Reggae Holiday Ideas
Reggae is a style of musicstarted in Jamaica in the 1960s. It is influenced by ska, rocksteady, African, jazz and rhythm and blues music. The Wailers, a group that Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer started in 1963 is perhaps the best-known reggae group. Reggae fans can put a twist on traditional holiday celebrations in favor of a reggae-themed Christmas. The holiday celebration should include reggae music and Jamaican themes. Does this Spark an idea?
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Music Selection
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Jamaicans celebrate Christmas with as much enthusiasm as it is in the United States, and many of the classic songs are also popular. Instead of the same tired versions that are played constantly on the radio station, however, you can liven up your reggae holiday party with reggae versions of your favorite holiday music. Original reggae Christmas songs can add something new to the celebration. Purchase a reggae Christmas music compilation album, such as "Reggae Christmas," "Joe Gibbs Reggae Christmas," or "Navidad al Estilo Reggaeton." Another option is to get your musician friends together and play these reggae tunes live at the party.
Decorations
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Instead of decking the halls with the traditional evergreen tree and miles of red and green ribbon, celebrate a reggae Christmas with Jamaican-inspired decorations. Jamaica is an island filled with tropical trees, so you can trade in your usual Douglas fir tree for a potted palm. Trim the tree with Rastafarian colored red, green and yellow lights, or white lights with colored tinsel. Purchase Christmas ornaments featuring the Jamaican flag, Bob Marley images or even a reggae Santa. Mix some yellow and black ribbon with the usual red and green ribbon when making wreaths and bows. Outline a reggae poster with the same color theme and if you have a Bob Marley cardboard cutout poster; put a Santa hat on his head.
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Holiday Meal
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Continue the reggae holiday theme by serving a traditional Jamaican meal like your favorite reggae artists would eat. Christmas dinner in Jamaica is a large feast with a wide variety of meats, sides, drinks and desserts. You can serve jerk seasoned pork or chicken, roast ham or beef. Rice with gungo peas is a special dish for the holiday season because gungo peas ripen in December. Other popular Jamaican dishes include oxtail and curry goat, but you could substitute another meat in the curry. Sorrel is a popular Jamaican drink made from rum, sorrel and spices, but you could also serve Jamaican rum with your choice of mixers. Include a spread of tropical fruits on the table and finish the meal with a Jamaican Christmas cake, a rum-soaked fruit cake.
Gifts
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Whether you have a reggae lover on your gift list or need gift ideas for yourself, there is no shortage of reggae gifts for the holidays. You could give a reggae CD. The obvious choice is a Bob Marley CD, but you could also introduce the recipient to a new or less-popular reggae group. The Mighty Diamonds, Burning Spear and They Abyssinians are possibililties. If the recipient only cares for one reggae group, and already has all of their music, opt for a T-shirt, poster or painting of that group. The information sponge on your gift list is sure to appreciate a book about reggae.
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