Holidays

HOLIDAYS

Jamaican official holidays are: New Year's Day (January 1), Ash Wednesday, Easter (Friday to Monday), Labor Day (May 23, a day dedicated to the improvement projects community), Independence Day (August 26), the National Heroes Day (third Monday in October) Christmas Day (25 December) and Boxing Day (December 26).

* Independence Day

Independence Day is celebrated with traditional music and dance, and exhibitions of agricultural products, arts and crafts.

*The National Heroes Day

Is a system of national honors and awards in 1968. The third Monday in October is observed as National Heroes Day.
The system of Honours and Awards consists of five Orders as well as the Medal of Honour and the Badge of Honour. The Orders are as follows:
-The Order of National Hero
-The Order of the Nation
-The Order of Merit
-The Order of Jamaica
-The Order of Distinction (Commander and Officer ranks)

The Order of National Hero
The Order of National Hero is awarded for services of the most distinguished nature rendered by Jamaican citizens to Jamaica. This honour is awarded either on the retirement of the recipient from active public life or posthumously.

The Order of the Nation
This order is to be conferred upon persons appointed to the Office of Governor-General.

*Boxing Day
That celebration comes from the British tradition of delivering service employees small gifts in boxes. Although the term was taken from the British, the Jamaicans traditionally spend the day visiting relatives and friends.

* Aniversary of the coronation of Haile Selassie
A very important holiday for the Rastafarians is the anniversary of the coronation of Haile Selassie, former emperor of Ethiopia, regarded by Rastafarians as the Son of God or the Messiah. The original name of this man was Tafari, and Ras means Duke. The day celebrates the consecration of children to Rastafari, recitations and songs.

* Jamaican Christmas Traditions

The Grand Market and Jonkonnu are the most popular Easter celebrations. The Grand Market is a community fair that combines food, street dancing, crafts and music. Markets throughout the island are filled with posts from vendors selling toys, balloons and all kinds of candy and sweets, including cakes Pinder (African word for peanut or peanut), some great cakes and peppermint sticks.

For Christmas Eve (Christmas Eve), some markets are decorated with streamers, balloons and bells accordion-shaped. Local residents wear their most colorful and picturesque costumes, with bright hats purchased from the Grand Market. This fun event is like a magnet that draws people to town for celebration that lasts all day and even at night.

The Jonkonnu is a traditional Christmas celebration in which the gay participants parade through the streets with amazing costumes, following a custom which transplanted African slaves to Jamaica. Bands Jonkonnu include a mix of traditional and modern characters, such as Cow Head, Horse Head, King, Queen (this wearing a veil), the Devil, Pitchy-Patchy, the Red Indians, the Belly Woman (a character who dresses to simulate having a pregnancy with a huge belly) and the Police, a gendarme "of pretend" that seeks to keep the crowd in order.