Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Holiday Traditions in Aruba

The very first main event of the Holiday Season in Aruba is the official arrival of Sinterklaas, the Dutch version of Santa Claus and a big favorite with young children. He arrives by steamboat from “Spain” in the second half of November, the weekend before Thanksgiving, welcomed by crowds of families at the main harbor of Oranjestad. In the weeks leading up to Sinterklaas Eve on December 5, kids place their shoe by the door or chimney, hoping to find it filled the next morning with pepernoten, marzipan or small toys. Sinterklaas travels across the island on a white horse, dressed in a red velvet bishop’s robe with a golden staff and a long white beard. His helpers, the Pieten, wear colorful costumes and feathered hats and carry a big book listing who’s been naughty or nice. On December 5, gifts magically appear in a bag at each house, and only a happy few get to meet Sinterklaas in person. M

Sinterklaas has barely left the island when a huge tent goes up on Vondellaan, filled with hundreds of Christmas trees: Kerstboomlandia. With Aruba’s desert climate, over 90% of all Christmas trees are imported, which makes them quite costly. Thanks to the warm temperatures, the fresh trees give off an extra strong tree smell, so a visit to Kerstboomlandia is well worth it. Most locals keep a real tree for only two weeks, since the heat makes the needles drop sooner, while others opt for an artificial tree. At Boardwalk, we have a very special real tree with her own persona: Connie the Conifer lives in our gardens 11 months of the year and moves into the air-conditioned lobby every December.

In addition to Ham di Pasco, a Christmas ham decorated with pineapple slices and bright red cherries, many local dishes are served during the holidays, such as ayaca. This traditional holiday dish has its origins in Venezuela, and since the holidays are a time when families come together to cook, each family has its own take on the recipe. These pockets of cornmeal dough are filled with meat, spices, prunes, raisins, cashews and more, then folded in banana leaves and tied with cooking rope, so they look like little presents waiting to be unwrapped. A traditional holiday drink is ponche crema, a Caribbean version of eggnog, while cashupete, a rich cashew cream cake, is a favorite dessert. Local bakeries also offer festive breads such as pan dushi, small sweet rolls. Towards the end of December, oliebollen stands pop up everywhere. This typical Dutch treat of deep-fried dough balls dusted with powdered sugar is traditionally eaten on New Year’s Eve and in the days before. You can have them plain or filled with apple pieces or raisins.

Over the past years, Aruba has added countless roundabouts. Some find them confusing, while others love how smoothly traffic now flows. During the Holiday season, neighborhoods and companies adopt a roundabout and deck it out with lights and Christmas décor. Some teams do such an amazing job that a tour of the island after sunset is well worth it. Pass the main roundabouts on Sasaki and along the road from Tanki Flip (near the fire station) towards Tanki Leendert, Paradera and Santa Cruz. While you’re on the road, don’t miss the spectacular village of lights in Seroe Pretu, a neighborhood in San Nicolas in the south of the island. Here, the whole community builds a display of Christmas lights, often depicting an Aruban landmark. Entrance is free. Expect crowds and limited parking between 7 and 9 pm; it gets quieter after 9.

Not everyone is a fan, but the pagara, a long string of Chinese firecrackers, has special meaning for local businesses and the community. Rooted in Chinese customs to ward off evil spirits for the coming year, the lighting of the pagara draws entire companies and neighborhoods to the street to witness the explosion of noise and smoke. The biggest event takes place at Wind Creek at Renaissance Aruba, where the firecrackers cover almost the entire oceanfront boulevard and crowds of locals and visitors gather to celebrate the year end. The longest pagara, with millions of firecrackers going off for well over an hour, is lit right across the street from Boardwalk at the Aruba Marriott Resort. Between Christmas and New Year’s Day, don’t be surprised by a spontaneous firecracker going off in the middle of the street. Boardwalk used to light its own pagara, but we stopped a few years ago since it doesn’t fit our sustainable practices and care for the environment.

While the pagara offers much noise and smoke, Aruba’s fireworks at twelve midnight on New Year’s Eve are a true spectacle that will make Disneyland’s main street fireworks look bleak in comparison. Unlike in the US, in Aruba it is legal to set off your own firework and do so in public areas, on the street etc. Straight after midnight you will see the entire skies above Aruba light up with the most amazing fireworks. On the beach in front of the Aruba Marriott Resort & The Ritz-Carlton, across the street from Boardwalk Boutique Hotel, you will be able to witness the islands’ largest and longest lasting firework show with the most beautiful willows and strobes filling the skies above Palm Beach with sparkling stars and colors. Usually, these showy fireworks will go on for about 15 minutes and draw great crowds to the beach, especially in front of the Aruba Marriott hotel.

If by now you are still reading this blog, you’ve gotten to know almost everything under the sun when it comes to celebrating the Holidays in Aruba, yet one very important holiday tradition we still need to address: the music. While there are typical waltzes that serve as Aruban Christmas songs, gaita is most linked to Aruba’s holiday traditions. This type of Christmas music found its origin in Venezuela and was fully embraced on the island. These up-tempo musical arrangements are often performed in groups and can be enjoyed during live performances all over the island, and on the radio. Special mention in this regard for local radio program Na Drempel di Fin di Aña. This program already celebrated 30 editions and grew out as one of the typical Christmas traditions in Aruba. Na Drempel is hosted by radio personality Erin Croes and airs three times a week from 6-9 pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and starts mid-October as a countdown to Christmas. The show plays lots of traditional holiday songs performed by gaita groups and by local favorites like Grupo di Betico. The radio show airs on frequency 96.5 FM

During the days and hours leading up to New Year’s Day small groups of musical performers and singers go door to door, visiting companies as well as private groups of families and friends to deliver musical well wishes. Both lyrics and rhythm of the songs are repetitive, always including the expression ‘Ay nobe’, a derivation of Aña Nobo, or New Year in English. Traditional Aruban instruments like the raspa (a rasp) and the tambu (a traditional drum with a leather top, often made of goat skin) are used by the Dande performers, giving these musical well wishes a very authentic sound.