All About Easter and Caribbean Culture 

Vibrant parades and festivals, cultural symbolism, delicious food, and gathering with friends and family– That's how you celebrate Easter in the Caribbean culture! From weird to wonderful, the traditions of Caribbean Easter are fascinating and unique to the region.  

Rooted in religion, Easter is one of the most important holidays in the Caribbean and is often a four-day celebration filled with fun, festivities, food, and folklore. Continue reading to discover Caribbean culture's beautiful, but sometimes strange, Easter traditions. 

Easter Traditions in the Caribbean Culture 

Caribbean culture presents beautiful celebratory Easter traditions, some familiar to the rest of the world and some wild and unique to the region. Below are the most widespread Easter traditions of this paradise region. 

Easter’s Delicious Food 

Caribbean celebrations and holidays always involve gathering with loved ones to indulge in delicious dishes; Easter is no exception. Along with classic dishes unique to their country, here are just a couple of the food traditions Caribbean people enjoy for this very special holiday: 

• Hot Cross Buns- Depending on where you are in the island region, these sweet and spiced buns are made with island spices and ingredients and marked with a symbolic cross on top. 
• Fish on Good Friday- Stemming from traditional Christian practices, islanders abstain from eating meat on Good Friday and enjoy all kinds of fish and seafood dishes. The most popular choices are fish stews, saltfish, fish cakes, and fried fish. 

Egg Whites Predict the Future 

In some countries, there are colorful chocolate eggs with delicate details or brightly-colored plastic eggs hidden to be found with treats inside. Well, in Caribbean culture, eggs take on a whole new purpose for Easter. 

One of the odd and wonderful activities during Easter weekend in most Caribbean countries involves eggs, patience, and a little bit of Holy Water. This mystic practice involves cracking an egg into a bowl of Holy Water, removing the egg white, and placing it in the sun. Once dried, the shape of the egg white is said to tell you something about your future. For example, you may see the shape of a fetus indicating you will have children soon, a ship alluding to travel, or a church predicting a future marriage. 

Let’s Go Fly a Kite 

The Caribbean culture also symbolizes and celebrates Christ's resurrection by joining together and flying hand-crafted kites. With such lovely spring weather on the islands, it's a beautiful way to spend the holiday! 

Family, friends, and communities come together to fly their kites, often made from bamboo and tissue paper. The display is sprinkled with vibrant colors and unique shapes, and some kites are even designed to make music when soaring through the air! 

In some Caribbean neighborhoods, a yearly competition is held to award the best kite of Easter. 

No Beach on Good Friday! 

If you plan to spend the Friday before Easter sunbathing on the beautiful Caribbean shore and splashing in the jewel-toned water, you might want to change your plans. Not only is it a Caribbean culture tradition to skip the beach on Good Friday, but it's bad luck to even step foot on one!  

Legend says that those who even dip a toe into the sand of a Caribbean beach on Good Friday will turn into a fish. However, most believe it will give you bad luck today.  

Don't worry! You won't miss out on the sunshine and salty air– Many Caribbean families spend the day on the shore as soon as Good Friday is over, and it's especially popular on Easter Sunday. 

Parades and Festivals 

All over these tropical islands are thrilling festivals and vibrant parades celebrating Easter and the spring season. Curacao is home to one of the most elaborate parades, The Seú or Harvest Parade, where streets are filled with passionate group dances, folklore costumes, traditional music, and so much more! 

In Haiti, Easter is never without the Rara festival– Colorful costumes, beautiful music, dancing, and more. This festival occurs during the Lenten season, from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. 

CITED: Exceptionalcaribbean.com, Keycaribe.com, Destinology.co.uk