The locals are pretty religious. About three-quarters of the population are Protestants; those who belong to Catholic, Christian, Hindu, or Muslim denominations make up a minority. All in all, there is a modern view of religion on the island. People here strongly believe that spiritual life is a private matter. Moreover, it’s pretty a peculiar thing that African belief in spirits and talismans is still «alive» here. In addition, it’s intertwined with typical European concepts of God. Anyway, don’t judge the religious beliefs of the islanders if you don’t want them to turn against you.
People here celebrate Church holidays in a big way. During such holidays as Christmas, Virgin birth of Jesus, Good Friday, Clean Monday, All Saints’ Day people go to churches and spend their time at home with their families. Concerning social events, the locals celebrate them holding public events, street marches, songs, and dances. New Year, Liberation Day, Independence Day, Labor Day – all these are good reasons to have some fun. Annual Carnival is quite fascinating even too. People organize diverse joking contests, performances of magicians and musicians, the streets are full of people in colourful costumes. Moreover, Folk music festival, which takes place in the capital several times a year, attracts tourist from all over the world.
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