Queenie says past Christmases have made her resilient

Like many Jamaicans, the holiday season holds a special enchantment for dancehall artiste Queenie.

Dressed in a festive Mrs Claus outfit, the lively Queenie recently shared her fondest childhood holiday memories growing up in St Thomas, acknowledging the bittersweet nature that shaped her into the resilient woman she is today.

"Mi never get a present yet when mi a grow. Mi used to root up grass and plait it and make dolly hair," Queenie told THE WEEKEND STAR.

The bubbly personality said that not only did she not get many presents as a child, but her approach to the holidays was unconventional at best. She recalled leaving her house without permission to splash in the river with her friends.

"As a little girl, I was stubborn and energetic, so I often approached Christmas chores in unconventional ways. I frequented a place now known as Reggae Falls, enduring many beatings. Mi go river suh mi use to get nuff beaten," she shared. Queenie then chuckled as she remembered one Christmas Eve when her father instructed her to climb a coconut tree, but her reluctance due to budding adolescence led to a stern response.

"One Christmas Eve mi father tell mi to climb a coconut tree but because mi start grow breast, mi say mi nah dweet. Mi was about 11 or 12 and papa grab two stone and say go up inna it 'b********t," she added.

She doubled over in laughter once more as she admitted that she sometimes snuck a few items out of the food barrel. This resulted in a few relatives performing the 'Bible and Key' ritual to find out who the thief was.

"Mi member one Christmas mi stepmother say mi greedy, suh she give me a container of turn cornmeal and tell mi if mi eat it off, she a go beat mi and if mi nuh eat it off mi get beaten same way. Mi eat it off but mi belly swell di whole day," she said before bursting out in a fit of laughter.

Reflecting on holiday gatherings with her maternal relatives, Queenie painted a picture of merrier times filled with delectable meals.

"There are times when mi use to spend Christmas with my mom side of people and that used to be a feast. Whole heap a meat cook suh mi would get away with murder. Suh a two type a Christmas mi would experience. Mi would experience the bad bad poor type and the not so bad type," Queenie said. Despite the bittersweet memories, she said that they have moulded her into the strong-willed woman that she is today.

"All of this make nutten nuh faze mi. Mi can master life and that is why mi suh hyperactive because mi father grow we rough. Now mi big, and mi remember when mi young mi use to say mi a go have nuff kids and cook nuff food for them," she said.

"One of mi favourite Christmas as an adult is when mi cook 13 meats. Mi always tell myself say mi a go have feast fi mi youth dem. I am stronger today," she said.