Secular Festivals of the Caribbean

Carnival:
 
Carnival is a festival season that takes place in most Caribbean Countries. In some countries it is immediately before Lent, while other countries have their carnival at different times.

 
Chinese New Year:
 
Chinese New Year is celebrated in many parts of the Caribbean including Jamaica.
It begins in early spring, with the arrival of the new moon and does not have a fixed date.  It lasts 15 days. Most of the celebrations take place on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
In the Chinese calendar each year is represented by one of the 12 animals. For example 2017 wa the year of the rooster and 2018 was the year of the horse.

 
The New Year celebrations begin with families spring cleaning and getting together to eat Chinese Food and give thanks for the past year. They have dance and martial arts performances. The festival ends with a lantern festival and a parade of children carrying lanterns at night.
 
Crop Over:
 
At the end of the sugar cane season on the large plantations of the English speaking Caribbean colonies, was always a big celebration to mark a good harvest.  The festival was called Crop Over.
Crop Over Festival began in the late 1700s. It is Barbados’ most popular and colourful festival.