Mele Kalikimaka or Merry Christmas. In the native language of Hawaii Mele Kalikimaka is Merry Christmas.
Both my parents were VERY hard workers. As a child, and as a young man I remember how they worked all year long. Part of the reason they worked so hard was to provide opportunity for me, but another reason was that was the only way they knew how. For many years Christmas was the day we were at home and had a nice dinner and celebrated with a white flocked tree. The tree always had shiny red breakable ornaments, red silk ornaments, red lights, and angel hair instead of tinsel. Angel hair was white and designed to look like well angel hair, but it was kind of itchy. The tree sort of glowed and it was definitely different from all the other families who had trees in the neighborhood. It kind of looked like a tree a jolly holiday hooker (a lady of the evening or prostitute to the uninitiated) might have had. Speaking of hookers one Thanksgiving at my house my mom’s relative came with … oh but that’s a different holiday story. Anyway I was always a bit embarrassed about that tree when friends came over, but my parents always made sure I got a present so I was OK enough with the tree.
After a lot of struggle, and some hard financial times that they never talked about except in an argument I might overhear, their business (that every penny was locked into) started to do very well. And I was proud of them as they became financially secure, and then successful. With that financial freedom came a new holiday tradition Christmas in Hawaii. I liked it and it was warm with no snow. I learned to say Mele Kalikimaka but never quite could get the hang of Hau’oli Makahiki Hou (Happy New Year).
My father passed away quite some time ago and this will be the first Christmas since my mom passed last December right after Christmas. I’m pretty sure they’re at peace, and they might even be together hovering over Waikiki Beach right now. Or maybe they’re upstairs (I’m pretty sure they got there) sitting by a heavenly fire and a hooker tree. I’ll be thinking of them on Christmas, but I think of them on most days anyway. Peace.
