Dreaming of a black Christmas - African-American families using ethnic Christmas decorations and customs

Ebony, Dec, 1993 by Lisa C. Jones

Families Find creative ways to add color to traditional holiday season

IN sharp contrast to the traditional White image of a White Christmas, replete with white snow, White Santas and Whie Families, an increasing number of Black families are turning the tables and dreaming of a Black or, at least, Black-oreinted Christmas.

Some families ar substituting Kwanza and Africa and West Indian rituals for the traditional celebration. Others have created family traditions of their own to observe during the holiday season. But the overwhelming majority of African-American families celebrate the conventional Christmas holiday with an added touch of color.

"Black families continue to celebrae Christmas in terms of its religious meaning," notes Dr. Charles V. Willie, a Harvard University professor of education and urban studies and also an expert on the Black family. "But in a general sense, they are recognizing their own images, symbols and cultural artifacts as something significant in the society at large."

This recognition has manifested itself in many tangible forms. "Increasingly, African-American people have begun to think about their history in association with Christmas," says Dr. Andrew Billingsley, professor and chair of the family studies department at the University of Maryland-College Park.

He and other social experts say Blacks are recapturing the spirit of their history and heritage through increased purchases of ethnic-inspired toys, Black-centered literature and brightly colored kente-cloth garments. And so, from the snow-capped mountains of the East to the sunny beaches of the West, Black families are replacing Bing Crosby's rendition of "White Christmas" and Nat King Cole's "Christmas Song" and Mahalia Jackson's soulful Christmas selections. And in many Black households, Christmas cards displaying Black versions of Santa, the Nativity scene, the Three Wise Men and the Madonna and Christ child motif hae become commonplace.

Interestingly and significantly, major corporations are backing this trend. In 1988, for example, Hallmark Cards, Inc. introduced Mahogany, its first Black-oriented line of getting cards, which depicts everyday Black life and includes verse by Langston Hughes, Paul Laurence Dunbar and other great writers. This year Hallmark introduced a line of Kwanzaa-focused cards that were made in conjunction with Harlem Textile Works. Another major corporation, Miller Brewing Co., in association with the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, is offering Kwanzaa and Christmas greeting cards, featuring positive Black models. Although Hallmark, Miller and other White corporations are supporting this cultural revival, the major thrust continues to come from Black entrepreneurs and gift-shop owners.

As in the past, the Black Christ is leading the way with innovative programs. Many congregations now mix Kwanzaa with their traditional Christmas festivities to put more emphasis on community sharing and family togetherness. But some churches, like the First A.M.E. Church in Los Angeles, take the trend a step further with African-based rites of passage programs, Afrocentric Christmas pageants, foods pantries and toy drives.

On the culinary front, Black families are increasingly adding hamhocks, greens, cornbread, chitlins, sweet potato pies and other soul-food favorites to the traditional ham, turkey and dressing Christmas fare. On New Year's Day, it has long been the custom in some Black households to serve black-eyed peas, rice, greens adn fish for good luck.

"Appreciation of the self and the group has always been needed, but it is only now that we have become secure enough as a group to really acknowledge and develop it," adds Dr. James P. Comer, professor of child psychiatry at the Yale University Child Study Center, who says children are the greaest benefactors of outward appreciation of one's culture. "The family in the Black community is a very special unit. It has been the protection from the outside. We have a family that promotes self and protects its own from damage."

Although some experts say Black-tinged holidays are relatively new, others say many of the activities are grounded in the past. "Contrary to some public views, family has been extremely important to us, and Christmans has been a major opportunity to celebrate family," says the Rev. Prathia Hall Wynn, associate dean of spiritual and community life at the United Theological Seminary. "During the Great Migration, Blacks spent a tremendous amount of money and energy going home or getting family members together, and Christmas was a major opportunity for that reunion. And there were always some elements of our celebration that were different, such as our food, our gifts, our worship and our stores."

It is hardly surprising, therefore, that Black families are taking the lead in institutionalizing new rituals. Along with the familiar holly boughs and mistletoes, some Black families, like the Smiths of New York, deck their halls with African-inspired ribbons and ethnic plaything for their children. Other families, such as the Jeffersons of Chicago, embellish their Christmas trees with handmade ornaments of color and set their mantels aglow with Black figurines. And some families, like the Bertrands of Atlanta, add spice to the holiday season by incorporating tranditions of their own.