Mele Kalikimaka

Let’s talk about Hawaii and Christmas.

You know that song, right? It’s one of my favorites. It’s such a different kind of Christmas song. It’s a nice blend of seasonal music themes and Polynesian instruments. The most well-known usage of it probably comes from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation when Chevy Chase is imagining what his life will be like when he gets that big ol’ Christmas bonus and installs a pool in his yard.

Man, movies from the ’80s were super pervy huh?

“Mele Kalikimaka” is one of many “Hawaiian” themed songs from the ‘50s and ‘60s. Why the sudden interest in this Pacific island? Because on August 21, 1959, Hawaii became our 50th state. With it brought an explosion of Tiki Bars, palm decorations, leis, and a crapload of movies. Elvis filmed three movies in Hawaii and was said to have loved his time there. Throughout the ‘60s, Americans couldn’t get enough of this tropical oasis. It was paradise on Earth. And most of it was a lie. You should know by now that since I’m writing this that there was going to be a bit of a dark turn somewhere in this. And here we are.

This isn’t a post about how the US stole Hawaii though. This is about Christmas songs! The history of Hawaii is interesting and heartbreaking. We don’t really teach it much in school. I highly recommend watching a few videos or reading up on Hawaii because it is really something. But I do think it is important to understand some of the context of where these Christmas songs came from and how they perpetuated a fantastical version of Hawaii that simply wasn’t real.

For starters, the phrase “Mele Kalikimaka” is completely made up. It’s a close approximation of what “Merry Christmas” might sound like in native Hawaiian. But the natives didn’t speak English (they had their own language and belief system after all) and they definitely weren’t Christians. Their language doesn’t even have /s/ or /r/ sounds, two pretty important letters in Merry Christmas. The song was written by R. Alexander Anderson, a white American who lived in Hawaii and composed many songs that were hybrids of traditional Hawaiian and contemporary music. “Mele Kalikimaka” is probably his most famous. It’s likely that the song was partially inspired by another Pacific Island-themed song, “Christmas Island” which came out about a decade beforehand.

Now, Christmas Island is a real place. A couple of real places actually. This is probably referring to Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, an Australian territory. Or it could be an imaginary place that is an amalgamation of many different “Polynesian” themes. I’m not sure why Santa would need to use a canoe when he has a magical flying sleigh but whatever. Sticking with the generic “Islander” theme I guess.

Luckily, it wasn’t just white people who were making Hawaii-themed Christmas music. Many native-born Hawaiians saw an opportunity and took advantage of it. Here is a song by Carl Ascercion, an ethnically Filipino Hawaiian who made several Christmas songs with a tropical bend.

There’s a little bit of discomfort for me in talking about Hawaii and Christmas. It was the descendants of Christian missionaries that brought upon the fall of this nation. And the idea of white people going somewhere and trying to convert people away from their native belief systems seems bad too. But since I am trying to balance this shameful history with light Xmas music, let’s just dive into another song.

In spite of the history, Hawaii has fully embraced celebrating Christmas every December. And honestly, it looks pretty great. In one area, they convert Santa’s sleigh and his reindeer to an outrigger canoe being pulled by dolphins. There’s generally a nice balance between the traditional, native culture and the newer Americanized version of Christianity that we’re used to seeing this time of year.

Part of being an American in 2021 is understanding where we came from and how we ended up with the society we have. This pertains to everything: from the systemic racism of slavery and Jim Crow to how the United States acquired so much land. I think it’s OK to enjoy music like this without feeling overly guilty about the actions of our ancestors. We can acknowledge our bloody and gross past without cheapening what these traditions mean to us and our Hawaiian brothers and sisters.

Some people find “Mele Kalikimaka” to be offensive and a perversion of a culture that our government actively tried to extinguish. I can see their point. It is a little weird. And I have to admit that once I learned the true history of how Hawaii became a state, it has changed the way I feel about the song. And that’s OK! It’s alright to re-evaluate aspects of our culture and judge them based on historical and modern perspectives. It’s healthy for a society to look upon itself with a critical eye. No one is being “canceled”, only educated. If we chase out ignorance we can only become a greater society for all.

So this holiday season whenever you hear “Mele Kalikimaka” on the radio and start humming along, pause for a second or two and reflect on the history of the once-great Nation of Hawaii.