Happy Holidays!

You may find my holiday page just a bit different from most. No snow for us unless we travel to the Big Island and go to Mauna Kea...think I'll pass on that! Santa arrives in a canoe...and barefoot!



Even Mrs. Claus wants to vacation in Hawai'i!

Write an email to Santa while he's relaxing in Hawai'i,

This site also has a number of kid friendly activities!

Wow! Vixen has agreed to spend a bit of time in Hawaii before the great ride! Click on her picture to adopt a reindeer for your holiday site!


I can't believe I was able to find this! Bing Crosby even got into the Hawaiian Christmas spirit!
You will need the RealPlayer (a free download) to hear this great old rendition of MELE KALIKIMAKA




Christmas Luau
by Leonard "Red" Hawk & Ruth Hawk

'Twas the night before Christmas and all throught the hale
Was singing and dancing and hoomalimali
Papa in his malo and me in my mu`umu`u
Greeting aikane, pehea, mahalo.
Sister gathered flowers for a lei,
Brother watched the imu all of the day.
Soon the music boys began to play,
Mele old and new of Hawaii Nei.

Tables were loaded with plenty of kauakau
Opihi and salmon and steaming hot laulau.
We ate and talked stories until we were pau,
It was really maikai at our Christmas Luau.
Really maikai at our Christmas Luau.
Christmas Luau.



'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS, NOT EVEN A TREE.

NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT CAME THROUGH MY MIND.

FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER, ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.

THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE, THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE FLOOR FOR A BED?

I REALIZED THE FAMILIES THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD, THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.

THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS, LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.

THE VERY THOUGHT BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES AND STARTED TO CRY.

THE SOLDIER AWAKENED AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY, THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;

I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD, MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT, I CONTINUED TO WEEP.

I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS, SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR SO WILLING TO FIGHT.

THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER, WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."

This poem was written by a Marine stationed in Okinawa Japan.
The following is his request. I think it is reasonable.....

PLEASE. Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S. service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us. Please, do your small part to plant this small seed.

Courtesy: Frank Detkowski





The Legend of the Christmas Spider

Once upon a time in Germany long ago, a gentle mother was busily cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year - the day on which the Christ child was to come and bring the gifts on Christmas Eve. Not a speck of dust was left. Even the spiders had been banished from their cozy corner in the ceiling. To avoid the housewife's busy cleaning, they finally fled to the farthest corner of the forgotten attic.

Twas Christmas Eve at last; the tree was decorated, and the children delighted. But the poor spiders were frantic, for they could not see the tree, nor be present for the Christ Child's visit. But the oldest and wisest spider suggested that perhaps they could peep through the crak in the door and see Him. Silently they crept out of their attic, and across the floor to wait in the crack on the threshold.

Suddenly, the door opened a wee bit, and quickly the spiders sneaked into the room. The tree towered so high they couldn't see the ornaments on top. In fact, their eyes were so small they could see only one ornament at a time. They scurried up the trunk, out along each branch, filled with a happy wonder at the glittering beauty. Every place they went they left a trail of dusty, grey web. When at last they had inspected every fit of the Christmas tree, it was shrouded in a dusty grey o spider webs.

The Christ Child smiled as he thought of the happy spiders seeing His tree. But as he thought of how brokenhearted the mother would be over the dusty tree, He reached out His hand and touched the webs and blessed them. They all turned to shimmering, sparkling silver and gold. The tree glistened in greater beauty than ever before.

And so it became a custom to have a spider among other decorations on the Christmas tree.

(I shudder at "creepie-crawlies" but have always loved this legend!)

If you happen to be in Hawai'i during December make sure you don't sit still too long! If it doesn't move we put lights on it! Downtown Honolulu becomes our own wonderland of lights. The celebration has grown over the years and is very impressive. The trees are wrapped in lights and the business buildings have gotten very creative with the decorations too. Honolulu Hale (Hale is Hawaiian for house), our City Hall, has a festival of trees. All the different departments decorate trees according to a new theme each year and they do some marvelous work! Visit this site to see some pictures.

If you live where it gets cold during the winter you may want to bookmark this site. They have some beautiful screensavers of Hawai'i that might make you feel a little warmer when you're up to your... okole in snow!

The 12 Days of Christmas has been adapted for Hawaii, it's done in "pidgen"!

For a slightly different look at the holiday visit:








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Updated 11/24/99

Please come back soon and visit me.

Don't forget to sign the guestbook before you leave!

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Email graphic found at:


The Christmas spider graphic was found at:


Animated palm tree just dripping with ornaments from:


The snowball fight was found at:
http://www.oocities.org/Heartland/Lane/9068/christmas.html

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