THE FEASTS IN MARIE GALANTE AND IN THE ARCHIPELAGO

The principal festivity in the West Indies is the carnival.
Most of the municipalities organize festivities that are popularly appreciated. Other feasts listed in the calendars are also celebrated.
The Antillais (as the French refer to people inhabiting their part of the West Indies) commemorate the Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery on the 27th of May. Patron Saint day of each town give way to Joyful parades, concerts and variety shows that one shouldn't miss.
This is the best way to get to know and understand the country's soul.

CARNIVAL IN GUADELOUPE

The carnival starts on the day of the Epiphany and ends on the night of Ash Wednesday. As early as the beginning of January, you would observe, especially on weekends, different carnival groups rehearsing in the streets, singing, dancing and soliciting donations from passers by to finance their costumes.
All these preparations end on the last days before Lent, when from Sunday to Wenesday, the population gives way to a frenzied celebration.
During the festivities you could watch beauty contests parade of floats, contests for the best costumes, the best music, and the best songs, and marathons of dances.
The biggest parades take place in Pointe a Pitre and Basse Terre, but let us not forget the smaller communities that also have their carnival parades to offer.
On the Sunday before è'Ash Wenesday'', huge crowds in costumes invade the streets, as the parades get organized.
These are the products of the different carnival groups who worked for months to create themes that vary every year, inspiring their multi colored costumes that they would parade either on foot or aboard their floats.

"Shrove Tuesday''' (or Holy Tuesday) starts with a parade in pajamas very early in the morning, followed by more parades all through out the day and, balls at night.
"Ash Wednesday'', the last day of the celebration, the streets are once again invaded this time by devils and their females cohorts dressed in black and white.
As night appproaches, so does the end of the carnival with the Great Burning of Vaval or Gran Brile Vaval in Creole (Vaval is the king of the carnival personified in an effigy of Straw) accom-panied by the cries and lamentations of the crowd.
The day ends with community balls and Ti punch (a popular drink, mixing rum with limejuice and sugar) flows freely for the last time.
"Holy Thursday" or "Mi-Careme" an interlude between the carnival and the Lenten season, is a day of graces a respite, from fasting.
On this day the carnival revives for a day, these time with male and female devils dressed in red and black.

SOME CARNIVAL VOCABULARY

Jou gras: " fat days " (or the days when Christians are allowed to eat meat or other rich foods before the start of fasting during the Lenten season), a period of joy from Saturday to Ash Wednesday.
Kannaval: Carnival ,a period of secular festivals starting with the Epiphany and ends on Ash Wednesday.
Karem: Lent, a period of fasting up to Easter ;also an arid season in the West Indies.
Mi-Karem: a period between Ash Wednesday and Easter, a day of respite from the rigors of fasting, when Vaval rises from the ashes and the carnival revives in the streets.
Nèg gwo siwo: a man besmeared with sugar cane syrup,bringing to mind an image of the ancient slaves
Touloulou: masked ball wherein the identity of the guests is kept strictly a secret from one another.
Vidé: a group of people in a parade.