Christmas Travel
During the holiday season, many families hit the road to visit loved ones—an annual tradition often called returning to this place where your roots began.
What is “back home” or “the hometown”?
A must-have on many Christmas tables, this baked pasta dish is famous for its crispy top and cheesy layers—often judged by who made it.
What is baked macaroni and cheese?
This 2007 movie starring Idris Elba and Regina King follows the Whitfield family as they reunite for Christmas.
What is This Christmas?
This legendary soul singer’s version of “This Christmas” is one of the most beloved Black Christmas songs of all time.
Who is Donny Hathaway?
Many families start Christmas morning at this type of service, filled with gospel music, prayer, and celebration.
What is Christmas church service or morning worship?
Before interstate highways were fully built, Black travelers relied on this famous guidebook—published from 1936 to 1966—to safely plan Christmas road trips.
What is The Negro Motorist Green Book?
Made with dried fruits soaked in rum or brandy for months, this Caribbean Christmas cake is popular in many Black American households with island roots.
What is Black Cake or Rum Cake?
In this 2016 film, a widowed father played by Danny Glover tries to keep his family together for one last holiday in the family home.
What is Almost Christmas?
Known as the First Lady of Gospel, she made “Jesus, Oh What a Wonderful Child” a Christmas church staple.
Who is Mahalia Jackson?
It’s a common family tradition to open gifts after everyone arrives, eats, laughs, and catches up—sometimes jokingly called this.
What is “Black people time” gift opening?
For many African American travelers, this Caribbean country—known for its beaches, culture, and large diaspora community—is a top Christmas getaway destination.
What is Jamaica?
Whether homemade or store-bought, this creamy holiday drink has a strong following in the Black community—sometimes upgraded with a splash of rum.
What is eggnog?
This legendary singer starred as Grace in the 2000 musical Christmas film The Kid Who Loved Christmas and was known as the Queen of Soul.
Who is Aretha Franklin?
This girl group gave us the 1995 Christmas album “8 Days of Christmas,” featuring hits that blended R&B, harmonies, and holiday cheer.
Who is Destiny’s Child?
This dish—often eaten on New Year’s but served at Christmas too—is believed to bring prosperity and traces back to African culinary traditions.
What are black-eyed peas or Hoppin’ John?
A recent MMGY study found that Black travelers in the U.S. spend over this amount annually—meaning Christmas is part of a travel market worth billions.
What is $100+ billion?
This dish, traced back to West African culinary traditions, is a Christmas favorite for many families and features black-eyed peas, rice, and spices.
What is Hoppin’ John?
This 1999 holiday movie, featuring Vanessa Williams and the Boyz II Men song “Let It Snow,” was one of the earliest major Christmas films with a predominantly Black cast on network TV.
What is A Diva’s Christmas Carol?
This Motown group released the soulful holiday classic “Give Love on Christmas Day,” later covered by many R&B artists.
Who are The Jackson 5?
In some Black churches, this historic December tradition—originating in the African American Methodist and Baptist communities—combines music, Scripture, and storytelling, and is often held the Sunday before Christmas. Its name means “to watch” or “to stay awake.”
What is Watch Night Service?