Showing posts with label Bahamas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bahamas. Show all posts

December 26 - Boxing Day in Great Britain and many other nations

Posted on December 26, 2020
This is an update of my December 26, 2009, post:



Especially common in countries that were once part of the British Empire, this bank and public holiday originally came from the tradition of giving Christmas boxes to people of "lower class." For example, merchants would give gifts to tradespeople; alms boxes in churches would be opened, and the contents would be distributed to the poor; and masters would give servants the day off and a Christmas box (gift).

Nowadays, many people use the day to make yearly donations to charities, but the day has also become associated, for many people, with shopping and sales.

Boxing Day in the U.K. will NOT look like this, not this year!
Global pandemic makes this sort of mob scene dang

Various countries have taken Boxing Day and given it their own twist - although the celebrations will be impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, this year: 

Annual Sports Day – Falkland Islands
The sports played on this day include horse racing, bull riding, and sheepdog trials.

Day of Goodwill – South Africa
In 1980 Boxing Day was changed to Day of Goodwill so that South Africans could continue the “spirit of Christmas” to everyone in the country.


Family Day – Namibia, Zimbabwe, and other African nations
On this day, families play games together, feast, and remember their ancestors.


Junkanoo – British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas
This is a street parade with music. It is named after an African slave master and trader named “John Canoe,” and the festival celebrated the slaves' freedom.




Contribute!

You could continue the tradition of giving to the less fortunate by gathering boxes of canned goods for a soup kitchen, used clothes and blankets for a homeless shelter, and new cleaning supplies for a family aid organization—just to give a few examples. 

Or how about honoring people who have served the community? Make up boxes (care packages) for our overseas troops, and make boxes of homemade goodies for fire fighters.


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

January 10 - Majority Rule Day in the Bahamas

Posted on January 10, 2020

Today's holiday commemorates the Bahamas gaining majority rule for the first time on this date in 1967. Majority Rule Day symbolizes fairness and equality for all Bahamians.

I am used to living in a country where the majority rules, and let me tell you - it DOESN'T always mean fairness and equality. Unfortunately, the majority is often quite unfair in its laws, in its enforcement of laws, and in its justice system - unfair to minorities, whether they are racial or ethnic minorities, religious minorities, or minorities in the area of sexual orientation and gender identification. 

The truth is, people's rights cannot be up for a vote. For example, we should never decide whether people can or cannot practice Hinduism by popular vote. We can't shrug and say, "Sorry, Hindus, majority rules; that's just democracy!" Instead, human rights must be enshrined in first principles, in constitutions, in the fundamental basis and structure of a nation's laws. 

So...if "majority rule" isn't necessarily a recipe for democracy and fairness, why is Majority Rule Day billed that way in the Bahamas?

Ah....you have to look at the history of the Bahamas!

First inhabited by Arawakan-speaking Taino peoples, the Spaniards led by Christopher Columbus found no value in the forested islands of the Bahamas, and they forced the Taino people onto ships, taking them to other islands to be used as slave labor. The Bahamas were literally uninhabited for a number of years, although a variety of European groups tried to settle the islands. 

Eventually, the Bahamas became a sort of pirate republic. (The "pirates of the Caribbean" were not just a Disney ride and movie!) When the British got serious about squelching piracy, British weapons, ships, and people came to the islands and controlled the islands for the next couple of centuries!

The thick forests were cleared for British-owned sugar plantations, and as you can guess, many African people were enslaved and brought to the Bahamas to work the plantations. As a matter of fact, the vast majority of people living in the Bahamas from the early 1700s on have been Afro-Bahamians. These days, Afro-Bahamians make up around 90 percent of all Bahamians.

In other words, black people were and are the majority. Decidedly!

But because of the history of the Bahamas, with the black people being enslaved, with the land being owned by white people, with the government and other positions of wealth and power being controlled by white people, the minority ruled over the majority.

After World War II, Bahamians were seeking self-rule and more autonomy from Britain. At the time, the two most powerful political parties were split along racial lines, but the playing field was still tilted toward white people. It wasn't long after the new constitution went into effect, in 1964, that the Afro-Bahamian majority of the population finally gained a majority of the seats in the Bahamian parliament and the Bahamas finally had a black Premiere (the position was soon renamed Prime Minister). And less than a decade after that milestone, the Bahamas finally became fully independent of Britain!



With that history, with the vast majority of a country being controlled by undemocratic shenanigans pulled by a richer minority, I can certainly see why "majority rule" was an important beacon for equality and democracy!




The Bahamas are known for their beautiful beaches,
for cruise ships and resorts, and for Pig Beach, a teeny
island that is uninhabited by people but very definitely
inhabited by feral (wild) pigs!


Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,

October 14 - Conch Cracking Festival? Well...Probably Not...

Posted October 14, 2019



Last month the Bahamas were hit with a devastating hurricane named Dorian - and satellite photos suggested that most of the homes in McClean's Town were destroyed! 






Which surely means that the planned Conch Cracking Festival will not happen...right?

In the past, the Conch Cracking Festival was a sort of homecoming event: a way of celebrating local history, showcasing local talent in the conching business, and bringing Bahamians together to celebrate all things Bahamian!


The main event is a conch cracking competition - which means seeing who is fastest at removing the conch animal from its shell. The winner gets a trophy and prize money, plus of course bragging rights.

Because people come from all over the Bahamas to participate or watch - and some people come from the U.S., Canada, or elsewhere in the world... (There's a visitor category in the conch-cracking competition.)



Well, McClean's Town is  struggling with clearing away debris, clearing roads, reestablishing infrastructure. Almost everybody is displaced because their homes were damaged or destroyed. How could this town host a festival of any sort?

On the other hand, if people who already had travel plans in place showed up with emergency supplies and a willingness to pitch in with the work needed to help town residents... maybe that could work?






(Second Monday of October)


Indigenous People's Day, aka
Dia de la Raza
(Second Monday of October)

(Second Monday of October)












Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)