Thanks to a number of people from my Haitian discussion forum who wrote in with the information below concerning Haitian holidays. This was sometime in 1999.
From Alexander Craan:
Please find most of the Official Haitian Holiday list for 1999:
Sometimes there are more, sometimes fewer. It depends on the Government Decision.
Date | Holiday |
1-Jan | New Year's Day |
2-Jan | Ancestors'Day |
16-Feb | Carnival (Mardi Gras) |
12-Apr | Good Friday |
1-May | Labor Day |
18-May | Flag Day |
3-Jun | Corpus Christi |
15-Aug | Assumption |
2-Nov | All Souls' Day |
18-Nov | Battle of Vertieres |
5-Dec | Decouverte of Haiti |
25-Dec | Christmas |
A slightly different listing comes from Dave Fonda
Public Holidays
Date | Holiday |
1-Jan | Independence Day |
2-Jan | Ancestry Day |
3-Jan | Heroes Day* |
7-Apr | Death of Toussaint Louverture |
18-May | Flag Day* |
22-May | Sovereignty and Thanksgiving Day* |
Early July | Pilgrimage of St. D'Eau* |
15-Jul | August Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary |
17-Jul | October Death of Jean-Jacques Dessalines |
1-Nov | November All Saints |
2-Nov | November All Souls |
18-Nov | November Vertieres Day |
5-Dec | December Discovery of Haiti |
25-Dec | December Christmas Day |
Dave Fonda also adds some moveable feasts.
Moveable Feasts Religion: Christian (Western), Vodoun
Carnival lasts a week but only the one day is an official holiday.
Other Feasts
The following Christian festivals are widely celebrated:
Date | Holiday |
6-Jan | Epiphany |
25-Mar | Annunciation |
27-Jun | Our Lady Perpetual Saviour |
1-Jul | The Precious Blood |
30-Nov | St Andrew |
6-Dec | Immaculate Conception |
Fonda adds:
Calendar of Vodun Ceremonies
Note: this calendar should be taken as a general calendar of vodun ceremonies. Keep in mind that different hounforts in different geographical regions may vary widely in their practices of vodun, including when they acknowledge certain ceremonies. Do not expect these dates to remain constant wherever you encounter vodun.
Date | Holiday |
January 2, 3,4 | Breaking the cakes (case gateaux), a communal form of mange lwa |
January 6 | Les Rois (the kings) |
February 25 | Ritual feeding of the springs (manger tetes d'l'eau) |
March 16 | Loko Davi, eating of the ritual wood and of its guard |
March 19 | Saint Joseph, an expression of the jurisdiction of Legba |
March 20 | Legba Zaou (eating consists mainly of a black goat) |
April 27 | Danbala Wedo |
April 29 | Breaking the jugs (casse canarie), deliverance of the souls from purgatory |
April 31 | Feeding the dead (mange-les-morts) |
May 12 | Feeding of different loa |
May 18 | Feeding of Grande Aloumandia |
May 20, 21 | Sim'bi blanc |
May 30 | Sung masses (chante-messes) in the Roman-Catholic church |
June 24 | Saint John |
June 28 | M'sieu Guimeh Sauveur; Mystere Grande Delai; common table served for Maetresse Erzulie, Maetress Tenaise and Maetresse Mam'bo |
July 25 | Papa Ogou or St. James the Greater (sheep and goats are offered) |
July 26 | Common table for Grande Saint Anne, also known as Mystere Grande Delai and Grande Aloumandia |
July 29 | Maetresse Silverine (who only very slightly tastes of the food offered to her) and Maetresse Lorvana (who smells flowers for her nurishment) |
August 25 | Communion table for Danbala Wedo, also known as Saint Louis of the King of France |
August 29 | L'Orient, one of the most important mysteres |
August 30, 31 | Agwe (offerings of goats, peppers and peppermints) |
September 25 | Roi Wangol and Mousondi |
September 29 | Manman Aloumandia |
September 30 | Maetresse Delai |
October 30, 31 | Masses sung in the Roman-Catholic church; communion table of 40 scarves of different colors, exposed to the peristyle and "served" |
November 1, 2 | The Guede loa come out of the cemeteries, possess their horses and come into the hounforts to amuse themselves in the form of souls incarnated or reincarnated |
November 25th | Eating the yams (manger-yam) |
December 10 | Ganga-Bois |
December 12,13, 14 | Feeding the sea (agoueh r oyo) |
December 25 | Bath of Christmas; leaf-rubbing for medical treatments and talismans for magic protection, ritual sacrifices of pigs and goats, boucans for amusement, to which the loa come to bathe themselves and their proteges; sacrifice of turkeys for Caplau |
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