Beautiful Barbados

Barbados Kadooment Day Date: August 3, 2009

Kadooment Day is a public holiday in Barbados.

Kadooment Day is a crop over day and the people of Barbados celebrate this day with great vigor and joy. It is a day when the people or the Bajans (as they are more properly known), undertake a total cut of their grown crop. Thus, this day, as according to their culture, is of importance and should be celebrated on a massive scale. Thus, the people of Barbados have a cultural as well as emotional attachment to the celebration of the Kadooment Day. Furthermore, the people celebrate this day with sheer enthusiasm and madness. They dance in the streets and sing their traditional folk songs.

Barbados Kadooment Day History

The celebration of Kadooment Day in Barbados has an ancient history. Masquerading was an old African tradition in which the people of the province used to roam all over the village in their traditional attire made of natural materials such as feathers, bones and grasses. They used to give the firstly grown crops to the Gods in the hope that “They will be happy and provide good luck”. Again, they also hoped that the evil spirits will be removed from the villages. Since those days, the celebration of modern Kadooment Day is observed.

Barbados Kadooment Day Traditions and Activities

The Grand Kadooment Day is also a major event in other parts of the African Continents. The countries also celebrate the carnival with the same enthusiasm. The honorable President of the respective countries is also invited as the chief guests at the carnivals. However, the security of the carnivals is maintained low, as it is thought that there is a marked low evil spirit in the area. Thus, in order to celebrate that thought, this step is taken. The Kaddoment Day celebrations attracts participants from various countries and the aura of this event makes everyone a part of the event.

There are strict laws governing the celebration of Kadooment Day. According to that, the people involved in celebration have to be registered in the costume band to intrude into registered revelers. A person found not undertaking such act can be charged a amount of BDS $15,000 or a two years imprisonment or in some cases both. People have great enthusiasm to celebrate this event and have been known to celebrate this event for two straight day’s non-stop. The crops are then sold out in the market or taken up by the families themselves. The festival is considered as a carnival in some cases. People, who are not registered as the carnival band, can view the spectacular event along the route, through which the carnivals passes by.

From http://aglobalworld.com/holidays-around-the-world/barbados-kadooment-day/