Nassau & Paradise Island

This holiday marks the beginning of the beach picnicking season for Bahamians. There are also many cookouts in public parks on the Nassau waterfront; homecomings and regattas are held in some Out Islands.

The second Monday in October, formerly known as "Discovery Day" or "Columbus Day," has now been dedicated to honoring Bahamian national heroes since 2013. An official National Heroes Day ceremony is held with a keynote speech by the Prime Minister, and heroes from a cross-section of civil society are celebrated with a week of activities.

Many people enjoy the day with family gatherings and beach picnics.

This is the oldest festival in the country, held the second Tuesday in August every year, and it commemorates the freeing of enslaved Africans in The Bahamas. Residents of Fox Hill celebrate the 1838 emancipation of their ancestors from slavery by the British with church services, Bahamian food and drinks, singing, and dancing.  

This holiday, on the first Monday in August, celebrates the emancipation of slaves in the British colonies in 1834. It is celebrated with a Junkanoo Rush-out, a day of beaching, sailing, and regattas in most islands.

On New Providence, old slave villages such as Gambier in the west and Fox Hill in the east have their own special celebrations.

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.

This holiday commemorates the day when The Bahamas became a fully independent nation on July 10, 1973, separating from the United Kingdom. However, we remain a member of The Commonwealth of Nations.

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 marks the end of the Easter cycle and the beginning of public witness of the Christian church. It is the Monday after Whit Sunday, The Feast of Pentecost, which comes 50 days after Easter.

This is a fundraising event, in support of the annual Acklins Regatta, to be held July 29-August 1, 2016.