Welcome to Strictly Facts, a guide to Caribbean history and culture, hosted by me, Alexandria Miller. Strictly Facts teaches the history, politics, and activism of the Caribbean and connects these themes to contemporary music and popular culture. As the year swiftly comes to a close, we couldn't break for the holidays without first talking about some of our favorite Caribbean holiday traditions. If it's one thing about us with festive bud, and while we differ in some of the ways we celebrate, family, food, and fun always bring us together. There are a few things synonymous with the Caribbean, and one of those is, of course, festival culture. As we talked about in an earlier episode, there are some nuances between Caribbean carnivals, some of which are held during Lent, like in Trinidad, while others are held during the end of the harvest season, like Crop Over in Barbados. A similar festival, Junkanoo, is held in the Bahamas as well as in a few other Caribbean islands and in the Caribbean diaspora in places like Florida and the Carolinas with heavy Caribbean descendants. Junkanoo parades are celebrated during various times throughout the years, like to commemorate Independence Day, and especially during the beginning of the holidays on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas through New Year's Day. Taking to the streets with lavish costumes planned months in advance, cowbells and goatskin drums, the largest December junkanoo takes place on Bay Street in the capital, Nassau. Similar celebrations also take place in the U.S. Virgin Islands, with the Crucian Christmas Festival, or in St. Kitts and Nevis, where their national carnivals begin on Boxing Day as well, or in Belize, with junkanoo drummers and dancers performing at Christmas, or in Montserrat, where their festival lasts through December and into early January, with Caroling and even a Soka Monarch competition. A similar series of celebrations are held in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, who rejoice in the Nine Mornings Festival. For nine days leading up to Christmas, the town comes alive at 4 a.m. with concerts, games, and cultural performances, and even Seal Bend jump up to close the annual tradition. On the other hand, Suriname's Christmas celebrations begin similarly in early December with Godo Pa or Dearest Daddy, who's said to leave presents and poems for children next to their shoes on December 6th. Following Suriname's independence in the 1970s, Dearest Daddy replaced the figure of Saint Nicholas as a sort of black Santa Claus, who children leave Christmas, cookies, and milk for annually. Noche Buena is another popular celebration in parts of the Spanish Caribbean, like in Cuba, Diar, and Puerto Rico, and even parts of Curacao heavily influenced by Venezuela. Translated to mean the good night, this large feast takes place on Christmas Eve, and at the center of Noche Buena is a whole pig often roasted in a large box over coals. This roasted pig tradition is said to date back to the 15th century when colonists hunted and ate roasted pigs with big flames. A number of Spanish and French Caribbean islands also celebrate Three Kings Day, the arrival of the three wise men. Usually celebrated on January 6th, the Día de los Tres Reyes Puerto Rican children leave grass and hay and even water under their beds for the three kings' camels. The kings are said to feed the camels and leave gifts under the children's bed as a reward. And of course, what would the care be and be without our music? Caroling in concerts are popular throughout the holidays, with, for instance, the Karakou Perang Festival taking place in Grenada, with parangbangs playing carols throughout the neighborhoods, as well as in Trinidad and Tobago, where soap and Christmas music combine to make parangsoka, with carols going door to door singing popular Christmas songs. And on that note, what could a strictly facts episode be if we didn't share some of the best holiday songs? Enjoy some parangsoka, now with a little throwback to training musician Skunkter, whose given name is Erwin Reyes Johnson and his famous, famous Christmas tunes. His first 1988 piece of pork sings of his excitement of the Christmas season and all of the Christmas foods he's waiting to enjoy. Also listen to Play a Pering Soka by Bindley B, who echoes all the joy in celebration of the Christmas season. And if you'd like some Christmas songs with a reggae twist, artist Carleen Davis has a whole album full entitled Christmas Reggae Rock. She also has a rendition of Santa Claus Do You Ever Come to the Ghetto, which has been covered by artists like Yellow Man and Chronics, and most recently a re-released version with herself alongside her daughter, singer Naomi Cohen. There's so many traditions to name that we all couldn't get to them, but do let us know how you and your family celebrate Christmas. Send us a message on Twitter, Instagram, or even Facebook. We barely got into food, so stay tuned for our last episode of the year where we'll be talking about some of our favorite Caribbean holiday cuisines. Check our links on our website, and we hope you enjoyed listening. Lickle more. Thanks for tuning in to Strictly Facts. 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