As Jamaican celebrations go, Easter is by no means as big, or as prolonged as Christmas. It is preceded by forty days of Lent, during which some Jamaicans abstain from their favourite indulgences. Many give up drinking alcohol, eating pork, or meat altogether. As a result, more fish tends to be eaten during Lent, particularly on Good Friday which is a fast day for the more religious.
Bun and cheese are a must for Jamaicans in the Easter season, and the supermarket shelves are laden with Easter buns of all sizes. Anyone travelling abroad to visit friends or relatives had better show up with an Easter bun, or else!
School children get an Easter break of about 2 weeks (no spring break for Jamaicans as we hardly have a winter!). Good Friday and Easter Monday are both public holidays. Good Friday sees many churchgoers, often dressed in dark colours, attending church to mark the 3 hours that Jesus spent on the cross.
After Good Friday, the mood lightens, and by the Saturday there are usually a few parties going on. Easter Sunday is another church day, with white as the colour of choice for many of the ladies' dresses.
Easter Monday is a day for the beach, kite flying, flower shows or any of a host of events that takes place across the island on that day. March and April (Easter falls in one of these months) are usually quite windy, and so Easter is known to be kite season.
Most cultures with a carnival stage their carnival activities before Lent, but Jamaica Carnival is different. Inaugurated in Jamaica in 1990 by legendary Jamaican musician and bandleader, Byron Lee, the lead up activities to Jamaica Carnival are during Lent.
Carnival week begins on Easter Sunday. Having such secular events during Lent and on Easter Sunday has been hard for many to swallow in this primarily Christian society. But with the passage of time, carnival has become embraced by many and reluctantly tolerated by others as one of the more vibrant Jamaican celebrations.
JAMAICA CELEBRATES INDEPENDENCE
Jamaica celebrates Independence on August 6 each year, in commemoration of its first Independence Day on August 6, 1962.
The period leading up to the public holiday is crammed with parties and activities celebrating the island's culture. These Jamaican celebrations have become even more marked since the reintroduction in 1997 of another public holiday on August 1, Emancipation Day. This holiday recognizes the day slaves were given full freedom in 1838.
Many of the celebrations at Independence are spearheaded by government agencies. The grandeur of those activities is therefore dependent on how able and willing the government is to spend.
The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) stages a variety of events comprising the performing, visual, literary and culinary arts. The Best of Festival series, Mello-Go-Round, The Festival Queen Competition and the Festival Song Competition are some of these events.
A Grand Gala featuring hundreds of performers from across Jamaica, is held at the National Stadium in Kingston on Independence Day. There are sometimes float parades, especially in Kingston.
The list of National Honours which will be handed out on Heroes Day in October, is published on Independence Day.
At the parish level there are Emancipation Vigils starting the evening before August 1. These usually involve traditional Jamaican cooking and performances of traditional music and dance, ushering in the 'First of August'. On Independence Day an official flag raising ceremony is held in each parish.
Denbigh Agricultural Show takes place at Denbigh in Clarendon at Independence time, usually on a weekend close to one of the two holidays. Jamaica's fourteen parishes showcase their produce, livestock, horticulture and agro-industries in an event which has traditionally been enjoyed by Jamaicans and visitors of all ages over the years.
At the community level, street dances and festivities at homes and hang out spots are frequent. Many Jamaicans return from abroad to visit home during the summer time, making it perfect party and meet-old-friends time.
Jamaica and Jamaicans continue to face many trials, so when it's time to celebrate, we go all out!
ENGAGE
Students , let us quickly review the contributions made to the Jamaican culture by the different ethnic groups that came during the indentureship period.
Name of festival | Country celebrated | Time of year | Occasion | Special Features associated with it | Secular or religious |
Crop Over | Barbados | August | End of sugarcane season | Music, singing and dancing, burning of character Mr. Harding | Secular |
Chinese New Year | Caribbean including Jamaica | New Years Eve, New Years Day | Giving of thanks for new year | Spring cleaning of homes, fireworks, parading, dancing Rabbit and Dragon are used | Secular |
Christmas | Jamaica Caribbean countries Many other countries where Christian are found | December | Celebrate birth of Jesus | Feasting, singing of carols, exchange of gifts, dancing, Grand Market, people dress as Santa Claus | Religious |
Easter | Jamaica, etc | March/April Ash Wednesday to Good Friday to Easter Sunday | Commemorates the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus | Church services on Good Friday and Easter Sunday Eating of bun and cheese in Jamaica | Religious |
Diwali | Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago | Tribute to the Goddess of Prosperity | Brightly coloured costumes, special dishes, lot of lights, worshipping | Religious | |
Hosay | Held by Muslims in Trinidad and Tobago | Memory of assassination of Muhammed’s grandson | Dancing, drumming | Religious | |
Semana Santa | Dominican Republic | Death and burial of Jesus | Music, dancing, parade | Religious | |
Passover Carnival | Jews in Caribbean | Celebration of freedom from slavery in Egypt Used to celebrate the end of slavery | Passover story, eating of foods that remind them of Jewish people, apples nuts wine Costumes are worn | Religious Secular |
Festivals in Jamaica are of great economic value. They attract foreign visitors to the island who spend moneys on beverages, food , accommodation as well as other items. These help to provide foreign exchange. These events also are important ways to preserve and promote our culture.
Festivals are celebrations and they are either religious or secular (non-religious). Let us examine some of the different festivals that are highlighted in your Social Studies Text (Page 14-21). I want you to work in groups to glean information about these festivals, and use a graphic organizer to present your information. Try to classify the different festivals as religious or secular.
Video: Crop Over in Barbados
Video: Carnival in Jamaica
Video: Diwali-Festival of Lights
Video: Chinese New Year
Video: Eid-ul-Fitr
EXPLAIN
3. Which of the following would not necessarily be a way to preserve Jamaican culture? Place a [ ü where the statement does not apply.
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STATEMENTS |
ü |
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Planting trees on the roadside |
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Hosting Reggae Sumfest yearly |
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Attending yearly cultural festival in Kingston |
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Disposing of garbage properly |
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I 4. Your grandmother, believes that the celebrations held yearly in Jamaica to mark its independence cost our country too much money and should be discontinued.
(a) Do you agree with your grandmother? Yes/No
(b) Give reasons to support your answer.__________________________________________
5. If you are a tourist in Barbados, which of the following festivals would you be likely to witness in August?
(a) Crop Over (b) Mardi Gras (c) Reggae Sunsplash (d) Flower Festival
6. Identify the festival that is correctly matched with the religious group.
(A) Diwali - Muslims
(B) Eid ul-fitr - Hindus
(C) Festival of Light - Christians
(D) Passover - Jews
7. All of the following are secular festivals except:
(A) Mardi Gras (B) Carnival (C) Diwali (D) Crop Over
8. Riyah is not sure if "performing a dance or organizing a festival" are also classified as services. What would you say to Riyah? ______________________________________________________________
9. List some steps that Jamaicans carry out to preserve our culture and heritage.
10. Which presents the BEST strategy for promoting Caribbean culture?
(a) develop culture clubs in schools and communities
(b) teach aspects of North American culture in schools.
(c) organize independence celebrations
(d) restrict cultural celebrations to only a few groups
6.
6.
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