Main Street, Christiana - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

I had heard a few years back that Christiana in Manchester was the place to be if you wanted to experience the spirit of Christmas in Jamaica. I was told that even when things weren't so rosy in other parts of the island, the Christmas spirit would surely consume you once you visited Christiana.

So off I went, only a couple of days before Christmas, with expectations high and ready to soak up all the seasonal merriment I could.

I got to the heart of Christiana around noon to find the place somewhat empty. I mean, the requisite taxi and minibus operators were out in full force, blocking intersections and creating general mayhem where they could, but everything else seemed out of place. There were no Christmas decorations, no giant speakers blaring Yuletide selections, no crowd of shoppers clutching overstuffed shopping bags, no freshly white-washed curbs or light posts. There was scarcely a smile to be seen. This was Christmas in Christiana? I asked the pudgy market vendor leaning on a street sign next to me.

"Eh eh! Den wah yuh expect fi see? Yuh nuh hear everyting gone up? Light gone up, water gone up, GCT gone up. Nobody nuh have nothing fi spend dis Christmas. Everything salt," said the woman. She was at least 60 years old and had hands that were hardened by years of hard work. She told me her name was Dolly, when I asked if she had been selling in Christiana a long time.

"My granny used to sell here and mi used to come here every week and sell wid her. Yuh can look pan mi and see how mi old, so yuh can tell how long mi selling here," said Dolly.

"I never see tings slow like dis inna Christiana. In fact, inna di whole ah Manchester. Dis ting what di Government bring in bout tax dis and tax dat just mash up everybody business," Dolly said.

Walking around

People were walking around in the market, but it seemed very few of them were buying a whole lot. I asked Dolly about that.

"Not a ting! Manchester people plant up dem own likkle ting, but dem used to still come market fi get what dem want and fi support each other. Now, everybody get tight and nobody nuh waan spend money," said Dolly.

I asked her if she expected things to get better in the coming year.

"Wah? Yuh lick yuh head? Yuh nuh hear all we as market vendor haffi go start pay GCT next year? Di whole ah di market people dem vex. All some ah di younger one dem weh just ah start sell, dem seh dem nah badda wid it nuh more. Everything crash!" Dolly said, her eyes wide. A woman carrying a bag over her shoulder walked over just then and started eyeing the peppers and onions Dolly had for sale.

"Sell yuh something nice lady?" the vendor asked.

"Just looking," the woman replied. She looked at the produce for a few more seconds, then walked off.

"Same ting. Nobody buying. I don't know what dis place going to become all next year," Dolly said.

I hung around a while longer with Dolly who had little more success that day. Things seemed to be the same all around.

It was early evening when I decided to leave the market and head back to Kingston. My journey to Christiana and my quest to find the Jamaican Christmas spirit, a fleeting phenomenon at best, this year, turned out to be a huge failure.

robert.lalah@gleanerjm.com