Christmas in Marshall Islands: The Christmas Season

People begin to think about Christmas shortly after Easter, and start to set aside food and other resources during the summer. What’s more, composers and choreographers begin dreaming up new Christmas ditties and dances during the summer months, basing them on bits and pieces of the tunes and dance movements used in past holiday performances, Western church hymns, and Pacific Islands songs and dances. The real work begins in the fall, however. Indeed, Kurijmoj, the word for Christmas, is used to refer not only to December 25, but also to the several months that precede it, when preparation for Christmas becomes a part of one’s daily occupation.