða 8

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
WINTER 1979
recipes for dishes of curries, sosoties, ba-
bootie and all the delicacies that have been
handed down to them over the 300 years of
their stay in the Cape. The great day for the
Coloureds is New Year’s Day and they hold
their main celebrations at this time, so much
so that the Cape province always keeps the
2nd January a public holiday, along with the
1st. On New Year’s Day the city of Cape
Town is simply taken over by the Coloureds
and they stage a Carnival, with floats,
bands, costumes and people, the culminatin
of many weeks of work and preparation.
They probably really need that extra holi-
day.
As is well known and much talked about,
there is a very large black population in
South Africa. This group is made up of
many different ethnic groups, with their
own language, beliefs and traditions. With
the large cities that are developing now there
are many thousands that have been born and
brought up in urban areas and have no con-
tact with the rural districts, where the tribal
beliefs are still strongly held. These city
people have had a great deal of Christian
influence over the years and their way of life
and customs during the Christmas season
differs little from any other urban folk, no
matter what their colour.
Living in a farming area in Natal for many
years, I have been able to get to know the
unsophisticated rural Zulu better than any
other group. Some of them, in this area
belong to the Catholic Church as there is a
very active Catholic Mission with a school
as well as a Clinic and small hospital. All
these Zulus celebrate Christmas, some
know and believe the Christmas story and
the others know that it is a holiday. It is
essential to have new clothes, lots of food
and plenty to drink. It is sad that so often
these celebrations end in fighting, with in-
juries and death. Many of the farmers expect
to do their own chores and milking as a
routine at this time, as work would only
interrupt the festivities in the kraals. It is
surprising that many of the rural natives still
believe in the Witch doctors and place their
faith implicitly in them. Many of these
strangely attired men and women are seen in
the village and along the roads here. They
have to undergo several years of study and
apprenticeship before they qualify and are
able to practise.
I will always remember one Christmas
day in Pretoria, many years ago and the
scene that my husband and I watched from
our kwela — coming along the street and we
waited to see what was happening. Along
came a group of about ten native men and
women, all dancing what must have been
the original rock and roll and enjoying every
minute of it. We could not, for a few mo-
ments see where the music was coming
from, until we noticed that one of the older
women dancers had a portable gramaphone
on her head. This she kept sedately level
while she carried on with the rock and roll
and the music blared forth for all to enjoy.
When the record was finished, everyone had
a short rest while the old gramaphone was
wound up again, ready for the next dance.
With the white people the traditional
Christmas dinner is still the favorite, turkey,
plum pudding and all the trimmings, served
either hot or cold. There are several conces-
sions made to the hot weather — salads,
cold wine and ice cream served with the hot
plum pudding, but there are many people
that prefer to spend the day outdoors. They
emjoy a braai (barbeque) of mutton chops,
boerwos and salads, with all the delicious
fruits that are in season at this time. The
hotels and restaurants do very well serving
Christmas dinners and tables are booked
from one year to the next for folk who enjoy
this type of entertainment. Many churches
celebrate mid-night services on Christmas
Eve. These are always well attended.
So, once again I look forward to the
Christmas Season and hope that it brings
peace and blessings to this beautiful adopted
country of mine.