Papa Nwel and Papa Fwedad

December 2, 2015

A wish for you and yours, by Winston Cajuste

Since it is the beginning of December and many of us are caught up in holiday preparations, I thought I would look into some of the Christmas

Decorate our Hanging Spiral Christmas tree with tiny red bobbles for a bit of color and Suess-like whimsy.

traditions of Haiti to share with you here. Christmas is one of the major holidays of the Haitian calendar and many of their traditions are quite similar to ours in the States. There is a holiday tree to decorate, songs to sing, special foods to enjoy, and there is the embodiment of our

Santa Claus in Papa Nwel. However, Haiti being Haiti, there is a Rada to the Petro, a yin to the yang. In addition to the beloved Papa Nwel, there is a dreaded Papa Fwedad as well.

During my last trip to Haiti, i realized how prevalent the idea of balance is. Haiti is ” 90 percent Catholic and 100 percent Voodoo”, as they say in references too numerous to mention. Within Voodoo are two distinct spirit groups – Rada and Petro. Rada is benevolent and kind and the other, Petro, is fierce and dangerous. In Voodoo temples that I visited, I found images from both spirit groups represented in equal measure, together forming an idea of justice within. When the spirits are in harmony, there is balance in the world. In the sense of Voodoo, then, Papa Nwel would be associated with Rada family of gentle spirits, and Papa Fwedad would be the counterpoint, one of the fierce Petro spirits.

To be honest, Papa Fwedad was mentioned only a time or two in my research, but in both cases, it was in the same breath as Voodoo. ( See The Haiti Observer and Prezi.) Though I am no expert, I am not convinced that Papa Fwedad was born of Voodoo belief at all, though the association now is strong. I think he was appropriated from the tradition French tradition of Papa Fouettard, who accompanies Papa Noel on his visits to children during the Christmas holiday season. In both Haiti and France, the one bestows wonderful gifts to good children, while the other brings lumps of coal and punishments to those children who are naughty.

“They see you when you’re sleeping, they know when you’re awake.

They know if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake!”

Contributed by Linda for It’s Cactus

Sometimes We Just Need a Little Help – Part III

October 24, 2013

This triptych has sat on my buffet table for years, but it occurred to me that it makes a wonderful holiday hearth screen. Wow! I thought outside the box!

What would the holidays be without hauling out the holly and fluffing up the beard on the “soon to be an heirloom” Santa pillow and putting out a few (in my case dozen) poinsettias?  Christmas decorating fills my heart with joy, it’s true, but I do find that I put the Santa pillow HERE because it always goes HERE and the nativity set goes HERE and the Three Wise Men go HERE and so on.  In other words, without meaning to, and often without me even realizing it, I get in a rut, decoratively speaking.

So not that it would ever happen to you, but if in fact, you did fall into a similar creative void, here’s a look at some ideas that might infuse your thinking with new possibilities.  These holiday sculptures may already be part of your “stash.”  and if so, you might be inspired to use them in a different way.  And if you love what you see, but have not yet acquired, well, My Friend, we can help you with that!  Scroll on down, and see what moves you…

Though it has a hanger in the back to display on a wall, the Three Kings can also be propped up on an easel for a tabletop arrangement.

You can tie a bright, sparkling bow on and give this birdie a different tree to roost in.

A present on a present! But if you need to put it back with the tree of life after the holidays, be sure to trim the package of someone that lives at home!

So maybe you took this idea from a previous post. Well, if the tree of life comes down and the holiday sampler that your sister-in-law did goes up, here are a few ideas for the birds…

Julio Balan’s Angel Stake 3084LE can become a herald angel in a potted Christmas tree. Give her a little dash of color with a holiday hair ribbon.