Celebration for the New Year continues today. The children have no school today. The playground is deserted. Families are together sharing in the tradition of the New Year. Festivities began on New Year's Eve with Holy Eucharist service in the church beginning at 10:00PM. Following the church service was a grand party with music, games, and dancing, which lasted until daybreak. Many of the children stayed awake all night, as well as the adults. Not me, I was tucked comfortably in my bed, ear plugs in place. We at Kay Timoun began New Year's day with the tradional soup joumou. It's base is pumpkin squash that makes a thick broth. Add chicken, potatoes, and vegetables and bring in the New Year with a hearty meal, praying that each day in the coming year one will have the sustainence of this meal. Kay Timoun kids spent the day with their parents, returning at 5:00PM to watch a movie: The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. After chapel, where Christian shared a short history of January 1 in Haiti, Haiti's day of independence, the kids were quick to get in their beds for a good night's sleep. Tradition continues today with a main meal of chicken and sauce with rice, and salad made with red beets, potatoes, and carrots garnished with watercress. The adults will enjoy a drink of home made "Cremas", a sweet creamy liquor. I'll pass on the Cremas.
My hope for the New Year is that the people of Bondeau, in fact, all the people of Haiti, receive what they need to sustain life: medical care that they can afford, food to feed their families, and education for every child. My resolution for the New Year is to do whatever I can so that my hope is realized.
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