Tristan Summer Holiday - Christmas and New Year Celebrations

The Last Post
Christmas comes early on Tristan. Serious shopping begins in August with an eye to the sailing dates of the supply vessels from Cape Town. The last pre-Christmas scheduled sailing departs in mid November, so it’s not surprising that new year diaries and calendars, together with most Christmas mail from friends and relatives overseas, literally ‘miss the boat’ and arrive here at the end of January.
School Christmas Concert
Is held often in late November as St Mary's School prepares to close for the long summer holiday. It was held on 30th November 2007 - for photos see School News Page
Break Up Day
In early December the focus switches to the run up to the traditional Christmas / New Year ‘break up’ holidays which cover three weeks. On Break Up Day morning (on Friday 14th December 2007) arrangements are made to shut down over the next three weeks. Each family stocks up with supplies from the Island Store, and a roster is made for periodic access to the store’s freezers where they rent space to store their beef and mutton. The Internet Café and the Administration Office will open at agreed times for overseas calls and checking e-mail accounts, but now some homes have direct internet access to their computers, and all have phones. Shift men will keep the electricity generators going, and the doctor holds some surgeries, but both the pub and the café will be closed. Government and factory employees are then invited to The Residency for drinks, afterwards, groups adjourn to their own departments for drinks, and the celebrations conclude with a number of ‘braai’ (BBQ) parties in the evening.
Sheep Shearing Day
Held on a Saturday before Christmas (December 15th in 2007), almost the entire village travels to the Patches for sheep-shearing day (see photos and reports below). The summer holiday is also a time to dig the early new potatoes, tend mountain sheep (the tastiest for 'big eats' and travel to Stony Hill to kill wild cattle for beef.
Church Services
St Mary’s Church holds a carol service, usually on the Sunday before Christmas, with the Administrator, Chief Islander and Doctor taking part in reading lessons. Both St Mary’s and St Joseph’s holding a midnight mass on Christmas Eve to herald Christmas day itself. Often people attend dressed in their party clothes before going on a round of home visits to wish family and friends a merry Christmas. Christmas Day itself starts with a morning service at St Mary’s.
Big Eats
Christmas is a time for meals together, with 'Big Eats' of stuffed roast mutton, Tristan Tart and Tristan pudding (a version of spotted Dick). Braais (South African for Barbecue) are often held at homes, at Patches camping huts or on Runaway Beach.
Old Year's Night (not New Year's Eve on Tristan)
Old Year’s Night is a unique feature of a Tristan mid-summer with a special reception hosted by the Administrator on the lawns of The Residency if fine. There is lots of excitement before the first sightings of the ‘Green Men’ or ‘Okalolies’ – the group of costumed men who wear masks to disguise their faces and go round the village in the afternoon scaring the dogs and children. The party continues to the Chief Islander’s house, where the Okalolies sometimes unmask (otherwise its difficult to drink) and reveal their identities. Finally, off to parties with the ladies, perhaps with a braai, or down to the beach to toast the New Year in under the stars by a blazing driftwood fire. Happy New Year!