New Year Greetings from Panama

Happy New Year from Panama!! Prospero Ano Nuevo!!

I was hoping to send warmest New Year Greetings before the actual day came. However, at the time I had no idea what the traditional Panamanian holidays was going to be like.

Since my Christmas post, I have hardly slept or stayed in one place for longer than a few hours (my home included). I have been running about like ‘mad ants’ as we Jamaicans say.

Panama New Year Traditions
Nothing in Colon City, or Panama City slowed down after Christmas. I was most fascinated by the traditional practices going into the New Year. There was a lot of shopping, and although it wasn’t as bustling as Christmas, the stores were uncomfortably tight, the lines extremely long as people were shopping for their New Year party clothes and food!

My knowledgeable taxi driver once again enlightened me. Panamanians, he claimed faithfully attended mass or church service for New Year’s Eve. We call this Watch Night Service in Jamaica. I was well accustomed to that tradition. After the worship service, many take off the local clubs to party out the old year. It is also a common practice for many persons from other parts of Panama, to make hotel reservations in Panama City for the partying.

Others also enlightened me. It was commonplace to see a life-sized cloth figure (something looking like a fat scarecrow) reclining on the lawn or patio of a house along the outskirts of Colon. However, this was more widespread in the Costa Abago region, and I hear even more so in the interior areas of Panama. The figure or what I call an effigy is a symbolic caricature of the Old Year and is always from what I have seen an Old Man. Here is Mr. Old Year below.

The thinking is that the Old Year is ending and will soon be no more. The old man is kept until midnight then burnt of the old year. This is also a Panamanian old year purification ritual as all the bad things of the past year are burnt away as well. [Hmmmmm] Not only that, but on New Year’s day all the oils and incense emerge as some people ‘burn out’ their homes for purification purposes. [Hmmmmm again..]

I am certain there are other things I will discover as time goes by. However, I must tell you, how totally unprepared Kerry and I were for the Watch Night Service. Coming from a different context where New Year’s Eve Service is well attended, but not of the same weight as Christmas Sunday or New Year’s Sunday we were surprised at how casually persons were dressed for Christmas Sunday service. Well, a member was kind enough to warn us that the night service was going to be one of pomp and ceremony…”Pastora, she warned, you better wear something nice you know.”

Now don’t think I have not been dressing ‘nicely’ but that is such a relative term. Especially, as I come from a much more conservative and formal context of worship, nicely for me also means simple. In fact, I know at least two colleagues back home who would just love to see the Pastora in this dilemma. They have been vocal in declaring that women pastors should dress like women and not allow a male clergy standard of dress to determine how we dress. So over the years a set of young women pastors have emerged from seminary determined to maintain our identity and dress more comfortably and according to our personal taste in colours and fabrics etc.

Therefore, I have not been too dusty at all. Since I know this member would agree with my self-assessment I knew she was talking about something more. [I had still not recovered from the dressing up for the midnight service!]. So ok, Kerry and I donned our glad rags but I was still not going to wear certain things to church that I would wear to a banquet or ball.

Friends, we politely kept out mouths from popping open when we arrived at church and saw the splendid spaghetti straps, scarves, flounces, bounces, and three-piece suits. What??

Pastora, Kerry, and Ladies of First Isthmian (and a few young men snuck into the picture).

Pastor and gentlemen of First Isthmian

The church was packed to capacity with persons I had never seen before. Same as in Jamaica where persons come to service just to have the New Year catch them inside the church! Apart from that, some of them would be attending various dinner parties in family homes, or restaurants, or hitting the clubs. The dressing therefore made perfect sense. However, even those who were going back to their homes come dressed to the gills because of the other part of the tradition. The New Year should not catch you wearing old clothes. In fact, some persons go out and buy new ‘nighties and pajamas’ to sleep in.

We were on target with the time, and I ended my 20 minutes sermon at (a record Watch Night sermon time) about 11:50 and went into the closing with prayer and singing. By the time the benediction was pronounced the firecrackers started and I can tell you it sounded to me like Colon City was experiencing another US invasion. Had we gone on any longer, the explosions would have completely drowned out the closing of service.

Kerry and I joined a large gathering of members at another member’s house for dinner New Year’s morning. At 1:00am we were having some serious food, you would not believe. I had preached twice on Sunday and could barely see straight – so I had to beg off to leave for home at 2:30 am while things was still in high gear. Aaaahhh..what a thing called new context.

Moreover, I really have to tell you this one I outsmarted those who brought their grapes to church. Oh yes. During the closing prayer, which usually takes place at midnight, some persons would normally eat a small handful of grapes and then count the seeds. They would then purchase those numbers in the Panama National Lottery later that same day. Did I mention they did this in church – during the prayer? Well, you all know how ‘bad’ I can be.

I made an announcement in the morning service that my members were not to bring any grapes to Watch Night service. Then I reminded them in the night not to eat any grapes. The congregation nearly died with laughter. One member enjoyed my comments it so much, he recommended that next year I do not deprive the people of their midnight snack instead tell them to bring ‘seedless grapes’ [ahahahhaaaa] Well that should take care of that!!

So Happy New Year Panama Style – What a time this has been! Wow:-)

God’s richest blessings on you and your family and loved ones this year and always.

Dios le Bendiga!
Marvia