“Hula is the language of the heart, therefore, the heartbeat of the Hawai’ian people.”
– Kalakaua
Finding something to do for Christmas Eve in Honolulu isn’t hard, that’s why I love this place. It’s got fantastic beaches, great weather, happy people (because they’re on vacation) and chill atmosphere. But if you need it – there’s always something going on. A concert, a play, an impromptu standup, slowly eating an ice cream cone while Santa is dancing and singing at one of the local malls (and a high standard one at that).
Spending Christmas in Honolulu is obviously different from Norway, there’s no snow, but the decorations are a-plenty!
I knew from the get go I wanted to go to a luau for Christmas – dress up a bit, get some good food and watch someone who can move their hips more than 3 degrees (that’s about my limit) show me the traditional dances of Polynesian culture. I have seen hulas before, but I knew there were places in Honolulu/Oahu who put on really good shows. In the end I stayed true to my character and opted for the closest one that had good reviews.
The Hilton Hawai’ian Village holds a Christmas Luau on both the 24th and the 25th of December and I secured myself a ticket so I could go sit by one of the six looooong tables they put out on their lawns. There’s a buffet with food that was so yummy only shame prevented me from getting thirds. They grill various meats on the spot so it’s fresh as sin and the rest (vegetables, fruits, rice, pasta, everything) was equally fab. Some of the barbecue sauces were incredible.
It’s a good thing I have my summer tan neatly in place…
Anyway, I stayed true to my character here as well, because in the line going in to the venue I ended up chatting with the foursome in front of me. They were all originally from South-America, but Luis and Caro now live in Honolulu and their friends Rashid and Majo were visiting. I ended up sitting with them the entire night, they were so lovely. Caro and Majo gave me their flowers as a farewell gift when we parted too, I still have them (and their Instagram contact details) to this day… ❤
Caro, Luis, AK, Rashid and Majo
There’s not really a whole article to this post, we came, we saw, we ate way too much and had a blast and then there were fireworks and a nice walk back home. What I will say about the show though is that it was incredibly diverse and longer than I expected. The dancers where professionals, the costumes where so colorful and plenty it was dazzling and they gave us all sorts of dances. Swift hulas with massive drumbeats, a hazardous fire dance from the men, a slow love song by the host accompanied by a singe hula dancer in a long, red dress that was so lovely it mesmerized me (and I’m usually not one for being enthralled by stuff like that)… They even got a poor, poor member of the audience up there, put some apparel on him and tried to teach him to do the hula. He was such an incredible sport, he gave it his all with a huge grin and hips stiffer than mine and banked a huge applause for it.
The Hawaiian Village Luau comes at a steep price ($180 US) and if you “hate touristy stuff” stay away, but in the end I felt it was worth it for the experience. Especially for me, not minding touristy stuff, being on my own for Christmas far away from my loved ones and Christmas always being a special holiday for me ❤
Luau Menu 2019
bakoyma.com 