The Caribbean wedding traditions

Weddings are fairly casual affairs, with the bride and groom dressed in their finest. The bride wears a veil and walks to the groom's house, then they walk together to the church with the whole town turning out to congratulate them. Anyone is welcome to the wedding. Only honored guests receive written invitations. The bride's father or both parents give her away, and the groom has no best man.

The traditional wedding cake is called a Black Cake, a sort of rum fruitcake recipe passed down through generations of the bride's family. The reception can go on all night, and the happy couple usually spends a week honeymooning, either right in town or on another island.

The Caribbean wedding traditions are really interesting and exciting due to the fact that many Caribbean islands follow the wedding traditions of the Americans while the others create a peculiar blend of the African and European cultures which is typically Caribbean and could be found nowhere in the world.

The customs actually vary from island to island. But a common custom enables the bride and the groom to dress in their finest clothes. Then the bride and the groom head towards the church either from the bride's place or from the groom's place. Then the church bells ring in order to announce the wedding to the island. Usually the villagers line the street to view the bride and the groom walking to the church and it is compulsory for every onlooker to comment on the bride and the groom's clothes.

The guests are usually invited by the word of mouth, only in some exceptional honored cases, invitations are hand written. The bride's father or both the parents escort her to the aisle with her face covered by a veil. At the end of the ceremony, the groom lifts the veil and kisses his new bride, which is an amalgamation of catholic and African traditions.

The food served to the guests include typical food of the island like curried goat, spicy chicken jerky and fried plantains. The Wedding cake is prepared in the traditional manner. It is the traditional black cake, the recipe of which has passed down from generation to generation. The cake is made of flour, brown sugar, fresh eggs, butter and cherries, raisins, prunes, currants are added to it. The cake is served with Hard Rum Sauce. The dried fruits added to the cake are soaked in rum in a crock pot for a period of two weeks to one year. The guests are also treated with sweets.After the wedding ceremony the newly wed couple leave for honeymoon or spend a week at home in absolute privacy.

Caribbean Carnival

Caribbean Carnival is the term used for a number of events that take place in many of the Caribbean islands annually. Carnival is a colorful and exciting event celebrated throughout the Caribbean region. Each island has its unique method of celebrating Carnival, and the dates of carnival vary throughout the islands.

The Caribbean's Carnivals all have several common themes based on folklore, culture, and religion, not on amusement rides. Carnival tradition is based on a number of disciplines including: "Playing Mas"/Masquerade; Calypso Music and crowning a Calypso King or Monarch; Panorama (Steel Band Competition); Jouvert morning; and a number of other traditions.

In many parts of the world, where Catholic Europeans set up colonies and entered into slave trade, carnival took root. Today Carnival celebrations are found throughout the Caribbean. Traditions of the cultures have come together and especially African dance and music traditions transformed the early European carnival traditions in the Americas. Important to the Caribbean festival arts are the ancient African traditions of parading and moving in circles through villages in costumes and masks. These traditions were believed to bring good fortune, to heal problems and chill out angry spirits. Caribbean carnival traditions also borrow from the African culture the tradition of creating pieces of sculpture, masks and costumes. For the Caribbean people carnival became an important way to express their rich cultural traditions. It takes many months of coming up with a theme or overall concept and developing costumes for the dancers. Lots of creativity, energy and patience is put into work such as welding, painting, sewing, gluing, applying feathers, sequins and glitter. Carnival groups, entertained by music orchestras, parade and dance wearing costumes depicting a common theme.

Carnival Celebrations

When Carnival first began it was celebrated from December 26 until Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday). Nowadays Carnival festivities and activities are being held year-round in the Caribbean. The dates on which Carnival celebrations such as; music competitions, festivals, concerts, street 'jump-up's', beauty pageants, balls, parades etc. take place may vary from country to country, from island to island.

For days, sometimes weeks, the people of the Caribbean express themselves socially and artistically and sheer joy with visitors from all over the world. Everyone, including the spectators, is part of the celebrations.