Christmas in Hawaii is a major annual celebration, as in most of the Western world.
Christmas in Hawaii is a major annual celebration, as in most of the Western world.
This festival was introduced to Hawaii with the arrival of Protestant missionaries, and is believed to have started after 1820. [1] [2] Most of the traditions they currently celebrate come from the missionaries. [3] [4] Before the Hawaiians celebrated the Christmas people know today, they had a festival named Makahiki which lasted around four months and in which all wars were forbidden. The season still had the essence of "peace and goodwill to all men", which is another thing people tend to associate with Christmas. [1]
The first recorded Christmas in Hawaii was in 1786, when the captain of merchant ship the Queen Charlotte , George Dixon, was docked on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Dixon and his crew celebrated a large Christmas dinner that included a whole roast pig. [1]
King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma of Hawaii officially celebrated Christmas in 1856 as a day of Thanksgiving. On Christmas Eve of 1858 Mary Dominis threw a party at Washington Place featuring the first instance of a Christmas tree and Santa Claus in Hawaii. King Kamehameha IV declared it an official holiday in 1862. [5] [6]
The annual Honolulu City Lights ceremony features a 50-foot Norfolk pine Christmas tree decorated with bright lights and elaborate decorations. There is also live entertainment. [1]
The traditions on Christmas day are similar to other places; a large meal is eaten and then, as the beach is often nearby in Hawaii, surfing or swimming often takes place in the waters, [7] and musical groups with guitars and ukuleles and dancing hula entertain the crowds on the beach. Santa hats are worn and the traditional Santa's sleigh and reindeer are replaced by an outrigger canoe pulled by dolphins. [7] The different cultures and ethnic groups that have settled in the islands celebrate the Christmas traditions of Hawaii in their own unique ways, which may be religious or plainly secular. Even Santa Claus (Hawaiian: Kanakaloka) himself is not wearing his corporate red and white suit, but has swapped it for flowery Hawaiian clothes. [7]
Christmas wreaths are made from the poinsettia plant. [3]
The phrase "Mele Kalikimaka" can be translated from Hawaiian to mean "Merry Christmas". [8] It is also a Hawaiian themed Christmas song composed by Robert Alex Anderson in 1949. The phrase is borrowed directly from English, but, since Hawaiian has a different phonological system (in particular, Hawaiian does not possess the /r/ or /s/ of English, nor does it have the phonotactic constraints to allow consonants at the end of a syllable), "Merry Christmas" becomes "Mele Kalikimaka". [9]
There is also a more modern take on this song, called "Melekalikimaka" by rock band The Beach Boys from the compilation album Ultimate Christmas . [10]
Liliʻuokalani was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893. The composer of "Aloha ʻOe" and numerous other works, she wrote her autobiography Hawaiʻi's Story by Hawaiʻi's Queen during her imprisonment following the overthrow.
Kaʻahumanu was queen consort and acted as regent of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi as Kuhina Nui. She was the favorite wife of King Kamehameha I and also the most politically powerful, and continued to wield considerable power as co-ruler in the kingdom during reigns of his first two successors.
Kamehameha IV, reigned as the fourth monarch of Hawaii under the title Ke Aliʻi o ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻAina of the Kingdom of Hawaii from January 11, 1855, to November 30, 1863.
Henry or Henri Berger was a Prussian Kapellmeister, composer and royal bandmaster of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1872 to 1915.
The Kaʻahumanu Society is a civic club in Hawaii formed by Princess Victoria Kamāmalu in 1864 for the relief of the elderly and the ill. The club celebrates the life of Queen Kaʻahumanu and the preservation of Hawaiian culture.
Emma Kalanikaumakaʻamano Kaleleonālani Naʻea Rooke was queen of Hawaii as the wife of King Kamehameha IV from 1856 to his death in 1863. She was later a candidate for the throne but King Kalākaua was elected instead.
"Mele Kalikimaka" is a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song written in 1949 by R. Alex Anderson. The song takes its title from the Hawaiian phrase Mele Kalikimaka, meaning "Merry Christmas". One of the earliest recordings of this song was by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters in 1950 on Decca. It has been covered by many artists and used in several films.
Elizabeth Kekaʻaniau Laʻanui Pratt, full name Elizabeth Kekaʻaniauokalani Kalaninuiohilaukapu Kekaikuihala Laʻanui Pratt, was a Hawaiian high chiefess (aliʻi) and great-grandniece of Kamehameha I, being a great-granddaughter of Kalokuokamaile, the older brother of Kamehameha I, founder of the Kingdom of Hawaii. She was the daughter of Gideon Peleʻioholani Laʻanui and Theresa Owana Kaheiheimalie Rives.
Nancy Wahinekapu Sumner was a high chiefess during the Kingdom of Hawaii of Hawaiian, Tahitian and English descent. She served as lady-in-waiting of Queen Emma and was one of the most prominent ladies of the Hawaiian royal court during the reigns of Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V.
Eric Lee is a Hawaiian musician, singer, songwriter, and producer. His work has appeared on more than 30 albums, including his work with The Kanile'a Collection, Nā Kama, The Ka'ala Boys, The Mākaha Sons, and his solo albums, Crossroads, Kawehilani, and his Twentieth Anniversary Anthology.
The Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame is an organization dedicated to recognizing the cultural importance of the music of Hawaii and hula. Established in 1994, the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame promotes the appreciation and preservation of Hawaiian culture through educational programs and annual inductions honoring significant individuals, groups, institutions, chanters and songs.
Elizabeth Sumner Chapman Achuck Lapana Keawepoʻoole was a Hawaiian high chiefess during the Hawaiian Kingdom and lady-in-waiting of Princess Likelike. An accomplished Hawaiian composer, she composed the popular Hawaiian love song Sanoe with Queen Liliʻuokalani, which was about a love affair in the Hawaiian royal court in the 1870s.
Paul Nahaolelua was a Hawaiian high chief who served many political posts in the Kingdom of Hawaii, including Governor of Maui from 1852 to 1874. In his long political career, Nahaolelua served under the reigns of five monarchs: Kamehameha III, Kamehameha IV and Kamehameha V, Lunalilo and Kalākaua.
Charles Edward King was an educator, Hawaii territorial legislator, and a songwriter who is most widely known as the composer of "Ke Kali Nei Au". King was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 1995. Music historian George Kanahele regarded King as the "Dean of Hawaiian Music", although this sobriquet is more associated with John Kameaaloha Almeida.
Mary Lambert Jones Dominis was an American settler of Hawaii and the first mistress of Washington Place in Honolulu. Born into a large New England family, she married merchant sea Captain John Dominis, for whom Honolulu was a frequent port of trade. The couple relocated in 1837 to the Hawaiian Kingdom with their son John Owen Dominis. Their two daughters remained behind to complete their education.
Keanolani was a Hawaiian chiefess (aliʻi) of the Kingdom of Hawaii. She was the illegitimate daughter of Abigail Maheha and King Kamehameha V, who reigned from 1863 to 1872, and was born during a liaison between the two when they were students at the Chiefs' Children's School, a boarding school run by American missionaries for students of Hawaiian royal descent. Keanolani was raised by her father's half-sister Keʻelikōlani. Her illegitimate birth and unacknowledged parentage prevented her from succeeding to the Hawaiian throne when her father died without naming an heir, thus ending the reign of the House of Kamehameha. In 1873, she became a mistress of her uncle by marriage William Hoapili Kaʻauwai. In 1874, she became a supporter of the newly elected House of Kalākaua. She married and left descendants. Her name is also often spelled as Keano or Keanu. In one source, she is named as Keauoʻokalau.
Na Lani ʻEhā, translated as The Royal Four or The Heavenly Four, refers to the siblings King Kalākaua (1836–1891), Queen Liliʻuokalani (1838–1917), Princess Likelike (1851–1887) and Prince William Pitt Leleiohoku II (1854–1877). All four were composers, known for their patronage and enrichment of Hawaii's musical culture and history. All four of them organized glee clubs. William Pitt Leleiohoku II, the youngest brother who died at age 22, was a guitar master and leader of the Kawaihau Glee Club. Youngest sister Likelike was a musician and a co-founder of the Kaohuokalani Singing Club.
Victoria Keali‘ika‘apunihonua I‘i Rodrigues was a Hawaiian musician and entertainer. Born into a Native Hawaiian family with strong musical roots, Rodrigues preserved and shared traditional Hawaiian songs that might otherwise have been lost, including "Hawai‘i Aloha," "Kaulana Nā Pua," and "Paoakalani". She was honored by multiple organizations for her contributions to Hawaiian culture, including being inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 1995.
