Jawaahier Petersen, Who Plays Suidooster, Talks About Her Happy Christmas Day Experiences.
In Cape Town, where many different cultures come together, it is normal for people to follow one religion while having close family members who follow a different one.
It’s not a surprise that Cape Town is known as the “city of many cultures.”
Jawaahier Petersen, who plays Suidooster, has happy memories of spending Christmas Day with her maternal grandmother, uncles, and aunts which she finds very special.
Because Jawaahier’s mom, Madeegha Anders, was born a Christian, she and her brothers would spend Christmas Day with her mom’s family every year.
“Our family is very lucky because my dad’s side of the family is very Muslim. We were born and raised Muslims, but my grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins introduced us to Christianity,” Petersen said.
“The sister of my mom sang in church, and my uncle has his own church.” As a child, Mamma enjoyed Christmas in Mitchell’s Plain.
The child said, “Because my grandparents were divorced, we would also go to my grandfather’s house. There would be a small gift under the Christmas tree with our names on it.”
“One aunt let us open some gifts on Christmas Eve, and we can’t wait to open the rest when my family gets home from church the next morning,” Petersen said.
“Even though my grandparents are no longer alive, we still visit my aunt and uncle on Christmas Day.” He said, “There will be a feast with all halaal food.”
Because Petersen comes from a musical family, he talked about how they used to sing Christmas songs together.
“We knew the hymns, so we would sing along. Christmas is always a nice time of year.”
The older Petersen children now know that their grandmother was really Santa Claus and that Father Christmas doesn’t exist.
“My mom would still put up the Christmas tree for my kids,” he said with a laugh.
Petersen says that this tradition won’t go away quickly, but she has always said that she won’t let it confuse her children.
“My aunt now has the tree at her house, and my kids and I go there so I don’t have to worry about them,” Petersen said.
Kaashifa Samsodien, played by Petersen in “Suidooster,” is the head cook and owner of her own restaurant. That’s right, she loves cooking too, and her best thing to make is a hearty pasta dish.
“All shapes and sizes of pasta are a big hit with my family.” There are always extras of pasta, and my kids love fruit. What’s not to like about summer fruits?
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What are your favourite holiday and summer memories from when you were a kid?
“Our family had a pool, so my cousins from both sides would always come over. We would braai and swim until we were out of breath.” You’d wake up and be in the pool in no time.
For our pleasure, my dad would buy boxes of “suckers” and “bompies,” which would then be put in the freezer.
I remember that when my dad cut a watermelon, he always left me some of the “crown pieces” in the middle.
Petersen smiles as she thinks about the road trip her late father, Taliep Petersen, took them on in November 2006.
They split up, so we spent one week with my mom and another week with my dad.
“We sang together all the time at my mom’s house, but we were getting tired of singing at my dad’s house.”
“I want you to understand that my dad would sometimes get too technical with us when we sang. He worked with music all the time.”
“He took us on a road trip to PE in November 2006. We got tired of listening to the same CDs over and over, and the radio signal got lost in the little dorpies.”
While my dad was using the prayer beads to say a prayer, my brother Ashur grabbed my dad’s guitar from the back of the car and began playing Michael Bublé’s “Home.”
“We jumped right in with our harmony singing, and we were all happy that we got it right. I remember sitting behind my dad and looking at him in the rearview mirror. I saw a tear running from one of his eyes.”
The man looked at us and said, “Until now, I never thought the world was ready to hear my kids sing.”
The singing kept going until the Petersen family got where they were going, and it will always be a special moment for them.
“My dad joined in the singing, and that was the first time I knew my dad knew
his kids were talented,” Petersen said.
Since Petersen isn’t working at the “Suidooster” studios anymore and doesn’t have to learn lines right now, she loves watching all the Christmas movies that are out there.
“I love Christmas movies so much that my Netflix list is ready and waiting for me.” He added, “What’s not to love? And we have to watch ‘Home Alone’ with the kids.”
“The school is closed, so I spend a lot of time with my family.” Now that my kids are older, they understand why I need to stop and take a picture with a fan. “This is the time when I can talk to people and have fun,” Petersen says.
Does Petersen always watch Kaashifa?
“There was a time when I watched it often to improve my performance and see what I could have done differently.”
The cultural advisor for “Suidooster,” Petersen, said, “But then I get busy with a crazy storyline or I’m busy with another project. But I try to watch some of the episodes every month.”
This means that the show’s writers are talking to Petersen to help them figure out how to write a story that fits with Cape Malay culture.
But it’s more than that, and she would have to give advice on how to set up the Islamic props.
“Islam is Islam, but different people follow it in different ways.” “We have our own traditions here in Cape Town, but Muslims have their own in Durban or Saudi Arabia,” Petersen said.
Petersen said, “We work hard at ‘Suidooster’ to get it right, to make it as real and true as possible.”
Her fans are told by Petersen to spread love and stay safe.
“Family is important to me; I love my family. On December 16, we remembered my dad’s death, which is a good reminder that family is family at the end of the day.”
“The people who make us feel whole can be our family, they don’t have to have the same DNA.”
Petersen said, “It’s a time to be with your family, and the relationships we have with other people are more important than the things we have around the holidays.”
Petersen told them, “Take some time to appreciate your loved ones that’s what matters to me. And most of all, stay safe out there.”
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