Perfect Paradise: Culture: Festivals
Bahamians know how to celebrate better than just about everyone, and all festivals are highly participatory – there's no such thing as just being a "specator" in the Bahamas. Below, some of the most important festivals are described:
Junkanoo
This is the granddaddy of all Bahamian festivals, and arguably the greatest in all of the Caribbean.
Held on Boxing Day, starting only two hours after the Christmas midnight mass, as well as New
Year's Day, Junkanoo is like a Bahamian version of Carnival, complete with lavish floats,
decorations, masked entertainers, and hypnotic Junkanoo band beats that can be heard across the
islands. With roots as far back as Emancipation, Junkanoo simply continues to grow each year,
with the winning floats each year routinely costing their groups as much as $100,000 USD to
put together.
Visit: The Official Junkanoo Website
Independence Day
Celebrated every July 10th, Independence Day marks the anniversary of the Bahamas receiving its
full independence from the United Kingdom as it became its own country. As in other countries,
Independence Day in the Bahamas is marked with fireworks extravaganzas, public festivals, and
other offerings. The greatest celebrations are held, of course, in Nassau, the national capital
and largest city, on the island of New Providence. Right across the Paradise Island Bridge from
Nassau is the Atlantis resort, which has its own fireworks festivals to celebrate both the
Bahamian and American Independence Days, since they both occur within one week from each other
(the American Independence Day is July 4).
Visit: Official Website of the Bahamas
Emancipation Day / Fox Hill Day
Two festivals in August help to commemorate the end of one of the worst institutions in the
history of the British Empire. On the first Monday in August, Bahamians celebrate the
emancipation of slavery through a series of neighborhood festivals across the islands. Then,
on the second Tuesday of August, Fox Hill Day commemorates the anniversary of the abolition
with a major festival in the Fox Hill neighborhood of New Providence, outside of Nassau. As
the second-largest festival in the Bahamas, Fox Hill Day has many of the same elements of its
larger peer, with Junkanoo dancers and bands on hand every year to provide some of the
entertainment. These two festivals combine to serve as times of remembrance for the slaves of
the past, as well as celebration of life as free people in a vibrant land.