CHRISTMAS DAY IN HALEAKALA

ON CHRISTMAS DAY, DECEMBER 25, my alarm would be set at 2 0’clock in the morning. I would pack any left over food from the night before. I would fill a large thermos with hot cocoa with marshmallow for the kids and hot coffee for the adults. In the back of the truck would be the food, coolers and grill to heat up the food later. We would bring pillows and blankets in the car. The men would drive while the wives and children would sleep a couple more hours. We would dress very warmly. During the drive we would listen to Christmas songs and if I’m not sleeping, we would talk stories. Sometimes it would snow up at the Haleakala Crater and so the road would be closed. The cars in Hawaii are just not fit for driving in the snow. During times like this no one would be able to go all the way to the summit because of the snow.

If the weather cooperates, we would be able to drive all the way to the summit of Haleakala. We try to be there before the sun rises. We would wait in the car where there is warmth and the coffee and cocoa. Before getting out of the car, we would bundle up, open the doors and run to the guest center where everyone is waiting for the sunrise. It would be completely dark and cold. You can hear everyone wishing each other merry Christmas. You would see many flashlights.

Just before the sunrises, everyone would bring out all their cameras and get ready to be mesmerized by the beauty of the sun illuminating the crater. The clouds would look like snow. This is the highest point of the island of Maui. From there you are able to see the entire island and on a clear day you would be able to see the Big Island (Hawaii Island). People would often gather, face the sun and offer a prayer, or just savor the moment and the warm rays of the sun, being careful not to stare at the sun for too long. This entire show would take about 15 minutes. Once the sun is out, the entire crater would be visible – on a clear day. One can even hike down into the crater. It would take 2 hours to go down and 2 hours to get back up. If the day is cloudy, there is nothing to see but the clouds looking like snow.

If we can’t go to the summit, we would go to the park right below the summit. On the way to the park are the silversword plants. These plants only grow in Haleakala. It’s a beautiful plant and it’s colored silver. It only blooms once then it dies. This is where we would have our brunch in the cold, cold park. The men would reheat the food and the women and children would take a very short hike, 20 minutes. It’s beautiful there with the huge eucalyptus trees, native plants and flowers and very peaceful. The fresh air is just awesome with the eucalyptus scent! We would pick up pine cones for our dogs, Neo and Trinity, two beautiful one year old golden retrievers. For some reason they seem to enjoy biting the pine cones and taking it apart piece by piece. I don’t know why. We would spend half of the day at this park. It’s called Hosmer Cove. Right after brunch we would drive back home and finally open presents.

We have been doing this for years and it has become a family tradition.

--marcie tesoro