‘Me nah figet dem Christmas deh!’ - Burgerman recounts eventful holidays as a teen
Popular media personality Wesley 'Burgerman' Burger says his Christmas experiences as a teenager will forever occupy a special place in his heart. Burgerman remembers childhood Christmas holidays as eventful - from cleaning all night long, to anticipating "old bruck" from relatives overseas.
"Growing up in Mountain View, yuh know seh the most important thing is fi get a likkle something new! Dem time deh when we a grow enuh, a old bruck a run. And when yuh get old bruck, is like a something new dat! Me neva really like the old bruck dem from England... dem neva really have nuh style. Me did like the second-hand ting dem weh come from America."
The radio host says everything would come from overseas in one package - most times making a mess, but they were still grateful.
"Tru dem send all liquid soap now, it go leak inna the rice. And when yuh all a eat the rice, yuh mouth a bubble up same time, and yuh affi eat it because a Christmas," he said laughing.
"When yah eat all yuh Christmas dinner, the rice smell up... it smell a liquid soap and perfume. But yuh afi just bless it and eat it. Me nah figet dem Christmas deh!" he added.
Getting new clothes for the holidays was bliss. Even better, from overseas. But this was never always a bed of roses.
"Dem ask yuh before what kinda shoes yuh want and yuh affi draw yuh foot pon piece a newspaper and send up yuh foot go a foreign. When the shoes come now, it tight! When we go church and a worship inna the new shoes, di shoes a bun yuh and yuh caa tek it off! If yuh tek it off, yuh foot done swell up already and it caa go back in!"
"Sometimes yuh deh deh fi all half an hour a force yuh foot ina the shoes, because yuh afi wear something new. Yuh afii a ring yuh foot. When di people dem pass and seh 'Praise the Lord', yuh caa answer cause the shoes tight and yuh ina pain! Me caa figet dem likkle ting deh as a yute. Sometimes the shoes come big and yuh afi stuff two socks in deh or newspaper," he recalled, while laughing.
Burgerman told THE STAR that his mother would ensure that everything was "spick and span." Sometimes they would find themselves cleaning pass midnight on Christmas Eve.
"Like all Christmas, even now we afi stay up and do we cleaning. Yah fi wash the flowers dem, we afi mek sure seh we clean from corner to corner... tek out the cushion dem, empty the sponge outa the cushion dem and wash the cushion dem. We affi all go outside and whitewash the tree stump and dem likkle ting deh. Sometime we up till hours and all clean go right inna Christmas morning."