(and Junkanoo Parade Day!)
I
had already graduated from high school by the time the Bahamas
finally won their independence from the United Kingdom (Britain),
after being a colony for more than 250 years!
The
Bahamas is an island nation that lies off the coasts of Florida and
Cuba, between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Three are
more than 3,000 islands, cays, and islets making up the Bahamas, but
all of those islands add up to an area smaller than the very small
U.S. state of Connecticut. (By the way, some of these islets are
privately owned. A cruise ship line owns one, and the only people who
live there are the people that provide food and entertainment for the
cruise ship customers. There are probably lots of other examples of
this, too...Wouldn't you love to own an island in the Bahamas?)
The
Junkanoo parade is an old tradition dating back to the 16th
Century (the 1500s). Back then, slaves in the Bahamas were given a
special holiday around Christmas time, and they were (finally!) able
to leave the plantations and spend time with their families. During
this time, the slaves celebrated with African dance, music, and
costumes. After the slaves were freed, the Junkanoo festival and
parade continued on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) and New
Year's Day. These days, Junkanoo parades are also held during summer
holidays, and they have become much more organized and sophisticated.
Rather than wearing costumes made from plants and old newspapers,
people in modern Junkanoo parades often wear intricate costumes such
as these.
Check
out the interactive map of the Bahamas here.
Check
out this video of a Junkanoo Parade. It seems to be celebrating the
U.S.'s Independence Day, rather than the Bahamas'...and a drum maker
talks about Junkanoo drums.
Also
on this date:
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