Festivals and holidays on Haiti
Like other countries of the Caribbean, Haiti has an extensive and rich festive calendar.
On Wednesday, before the great post, the brightest holiday of the country – Carnival Mardi Grand (Mardi Gras, Port O-Prince), which is the starting point for the whole vintage of festivals and carnavals held throughout the country. Numerous street theatrical representations and processions can be seen these days almost all the streets of the country. All processions are accompanied by colorful orchestral groups ("Banda Api" or "Rabdal"), which are literally tightened to the place of the procession by singing crowds (often executed during the procession, music has a clear satirical orientation and ridicules various aspects of local social and political life). The whole series of festivities of Pre-Ribbon-Mardi Grand, held within the framework of the carnival, truly unique – the colorful and surreal street theater, where the actors in huge masks play the real parables about the struggle against the evil, clearly retained their true medieval folk roots.
During the celebration of the Great Post, carnival rar. Colorfully dressed adepts of various "Wizard societies" roam throughout the country, dancing, dried hymns and the surroundings of the ancient drum rhythms and sounds of wind instruments. Prepassive Week repletes by performances of African music teams, orchestras of folk music, drums and brass instruments from bamboo and tin.
Each year there are numerous pilgrimages "Voodoo". Holiday San D"Oh takes place on July 16 in Vil-Boner village, when pilgrims bathe in a holy waterfall and attend the church, founded on the spot, where the people of Virgin Mary appeared in 1884. Every year, July 25, in the town of Pure Du-du-du, celebrate the day of the century James, connected, oddly enough, with the spirit of Vudud Ogu Ferraille. Pilgrims dressed in the Red-Blue Clothes arrive in Plum-du-Nor from all over the country. July 26th a lot of celebrating flows into the city of Limonite, where the ceremony in honor of another spirit is arranged on the day of the century "Voodoo" – Erzuli.
Holiday Geda ("Gide", or "Gad", – the spirit of the dead), or phytemo, passes on November 1 and 2, on the eve of the day of all saints. These days people flock on the cemeteries to praise the lord of the dead – "Barona Samedy", and conduct colorful ceremonies around the crosses decorated with candles, turtles and marigold flowers. Gede’s festive uniforms – patrons of cemeteries and lords of erotica, consists of black and purple costumes, cylinder and numerous tiny mirrors, seeded on clothes.
On November 18, the day of battle at Vermitier (1803 g), noting the victory of the rebel slaves over the French troops. October 17, the anniversary of the death of Jean-Jacques Deesalina (1806 g) – the former slave and the first leader of independent Haiti.
