Celebrations by Horst Cerni

Photo by Nadia Garriga-Cerni

I love celebrations, I love the sounds and colors and excitement they generate, the laughter of happy, carefree people and the music. 

It’s a relief from the realities of daily life. Even though I can’t physically attend these events, I follow the action and reports with great interest on the iPhone, the iPad and Facebook. Most of these photos, therefore, were images taken from the computer, some credited to the VI Consortium, and some by my granddaughter Nadia, who attended the recent Festival adult parade. 

It gives me pleasure to look at the photos and the exuberance of colors.  Celebrations are the ‘Joie de vivre’.

In our part of the world, the first indication that happy events are coming, starts in October. Stores suddenly are offering a large variety of Christmas trees and Santas, as well as reindeer and elves. 

At the end of November families in the US got together to say thanks and to eat a turkey dinner. We watched the Macy parade and its big balloons going from Cnoentral Park to 34th Street. A few days later the big tree at Rockefeller Center was lit as part of a nationally televised show. Meanwhile in Germany, hardly noticed anywhere else, the crazy season starts on the 11th of 11 - Karneval.

Actually, for many people it’s serious business and they have been working all year to prepare for these celebrations, sewing costumes and designing large decorations and floats. In Brazil they have Samba Schools where they practice the new dance to be presented at the big parade in February.

Bur first comes December and with it a lot of activities and festivities. Besides TV shows and street decorations, there are big events and people celebrate the joyous Season. 

Where I live, on St.Croix in the US VIrgin Islands in the Caribbean, the month of December starts with a Coconut Festival, then a coral event with market at the Botanical Garden, another traditional celebration at the Whim Plantation Museum, and on the 2nd there is a lantern and car parade, on the 8th the lighting of a park - “Ah Glo in deh Park” (as the locals say) - a glittering display of trees - and a cultural awards show, and on the 9th a big, colorful boat parade and fireworks. The streets and buildings are decorated, and on the 23rd a troupe of musicians rides through town before dawn, followed by dancing revelers, and announcing “Christmas is coming”. Apparently, St.Croix has earned the nickname “Christmas Island” because of so many celebrations.

The big Crucian Festival, originally called Carnival, starts the day after Christmas with the opening of the Christmas Village, which can be compared to the Christmas markets in Germany, but instead of hot wine, here people want ice-cold drinks. Local food is sold, and children can enjoy a merry-go-round and some other attractions. At night there are big concerts, as well as competitions to elect various queens and princesses and their escorts.

On Friday, the 5th of January was the Children’s Parade. Many cute costumes and hundreds of lovely smiles. The dancing, unfortunately, was sometimes imitating adults and looked unbecoming for small children. And the parade took too long, the music was too loud and the children were exhausted.

The next day was the adult parade, full of energy and vibrant colors and intoxicating rhythms. It was a feast for the eyes, but less for the ears. Six hours later the last dancers appeared. It was dark by then and they couldn’t get photographed anymore. Too bad. They had worked so hard all year to make an impression.

So the Crucian Christmas Festival came to an end, but the international Carnival season was getting into full swing in other countries. In Germany it is somewhat subdued due to the Winter weather, and instead of outdoor events there are “meetings”, These usually make fun of politicians and happenings and are a satire of otherwise serious concerns. Even “guards” and dancing girls are participating and lots of music with the audience actively singing, moving with the rhythms of the band and dancing. Culmination is on Rose Monday, the Monday before Ash Wednesday, when big parades take place in several mostly Western and Southern cities (- although the only meeting I attended was in Hamburg), again with parodies of political happenings. But it is definitely less elaborate than, for example, the big parade in Rio de Janeiro.

In the US, the main celebration seems to be Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and here on St.Croix a “Mardi Croix” imitation takes place.

In March we have a big St.Patrick’s Day Parade with everyone wearing green and lots of excitement. The main slogan is “Save Water, - drink Beer”’

After Easter, our sister island St.Thomas has its big Carnival, and it’s a local holiday also on St.Croix, since politicians and many other people participate, and some schools send steel pan bands and dance troupes.

On St.John, the Festival celebrates the emancipation of the slaves and the founding of the United States and coincides with the Fourth of July and highlights Emancipation Day on the 3rd of July with a torch light parade. It’s a smaller and more intimate celebration, but still offers food, drinks, music and fun.

The rest of July, August and September is hot ,and people worry about hurricanes. And when all storms pass and nothing serious happens, the next celebrations will be even bigger.