Emancipation Day and St. John Festival
July 3 was Emancipation Day here in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It's a local holiday to celebrate the emancipation of the slaves here in 1848, when the islands were still under the Danish crown, as explained by the Daily News:
Dave and I missed the celebrations because we took advantage of the four-day weekend and flew to Dominica (more on that in another post). However, activities across the islands included donkey races, performances by African dance groups, a traditional tea meeting (where "the best orators test their skills"), fungi-turning and fish sauce contests, and a walk-run-skate-cycle for freedom.
The Fourth of July weekend also corresponded with the end of St. John's Festival - their version of St. Thomas Carnival. Festival had events on-going for an entire month, including a bike race, which I did not do - not because I was afraid of coming in last (hours later...) but because I really didn't think I could finish the race! I'm planning on being ready for it next year though. A number of pageants were held, as we've noticed are quite popular in the VI (such as Miss St. John Princess, Miss St. John, Miss Frenchtown [or other area of an island], St. John Prince, Miss VI, Miss [any school name], Miss USVI Universe, Mrs. USVI, Ms. Senior USVI [the winner from 2001 has magnetic panels on her car announcing her title, still].) St John Festival also included a food fair, of course. It was a bit too hot that day to eat, but soursop juice, lobster roti, conch fritters, johnny cakes, tamarind balls, and the like were all available. The final day of the festival was the fourth, and included J'Ouvert (remember - that day everyone gets up at 4am to dance in the streets to music, drinking beer and rum?), the Parade, and fireworks at night. I'm exhausted just thinking about all that in one day!
On July 3, 1848 - 158 years ago - nearly 30,000 slaves from plantations across the west end of the island marched into the town of Frederiksted and stood before the Danish military at Fort Frederik and demanded their freedom. The cleverly orchestrated rebellion was led by Moses Gottlieb, also known as "General Buddhoe," who rode into town on horseback in a red Danish military uniform.
Danish Gov. Gen. Peter von Scholten arrived at Frederiksted, and upon viewing the rebellion he proclaimed that all slaves in the Danish West Indies were free from that day forward.
Dave and I missed the celebrations because we took advantage of the four-day weekend and flew to Dominica (more on that in another post). However, activities across the islands included donkey races, performances by African dance groups, a traditional tea meeting (where "the best orators test their skills"), fungi-turning and fish sauce contests, and a walk-run-skate-cycle for freedom.
The Fourth of July weekend also corresponded with the end of St. John's Festival - their version of St. Thomas Carnival. Festival had events on-going for an entire month, including a bike race, which I did not do - not because I was afraid of coming in last (hours later...) but because I really didn't think I could finish the race! I'm planning on being ready for it next year though. A number of pageants were held, as we've noticed are quite popular in the VI (such as Miss St. John Princess, Miss St. John, Miss Frenchtown [or other area of an island], St. John Prince, Miss VI, Miss [any school name], Miss USVI Universe, Mrs. USVI, Ms. Senior USVI [the winner from 2001 has magnetic panels on her car announcing her title, still].) St John Festival also included a food fair, of course. It was a bit too hot that day to eat, but soursop juice, lobster roti, conch fritters, johnny cakes, tamarind balls, and the like were all available. The final day of the festival was the fourth, and included J'Ouvert (remember - that day everyone gets up at 4am to dance in the streets to music, drinking beer and rum?), the Parade, and fireworks at night. I'm exhausted just thinking about all that in one day!
posted by Kendra at 5:18 PM
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