I am calling it our double Carnival because the Dutch side calls their celebration Carnival, but Carnival, the true Carnival, is celebrated on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. The French territories even celebrate on Ash Wednesday. So what the Dutch side celebrates is in truth and in fact a Spring Festival, the way St. Kitts celebrates a Christmas festival.
Celebrations resembling Carnival are ancient, going back to way before Christianity. Thousands of years ago Rome celebrated the Saturnalia, around the days when we now celebrate Christmas. The Romans served their slaves (yes, slavery is also ancient and these slaves were Europeans).
Came Christianity and Carnival was institued at the beginning of Lent, because people were supposed to do penance around that time in preparation for the great feast of Easter. The very name Carnival comes from Carne Vale, 'no more meat'. Until Easter that is.
But when it became apparent that forty days of Lent was too long to fast, we got what is now called Mi-Careme in the French territories, and as people on St. Martin know, there is the Black and White Parade on Ash Wednesday! Mi-Careme is half way through Lent.
In today's day most Caribbean islands if not all all of them celebrate some festival during the year.
Notice that all the big ones, the ones that make the most splash, Rio, Trinidad, Aruba, Curacao, are celebrating it now at the same time. St. Croix and St. Kitts have wonderful Christmas celebrations. Antigua has/had a 'Crop-over festival as does Barbados, I think. Anguilla has two,
Anguilla Day and August Monday, St. Barths has August 24th, which is their nameday.
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