The majority of Haitians are
Roman-Catholic, although most prescribe to some elements of Vodou--an
Afro-disporic faith unique to Haiti. Haitians celebrate Christmas and
New Years, although only the more privileged can enjoy a Christmas
tree. After midnight mass, the Roman-Catholics return home to feast
and exchange gifts. Another national holiday is All Souls' Day, in
which the deceased are honored through eating, drinking and
exchanging stories. Many place food on the grave of the deceased or
on table which they once sat. A variety of dishes are traditionally
served on All Souls' Day, including fried pork or goat, pikliz
(fried carrots and cabbage), Haitian bread and Pineapple Nog. These
holidays provide the Haitians a time to imbibe and celebrate with
loved ones, a practice that we all can relate to.
Carnival,
held in Port-au-Prince is when Haitians get down, with the get down.
It's also known as Fat Tuesday, and celebrated three days before Ash
Wednesday the following week. It's essentially Mardi Gras minus the
Sodom-esque qualities that Bourbon St. offers. You can rest assured
that seedy strip club bouncers won't force you into their
establishments during this rendition. In Port-au-Prince, everyone is
having an awesome time drinking, dancing, wearing elaborate costumes
and swaying to incredibly loud, and incredibly seductive Caribbean
music. Beton St. provides a venue for loud music, floats and over a million people to party together. The party generally doesn't formally stop until 4 AM, but continues on throughout the night and into the next day.
It is the most important annual musical event in Haiti, and
its exuberance is saturated in political meaning. Many theorists
believe that Carnival diverts popular attention away from oppressive
social realities. It acts as a "pressurve valve", venting
popular anger into symbolic, rather than material reversals. It is a
fiercely anti-authoritarian festival; some may go so far as
categorizing it as revolutionary. The throngs of people attract a
variety of well known vendors, who peddle fresko
(flavored ice), tablet pistach
(peanut brittle) gwiyo
(fried pork) and of course, clarien. With
a variety of foods, flavors and people, Carnival is one event worth
seeing.
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