The Christmas season
is the start of “high season” in Hawaii, a 90 day period from December 15th though
March 15th with the most visitors on the islands. It is celebrated with
colorful decorations in the stores and hotel lobbies. Hawaii Island
communities celebrate with parades, holiday lights, hula presentations, and
festivals during this season and the fantastic weather makes it easy to have
fun and get into the spirit.
Christmas was first celebrated
in Hawaii after the missionaries arrived in the 1820. However, the Hawaiians
already celebrated the season with a festival called Makahiki. The
Makahiki festival started when the cluster of stars known as the Pleiades
appear in the night sky and lasted about four months. The festival was held in
honor of Lono, the god of fertility and cultivated food plants. The
festival was celebrated with hula, bonfires,
feasts, and sports competitions. During Makahiki warfare was forbidden;
it was a time of peace and celebration.
In 1856, King
Kamehameha IV declared Christmas to be a national day of Thanksgiving in
Hawaii. In 1862, Christmas was made a national holiday in Hawaii by
authority of the King and there were huge celebrations on the islands.
"Mele
Kalikimaka", the Hawaiian pronunciation for "Merry Christmas",
became widely known in a song written by Robert Anderson in 1949 and made
famous by Bing Crosby in 1950.
Mele Kalikimaka to
everyone!
