Events

The Christmas holiday is celebrated in The Bahamas with many carnivals and festivals. We also have adopted many of the same traditions and customs of other countries. These include gift-giving, feasting and sending Christmas cards.

This holiday was granted to slaves the day after Christmas, when they were given the boxes left over from their master’s gifts. These boxes usually were sent from England and were well-crafted from fine wood. Hence the holiday is known as Boxing Day.

Junkanoo parades take place on some islands to commemorate the day.

Junkanoo, the National Festival of The Bahamas, is an expression of Bahamian art and culture. Large groups parade with elaborate costumes, dancing or playing goatskin drums, horns, bells, or whistles, as thousands watch and dance along.

Majority Rule Day became a public holiday in 2014. It commemorates The Bahamas gaining majority rule for the first time on January 10, 1967, symbolizing the promise of equality, a level playing field, and fair play for all Bahamians.

Along with the emancipation from slavery in 1836, and gaining Independence from Great Britain in 1973, the achievement of Majority Rule is considered one of the most important events in the history of the country.