Fun and festivities in Netherlands Antilles - celebrations, festivals and cultural events

Colorful festivals and celebrations amaze not only residents of the Netherlands Antilles, but also tourists. There are so many of them here that you’ll see a carnival or some other event at any time you come. Everything starts on the first day of the New Year. On this day, a grand carnival begins on Curacao. The festival lasts for more than two months. Many different performances and festive processions are held in that timeframe. The Ash Wednesday, which occurs at the beginning of March, becomes the final chord of this festival, which every year literally captures the imagination.

A few days before the Ash Wednesday, the Tumba Festival takes place. Many different musical bands compete for the right to perform the main song of the carnival. Musicians come not only from the Antilles but also from other countries. In addition to this colorful event, many other festivals take place in Curacao. It’s worth to mention the jazz festival in May, which brings together the best bands of the planet and thousands of music fans. If to speak about other entertainments, it is worth noting regular regattas. These are famous all over the world.

However, not only Curacao can boast with exciting holidays. Other islands are in step in this matter. Their holidays also have an incomparable color, which resulted from the mixing of several cultures. Each festive event is planned and carried out very thoroughly. Locals take into account all the details. The Antillean parties like for the first time. The island of St. Maarten also hosts regattas. This region has its own carnival, starting in the second week after Easter and lasting for three weeks. During the carnival, King Moumou, who symbolizes evil, is burned. Another holiday that is celebrated on this island is St. Maarten Day in mid-November. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

The carnival in honor of the Day of Worship takes place on the island of Bonaire. During the festival, all the music and dance bands of the island perform on stage. Harvest holidays are held in rural communes. The New Year here also begins with a holiday. A masquerade is held on the island from the 1st to the 6th of January. Bonaire can be called the most festive place of the Antilles. Every season, there are several different events, from the diving festival to the birthday of the queen. Each of these holidays is not just a festive date, but a real joy for the inhabitants of many Caribbean islands, who happily come to participate in the celebration.

The main holiday on Sint Eustatius is the carnival held in mid-July. It is important to understand that the main tourist season on the Antilles runs from October to April. July is almost a dead season, but year-round warm water and an attractive celebration erase these conventions and attract tourists to the island. Another holiday that Sint-Eustatius celebrates is America's Day. On November 16, 1776, this small island became the first in the whole world to recognize the independence of the newly established United States of America. Saba carnival is also available and also its own, beginning in late July. Its distinctive feature is the festival of fireworks that is held on the last day.

Since the vast majority of the inhabitants of the Antilles are adherents of Catholicism, religious holidays such as Easter or the Ascension on the fortieth day after Easter are greatly appreciated. Each island has its own day, in which the rest of the islands congratulate it. If you combine all the holidays, festivals and carnivals held on all the islands that make up the state, then it turns out that the celebration lasts almost all year round, and every day something special happens.