It seems to have fallen out of favor to celebrate Christmas on the hardest hike on the island, so we decided to do our interpretation of the island classic of the song written by Eaton “Bob” Magoon, Ed Kenney and Gordon Phelps in 1959.
Waiahole
Numbah one day of Christmas
My Unko gave to me
One Woodstock in one papaya tree
The papaya was introduced to Hawaii in the 1820s by the Spanish explorer turned horticulturist, Don Francisco de Paula Marin.
Punalu’u
Swing and smoke break. This was hard work.
Kaneohe
Numbah two day of Christmas
My Unko gave to me
Two coconuts
Early coconuts were brought to the islands by Polynesian voyagers arriving from Tahiti, they are not native to Hawaii. The only native palm trees are the Loulu, found mostly in the Ko’olau Mountain Range.
Hau’ula
Numbah three day of Christmas
My Unko gave to me
Three dried squid
This chewy snack was likely introduced by Korean immigrants in the early 1900s.
Aliamanu
Will the real Santa please shaka? Santa Claus first appeared in Hawaii in 1858 along with the first Christmas tree at Washington Place.
Aliamanu
Numbah four day of Christmas
My Unko gave to me
Four flower leis
The early Hawaiian settlers brought the craft and tradition of lei making to the islands with them. Today the lei comes in many forms besides flowers, shells, nuts, feathers, money, candy and polyester.
Aliamanu
Numbah five day of Christmas
My Unko gave to me
five stuffed pigs
The hogs were imported to the islands by the early Polynesians, most likely over 800 years ago. One manifestation of the pig is the Hawaiian god, Kamapua’a who could change his forms to suit his wishes.
Haleiwa
Numbah six day of Christmas
My Unko gave to me
six uncoordinated hula dancers
In the absence of a written language, hula developed to pass the cultural knowledge embodied in stories and dances from generation to generation. Protestant missionaries tried to ban hula as they considered them a form of paganism. Then it survived as a tourist attraction until The Merrie Monarch started in 1964, where it started to get back to its roots.
Haleiwa
Somebody got their birthday cupcake early. Early Christmas.
Kahuku
Numbah seven day of Christmas
My Unko gave to me
seven shrimps a swimming
into our mouths
Having our “not have to wait 90 minutes” shrimp lunch at the famous graffiti-covered white truck that supposedly started the garlic shrimp plate lunch back in 1993. The first signature on the truck was by a Ed Hernandez from El Paso, TX in 1994. In 2001, the truck was involved in an armed extortion attempt where the co-owner tried to force the other partner to sell and sign over his interest in the truck. It did not succeed and she was sent to jail.
Aliamanu
Numbah eight day of Christmas
My Unko gave to me
eight out of tune ukulele players
calling Jake Shimabukuro
The history of the ukulele originated in 1879 when three Portuguese immigrants, Manuel Nunes, Augusto Dias, and Jose do Espirito Santo brought with them a small guitar called the braguinha to the islands. The instrument was soon modified to suit local tastes.
Hau’ula
Numbah nine day of Christmas
My Unko gave to me
nine bags of sour poi
Made from the root of the taro plant that came from the Marquesas Islands and eventually became a sacred and staple dish for the Hawaiians. In 1911, the BOH temporarily banned poi as they believed it started a cholera outbreak.
Hau’ula
Numbah ten day of Christmas
My Unko gave to me
ten bottles of beer
The first recorded brewing of beer in Hawaii occurred in 1812 by Don Francisco de Paula Marin, the same individual that brought papaya to the islands among other things. The most famous beer to come out of Hawaii was Primo Lager in 1901, production was moved to the mainland in 1963 but the beer now produced by Pabst can still be found in stores.
Laie
Numbah eleven day of Christmas
My Unko gave to me
eleven missionaries
The first boatload of missionaries arrived in 1820 to spread Christianity and “civilize” the Hawaiian population. Hiram Bingham was the leader of the first wave of missionaries that would forever change the landscape of the islands, for good and bad. His grandson, Hiram Bigham III, became an explorer who “discovered” Machu Picchu and brought it to the attention of the known world at the time.
Aliamanu
Numbah twelve day of Christmas
My Unko gave to me
twelve televisions
on layaway
“Hello Everybody. Welcome to the first official broadcast of KGMB-TV.” Those words ushered in the age of the television to the islands on December 1, 1952. 5:04PM. Four minutes late. Hawaiian time.
Mahalos to Chico and Ferlino for dragging us around the island in their sleds. Easy and fun day.
Photos taken by Akira Suzuki, Chico Cantu, Ferlino Carinio, Jasmin Nepomuceno, Roseann Fai, Tessa Bugay, Val Wang and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.
Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.
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