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We have a fun Christmas Eve tradition at our house and it just happens to be a little bit Hawaiian.  Every year on Christmas Eve, our family gathers together.  We exchange gifts, have a silly Christmas progam, and eat a very un-traditional Christmas Dinner.  Every year we have Hawaiian Haystacks.  If you have never tried a Hawaiian Haystack, you MUST at least once.  They are delicious and simple.  You’ll be pleasantly surprised!  Our mother insists that we use all the ingredients (even if there is something we don’t like) especially the maraschino cherry on top!

HAWAIIAN HAYSTACKS

(In this order)

Chow Mein Noodles (hard crunchy kind that you buy in the bags…it’s the hay)

Rice (white or brown…whatever you like)

Chicken (you can use chunks or strips)

Cream of Chicken Soup ( pour over the noodles, rice, and chicken)

Shredded Cheddar Cheese (sprinkle over the top)

Celery (diced)

Tomatoes (diced)

Pineapple (cubes or crushed)

Peanuts

Coconut (shredded)

Maraschino Cherry (Top it Off)!

* Everyone makes their own.  Put out plates and all the ingredients.  We even have a few vegitarians.  They skip the chicken and use Cream of Mushroom Soup instead!

Enjoy!!

Aloha and Mahalo!

The Hula Girls….

To the left you will see Shaka (Santa) and Tutu (Mrs. Clause).  This jolly old couple loves to take a break every year from the cold climate of North Pole, they do that at the Honolulu City Lights.  It’s nice to see santa relaxing, isn’t it?  Santa shows up to Hawai’i in a bright red outrigger canoe, (a magic one of course) which carries him across the wide sea and right up onto the beach. Since Hawai’i only gets snow on top of the highest mountains (which are volcanoes!) on the Big Island and Maui, sleighs aren’t much use and the reindeer get to take a little rest while deliveries are being made in the Islands.

The Hawaiian words used as a Christmas greeting have changed sixteen times from 1876 to 1903.  “Merry Christmas” was first stated with the words, Ka Nupepe Ku’oko’a, the greeting today is Mele Kalikimaka.  Here are the lyrics to the song “Mele Kalikimaka”.

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say

On a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day

That’s the island greeting that we send to you

From the land where palm trees sway

Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright

The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night

Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii’s way

To say “Merry Christmas to you.”

Hawaii also has their own way of telling the traditional story Twas the Night Before Christmas, and have their own words to The 12 Days of Christmas.

You know your celebrating Christmas in Hawaii when………..

• The only snow you see is in a cone shaped cup covered in syrup.

• Santa arrives on the beach in a canoe.

• Silent night is played on the ukelele.

• It’s macadamia nut candy instead of fruitcake.

• You leave your slippers and sandals at the door, not your snow boots.

• Sushi and passion orange juice are left out for Santa.

For more ways to know you are celebrating Christmas in Hawaii go to , http://www.melekalikimaka.com/customs2.htm.

If you are visiting Hawaii during the Christmas Season, make sure that you don’t miss the Honolulu Lights. Events are held throughout the month of December.  You can find out about all of these events on the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau’s Calendar of events webpage, http://www.calendar.gohawaii.com.

For other interesting Christmas in hawaii facts, go to http://www.melekalikimaka.com

Mele Kalikimaka!

The Hula Girls…

I looked up the term in Roget’s Thesaurus and found the following:  Big enchilada, big gun, boss, chief, head honcho, influential person, leader, person in charge, top dog, VIP, big cheese.  These are the terms we associate with the Kahuna, but I still wanted to find the origin of the word/term Kahuna.  I did a little research and found an amazing article on a website called Aloha International.  The article is written by Serge Kahili King.  There is a small summary of the Kahuna below; written by Serge; to view the entire article go to http://www.huna.org/html/kahuna.html

Brief Historical Survey of Kahunas

• They were experts of old Hawaii, experts in religion, health, crafts, science, psychology, and magic

• “Kahuna” was a title, like M.D. or Ph.D., and additional descriptive words were used to designate the field of expertise.

• Just as the modern use of the word “doctor”by itself is generally taken to mean a medical doctor, so the use of “kahuna” by itself generally designated a priest or healer

• They underwent intensive and extensive training before being recognized as experts in their field, either by their teacher or by the community.

• Some Kahunas were experts in many fields.

• They were attuned to the spiritual side of their expertise as well as to the material side.

• They could be male or female.

• Under the Monarchy the term “Kahuna” began to be used for foreigners who were recognized experts in their fields, especially for ministers and health professionals.

So what have we learned??? Kahunas were well-respected, well-learned, men and women.  I was personally very surprised to find out that women were also Kahunas!!  We have to give “props” to the ancient Hawaiian culture for recognizing women as intelligent leaders!!  Pretty amazing for the 1800’s!

Aloha and Mahalo!

The Hula Girls….

The video clip below has nothing to do with Hawaii or Vacations, but it made us laugh so we just had to post it!  We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Aloha and Mahalo!

The Hula Girls..