A Panama 70-year Christmas Eve tradition lives on

By Dra Lourdes Quijada

SEVENTY year’s ago Panama City was blacked out, for Christmas, not by the failure of the power grid but by the entry of the USA into WW II after  Pearl Harbor.

Panama was another possible target of the Japanese navy  and the military commander had ordered a complete black out.

But in the midst of the darkness some tiny glimmers of light were brought to the city at the behest of two US servicemen, members of the congregation of Balboa Union Church.

They asked the pastor  if they could light some candles on Christmas Eve and place them  on the lawn in front of the church in honor of their families back home. Mrs Marie Van Clef was moved by the request and approached the commanding general who gave permission for candles to be lit  at the conclusion of the service.

A tradition was born, and every year everyone attending  the cross denominational service on Christmas Eve, is given a candle to be placed in prepared spots lining the path to the church which stands high  on  a hill overlooking what was an important part of the Canal Zone and was completed in the mid- 1920s.

It is a simple but moving memory of a time long gone when the beliefs of a few brought  a little light into a dark world. Many of those who participated in those early ceremonies went on to serve on the battlefields of the Pacific as America and its allies fought to recapture the islands and territories invaded by the Japanese forces, and many never returned from the long and bloody conflict.

This Saturday, December 24, the tradition will be continued.

The congregation and its choir will be supplemented  this year by a quartet that is fast making a name for itself, G. Harmony. They appeared recently at the Carols By Candlelight event in Casco Viejo.

Their newly released Christmas CD Nacio Varon will be available at the church,  for all who are looking for a last minute gift or stocking stuffer.or just to spoil yourself. It has given me many hours of pleasure listening to a new approach to old favorites like Holy Night and the Little Drummer Boy.