In the Guadeloupe Islands, Christmas is an important cultural event, it is celebrated with family, friends, colleagues and neighbors. Singing, cooking and Christmas lights are entirely part of the Guadeloupean Christmas.

A perfect Christmas dinner

During the dinner, many dishes are served. You can taste typical Guadeloupean cuisine such as pork and yam accompanied with the famous « Jambon de Noël » (Christmas ham_ you can find it only in the Lesser Antilles), the Boudin Créole (blood sausage), and the Accras de Morue (cold fish fritters). And a great Guadeloupean Christmas dinner is always celebrated with Schrubb, a rum liquor with an orange peel.

Christmas carol

In the Guadeloupe Islands, Christmas Carol are songs with great liturgical and religious charactere. The history of those songs goes back to the slave period. Blacks had a religious education that they incorporated into their original customs.  As a result, they kept liturgical texts that they mixed with Gwo-Ka and Biguine. Over the time, Guadeloupeans created new verses during their improvisations.
The group Kassika, lead by Benzo, made the Guadeloupe Christmas Carol evolve over time, it also made it more popular. Thanks to Kassika, many « Chanté Nwel » (Christmas Carol) events were created.  The most famous one is « Noël de Kakador » which takes place in Vieux-Habitants in Basse-Terre.

During the Christmas Carol, you will hear « Ka » drums, triangle and cha-cha. « Ka » drums players are chosen for their ability to respect the character of the songs and the rhythm of “Kabolo” (happy improvisation song).

Christmas Carols are transmitted from generation to generation, and they are completely anchored in the cultural heritage of Guadeloupe Islands.

Noel Kakador

Every year in Vieux-Habitants, the famous Christmas of Kakador (name of a small grey shrimp eaten for the occasion) carries on the tradition, and offers a typical Christmas experience from the Lesser Antilles, where people sing and dance carols around the crèche.

Visit the butterfly archipelago during this period, and you will be taken away by the atmosphere, the colors and the decorations on the streets, as well as the amazing Christmas dishes!

Photo Credit :
CTIG
Nicolas Pradel
Workaolic