The Christmas I Will Never Forget - No Christmas dinner for Yellowman

Yellowman's story of moving from rags to riches is not a secret anymore. Most persons are aware that he grew up at the Alpha Boys' Home in Kingston before launching a musical career in the early 1980s.

His career would allow him to become the first dancehall artiste to sign a contract with a major record company, as he inked a deal with Columbia Records in 1981.

Before his rise to popularity, life was difficult for Yellowman, like it would be for anyone else growing up in poverty and without parents.

However, like most Jamaicans, Christmas proved to be a special time of year for him, irrespective of economic or social conditions, except on two occasions.

"Well, a Christmas wah mi neva forget is one that me neva get no Christmas dinner," Yellowman, whose real name is Winston Foster, told THE STAR.

"Mi neva get no Christmas dinner, a just pure bulla. Not even Christmas cake. A pure bulla an' wata mi haffi eat an' drink. Dat stay inna mi mind, yuh nuh. An' it happen two time," he added.

Yellowman said he had to grin and bear the feeling of emptiness, as he watched other kids and adults enjoy what was prepared for them on Christmas Day.

But there have been happier Christmases, he pointed out.

"Mi also have some very good Christmas. One with me an' mi family, mi an' Rosie an' the children dem. Dat was a good Christmas," Yellowman reminisced.