Leslie Karst

A Very Hilo Holiday

Inspired by Lisa’s enchanting post last Monday about decorating for the holidays and her adorable Christmasville village-turning-into-a-metropolis, I thought it would be fun to give you all a glimpse of what the holiday season looks like across the continent—as well as half the Pacific Ocean—from New Hampshire, in my little Hilo Town on the Island of Hawai‘i.

Like our fellow Americans five hours ahead of us on the East Coast, we Big Islanders also hang fairy lights to bring cheer to the winter months—and we sometimes get a gorgeous sky to add to the festivities.

And although I have nothing as ambitious as Lisa’s Christmasville, I do set up a crèche each year, complete with a curious chicken, a drum (but no drummer boy, thank goodness), a desiccated gecko, a Christmas lobster (thank you, Edith Maxwell!), and a wise tiki helping the angel Gabriel oversee the proceedings.

Our Christmas tree is a Norfolk pine (a tropical evergreen) that lives in a pot outdoors for the rest of the year. The two strands of glass ornaments date from 1905, the year of my grandmother’s birth.

And there’s also a decorated ukelele and my stocking from when I was a little girl (made by my grandmother back in the 1950s from an actual woman’s stocking).

Of course, the holidays require not only good spirits, but also good “spirits” (at least in our household), so we’ll often sit on the lānai and enjoy an adult beverage as we admire our fairy lights and tropical sunsets.

But just because it’s Hawai‘i doesn’t mean we don’t have snow! Here’s a view of Maunakea taken a couple weeks back, with snow up on its summit. (You can see the observatories, if you look closely.)

Some of the locals aren’t content to merely admire the view from afar, however, and will drive their pickup trucks up the mountain, fill it with snow, and cart it back down to Hilo. Here are our neighbors from a few years ago (note their rubber slippahs):

In closing, I offer you this little poem I wrote (or, rather, bastardized) from another more well-known verse:

’Twas the week before Christmas,
Out on our lānai,
We were snacking on pupus
Washed down by Mai Tais.

A gecko was watching
From a palm frond below,
And up on the mauna,
Sat a blanket of snow.

I held up my cocktail,
Toasting holiday cheer,
As we drank to our health
And the coming new year.

As the sun set in Hilo,
We admired the light,
Mele kalikimaka to all,
And to all a good night!

Happy holidays to all the Chicks and to all of our beloved readers!

Do you have a fun or unusual holiday tradition in your neck of the woods?

42 thoughts on “A Very Hilo Holiday”

  1. At the beaches here in SW Florida the kids make snowmen out of sand. Santa wears shorts and a Hawaiian style shirt and flip flops with his Santa hat. It’s kind of fun having spent the first 60 years of my life in New England.

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  4. Hestia here!
    Leslie, this was beautiful. Much better than the rainy weather we’ve had. Most people hate the snow, but I love it. I wish I had snow right now.
    But anyway, here’s a little give for you chicks. Sorry it’s so poorly rhymed!

    ‘T’was the Night Before Christmas (Eggatha version)’

    T’was the night before Christmas, when all through the house
    Not a laptop was clicking, not even a mouse.
    The book blurbs were posted by the chimney with care,
    In hopes that new followers soon would read them there.

    The bloggers were nestled all snug in their beds,
    While visions of 5 stars danced in my head.
    And the hubbs wrapped in blankets, and I flopped on top,
    Had just settled down at eleven on the dot.

    When out on Quora there arose such a chatter,
    I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
    Away to the keyboard I sped like a flash,
    Tore open Google’s browser and ready to crash.

    The light on the screen cast like new-fallen snow,
    Gave a luster of triumph to writing below.
    When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
    But the sight of a blog with eight authors this year.
    With my worn-out driver, struggling with right clicks,
    I knew in a moment it must be the Chicks.

    More rapid than eBooks their stories they came,
    And they whistled, and shouted, and called out each name!
    “Now, Lisa! Now, Becky! Now, Leslie and Ellen!
    On, Kathy! On, Vickie! On, Cindy and Jenn!

    To the top of the lists! To the number one spot!
    Now means! Now motive! No opportunity forgot!”
    As humorous thoughts and suspects fly,
    When they meet with an alibi, they soar to the sky.
    So off to their creating these Chicks they flew,
    With a notebook full of plots, vics, and suspects too.

    And then, in a twinkling, I watched from my room,
    The typing and deleting of each word on Zoom.
    Pantsers versus planners, they all fought for right,
    But each one insisted their way was the light.

    The writers were dressed each from head to foot
    In comfy clothes and slippers, the makeup caput.
    A bundle of ARCs each placed on the tables,
    They looked like characters from Anne of Green Gables.

    Their eyes—how they twinkled! Their smiles how merry!
    Their cheeks were rosy, their noses lit like sherry!
    Each little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
    ‘Til glasses of red wine quite stole the show.

    The stump of a pencil one held tight in her teeth,
    While another grabbed chocolate hid underneath.
    Others played with fidget toys or drummed fingers on wood,
    And each one wrote as fast as they could.

    No rest for the weary, each working hard as an elf,
    I laughed as I watched them, in spite of myself.
    With a spin for buffering and the concentration begun,
    I knew the tasks soon would be done.

    They spoke not a word, but went straight to their work,
    And filled all the bookshelves; then turned with a smirk.
    Crossing their fingers and raising their hands,
    They nodded and snapped and offered up commands.

    They danced ‘til the timer gave a whistle,
    Then each turned as one to shout their dismissal.
    And I heard the Chicks exclaim, ‘ere my screen lost its light,
    “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

    Love to all of you!

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      1. To all the Chicks,
        I promise to clean this poem up later. I wrote it on the train commuting to the office this morning. Kind of an on the fly thing. Because it’s Christmas, after all!

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    6. “Oh, oh, oh!” as Flossie Bobbsey would say. Hestia, you have outdone yourself. This is so clever and fun. Thanks for including us Chicks in your Masterpiece Christmas Classic (coming to your TV screens next season!).

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  5. Thanks for this peek into a Hilo Holiday–so much fun, Leslie (except for that dessicated gecko!).

    Over here in SoCal, we’ve got plenty of palm trees decorated with twinkling lights & I also love watching families sand-sled in Hermosa Beach.

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  7. Happy tropical Christmas, Leslie. I love your tree and your authentic stocking. I must admit to being a bit concerned by the desiccated gecko, but the curious chicken is a real winner!

    Merry Christmas cocktails,
    Ruth

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    2. LOL, Ruth!

      Love this post, Leslie! And your creche reminds me of ours. Every year something else seemed to make its way into the box—tiny figures of Batman, Barbie, Star Wars guys, Lego animals, and a couple of ghosts, at least. No desiccated gecko, but I’ll be sure to ask Santa for one!

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  9. Leslie, I am so envious of your beautiful Hilo home – and life! That stocking does crack me up, though. BTW, I just read somewhere that Hawaii has received more snow this year than NY and Boston combined. How freaky is that?!

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  10. Pingback: The Holidays Are Here

  13. I love this post! Amazing that you still have that Christmas stocking. What a treasure! Those drinks look yummy — Mai Tais? Hope you are Robin have a very Merry Christmas.

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  14. Leslie, sorry I’ve been commenting in fits and bursts here. Our power keeps going on and off. But each time I returned, I reread your post–I enjoyed it that much! (And thanks for the mention of Christmasville. They are still in crisis mode, I’m afraid.) I am partial to the Xmas lobster and was fascinated by the antique glass beads. I have some of my great-grandma’s (maybe even great-great). But they aren’t beautiful glass, they are painted…clay? I put them in a bowl with other antique ornaments instead of the tree.

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