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2016 TnT Carnival Ladies Night Out

2016 TnT Carnival Ladies Night Out from Flag Fantasy on Vimeo.

 

#Caribbean #Girls ready for #LadiesNightOut #TnTCarnival 2016!  #BestDressed !!  Get your #Lucky13 FlagFans in time for the festivities at www.FlagFantasy.com … #Hot ladies look lovely and  elegant with our #Cool #FlagFan accessory!  #Soca #Reggae #AfroSoca  Stay Cool … It's about to get Hot up in Here! 

 

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2016 Trinidad Carnival Soca & Fetes!

So many Fetes, so little time! Trinidad Carnival is all about the amazing Fetes and all-inclusive parties that lead up to the big parade events on Carnival Monday & Tuesday. These Fetes have been taking place since Christmas, and there will be little sleep between now and Carnival.

 

What fuels these party revelers who are keeping up this frenetic pace? Well, besides alcohol and energy drinks, it's the Sweet Soca Music that drives them on! Every year we eagerly anticipate the new music for the season, and this year is no exception in delivering Big Tunes (or "Chunes" as Trinis would say). Kudos to the DJs, Radio Stations, and Promoters who keep this music pumping and support the Soca Artistes!

Get your FlagFans in time for the festivities at www.FlagFantasy.com … Stay Cool … It's about to get Hot up in Here!


Sharon & Your FANS at

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Battle of the Carnival Cultures … From Trinbago to Brazil!

So who really puts on "The Greatest Show on Earth"? This time-worn question has plagued the minds of all mankind from time immemorial (ok, so we exaggerate a little!). Of course the "Show" we're referring to is the annual celebration of Carnival that takes place just before Ash Wednesday on the Lenten Calendar. Many Carnivals take place throughout the world at various times during the year, but Trinidad and Brazil Carnivals are 2 of the heavy-hitters setting the tone for the others. Let's explore their similarities & differences as we lead up to "The Greatest Show on Earth"!

In November, Brazil already came out of the gates selecting their Carnival Queen. Here is part of the Samba performance of one of the Princesses at that competition!

Get your FlagFans at www.FlagFantasy.com … Stay Cool … It's about to get Hot up in Here!

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Christmas to Carnival - Trinidad & Tobago

Christmas in Trinidad and Tobago 

And how do #Trinbagonians celebrate #Christmas? By "Putting Away the House" with fresh paint & new curtains!


Excerpted from:
http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/trinidad_tobago.shtml

Christmas is a very social time in Trinidad and Tobago with most people having parties. Both children and adults go from house to house between neighbors and relatives for food and drink.

The radio stations play Trinidadian Christmas carols and songs as well as traditional and contemporary carols from the USA. A special Trinidadian music, Parang, is also played. Parang is an upbeat Venezuela-Trinidad hybrid.
Most people paint and make repairs to their houses and hang new curtains and decorations (especially lights) for Christmas. Often, this is the time that most people buy new electrical appliances and furniture. Most families spend Christmas Day at home with friends and family members.
Trinidadian Christmas fruitcake is traditional and is eaten in most homes. The fruits (such as raisins and sultanas) in the cake are usually soaked in cherry wine, sherry and rum for several months before Christmas!



 

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Christmas to Carnival - Brazil

And how do #Brazilians celebrate Christmas? Singing Christmas Carols & Wishing All #FelizNatal !

Excerpted from:

http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/worldxmas/brazil.htm

In #Brazil, #Christmas is one of the most important festive days, or #DiaDeFesta. It is celebrated on 25th December. 
Having a multicultural population, the festivities in the country are influenced by ethnic ways. As a former Portuguese colony, they have retained some of the Christmas customs of their former masters. Notable among these is creating a nativity scene or "#Presepio". The word "Presepio" comes from "presepium" meaning the bed of straw in which Jesus first slept after birth in Bethlehem. Every December, presépios are created during Christmas and displayed in churches, houses and stores. Come January and they are dismantled along with the Christmas trees and lights. 

#Caroling is quite a popular custom here. Various christmas carols are sung during Christmas to commemorate the birth of Christ. A number of Christmas songs #pastorils and others are sung on the occassion. #NoiteFeliz ("Silent Night") is probably the song most associated with Christmas in Brazil.




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Christmas to Carnival - Guyana

So how do Guyanese celebrate Christmas?  With Foods like Pepperpot & Garlic Pork!

Excerpted from:

http://www.npr.org/series/371688485/the-12-days-of-quirky-christmas-foods-around-the-globe

Guyanese Christmas Gives A Whole New Meaning To Slow Food
Updated December 24, 201410:00 AM ET 


There are some Christmas foods you make far in advance that just get better and better with age and anticipation. Like British fruitcakes that age into their boozy ripeness, and German gingerbread cookies called lebkuchen that get softer and spicier as they mature.
In Guyana, a small South American country wedged between Venezuela and Suriname, certain Christmas foods are also prepared weeks in advance, and aged at room temperature. But they're not sweet; they're meaty, and they sit out for weeks. Although it may sound a bit suspect, these dishes — called pepperpot and garlic pork — have been eaten safely for generations. And Guyanese say it wouldn't be Christmas without them.

Pepperpot, the first course served on Christmas Day, comes from the native tradition. It's basically a stew of aromatics and tough beef parts like shanks, trotters and tails that benefit from a long cooking. They're tossed in with cinnamon and cloves from neighboring Spice Islands and peppers. And when we say slow cooking, we mean it: Pepperpot is cooked, off and on, for days. And between stewing, it sits out on the stove at room temperature.


Usually, leaving meat at room temperature would give bacteria — the sort that would land you in the hospital — a field day. But pepperpot has a secret weapon: cassareep.


Cassareep is a thick sauce made from the juice from cassava root, one of the country's oldest traditional foods. The juice is boiled down to a molasses-dark syrup, which has powerful antiseptic properties that's used in medicine as well. And it also contributes its own unique flavor.

Pepperpot, a traditional Guyanese Christmas dish, is basically a stew of aromatics and tough meat parts like shanks, trotters and tails that benefit from a long cooking.  Courtesy of Cynthia Nelson Photography


Pepperpot, a traditional Guyanese Christmas dish, is basically a stew of aromatics and tough meat parts like shanks, trotters and tails that benefit from a long cooking.

Courtesy of Cynthia Nelson Photography


The second essential Guyanese Christmas dish, garlic pork, comes from the Portuguese culinary tradition. As with pepperpot, it involves a preparation that seems to fly in the face of food-safety common sense: The pork sits out at room temperature for weeks. In this case, it's not cassareep that keeps you safe: It's salt and vinegar.

This puckery preservation method is similar to Portuguese adobo recipes, and the vindaloo dishes in the former Portuguese colony of Goa. In this case, chops are rubbed with a paste of garlic and a Guyanese varietal of fresh thyme.


Garlic pork comes from the Portuguese culinary tradition. It involves a preparation that seems to fly in the face of food-safety common sense: The meat sits out at room temperature for weeks in a vinegar bath.    Courtesy of Cynthia Nelson Photography

 

 After at least two weeks in the brine, the meat is fried. The long bath (and a heating of vinegar) creates some pretty distinct flavors and aromas. "It's a very intense dish," says Nelson. "And you always know whether or not your neighbor made garlic pork."


Don't forget ... our FlagFans make perfect stocking-stuffers for the Carnival Reveler on your list, so shop today!

Your Fans at
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Christmas to Carnival - St. Vincent & The Grenadines

So how do those in St. Vincent & The Grenadines celebrate Christmas?  With The Nine Mornings Festival! 

Excerpted from: 

http://discoversvg.com/index.php/en/whattodo/festivals-a-events/nine-mornings 

NINE MORNINGS FESTIVAL 

Nine Mornings is a unique Vincentian festivity associated with the Christmas season.  Nine Mornings before Christmas, Vincentians awake in the early hours of the morning and partake in a range of activities, among them sea baths, dances (or in local parlance, fetes), bicycle riding and street concerts.  In the rural areas, the final morning of the festivity usually ends with a steel band “jump-up”. 

 

The origins of this festivity are clouded in some mystery, although the original tradition relates it to the ‘novena’ of the Catholic Church on the nine days before Christmas.  It is believed that after the early morning church services of the Catholics, worshippers began walking the streets while others went for sea baths.   From this the popular Nine Mornings festivity emerged.  Although popular opinion has this practice as starting during the period of slavery, it was more likely to have been a post-emancipation practice. 

Don't forget ... our FlagFans make perfect stocking-stuffers for the Carnival Reveler on your list, so shop today!

Your Fans at

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Christmas to Carnival - The Bahamas

So how do Bahamians celebrate the day after Christmas?  With the pomp & splendor of Junkanoo!

Excerpted from:

http://www.bahamasgateway.com/junkanoo.htm

 

Junkanoo - Bahamian Festival
Junkanoo - Bahamian FestivalJunkanoo is a Bahamian festival that occurs during the dark hours of morning on the 26th of December and again bringing in its first hours of light on the first day of the new year. Thousands dance through Bay Street, Nassau's town center, like a wild ocean of colour, while deep goat skin rhythms reverberate off the surrounding walls and cow bells chatter over the singing of brass horns. The sidewalk like a snake comes to life twisting blacks and browns while balconies and roof tops sway under the rhythmic feet of onlookers. There is a timeless sense, a feeling inside that is so vital that even the deaf feel to move. And as though possessed, these God-like cardboard sculptures dive and rise to the awesome music that lifts their spirits beyond the flesh." (courtesy - c2000 M. Govan & E. Robinson) 

To experience Bahamian culture and art, you should make plans to attend Junkanoo. The Bahamian festival of Junkanoo is an energetic, colourful parade of brightly costumed people gyrating and dancing to the rhythmic accompaniment of cowbells, drums and whistles. The celebration occurs on December 26 and January 1 -- beginning in the early hours of the morning (2:00 a.m.) and ending at dawn.

Junkanoo is reminiscent of New Orleans' Mardi Gras and Rio de Janeiro's Carnival, but it is distinctly Bahamian and exists nowhere else. Parade participants -- arranged in groups of up to 1,000 -- are organised around a particular theme. Their costumes, dance and music reflect this theme. At the end of the Junkanoo procession, judges award cash prizes. The three main categories for the awards are: best music, best costume and best overall group presentation.

The most spectacular Junkanoo parade occurs in Nassau. However, you can also experience it on Grand Bahama, Eleuthera, Bimini and Abaco. It's held on Boxing Day (December 26) and New Year's Day (January 1) from 2:00 a.m. until 8:00 a.m.

If you wish to experience the cultural festival of Junkanoo, plan ahead and arrive early. In Nassau, some of the best views are upstairs on Bay Street, or on the street-side bench seats, which you may reserve in advance.

 

Junkanoo History

Junkanoo first began as a temporary celebration of freedom for slaves who were given three days off at Christmas time. Donning scary-looking masks, slaves played homemade musical instruments (drums and bells) and cavorted about freely on the island.

The origin of the word "Junkanoo" is unknown. The most popular belief is that it's derived from "John Canoe," an African tribal chief who demanded he be allowed the right to celebrate with his people even after he was brought to the West Indies as a slave. Others believe the name is from the French "gens inconnus," which means "the unknown people" and refers to people wearing disguises and thus being unknown.

Junkanoo's roots can be traced to West Africa. In fact, other areas in the region that practised slavery -- like Bermuda and Jamaica -- had their own versions of John Canoe parades.

Junkanoo probably began in the 16th or 17th century. Around Christmas, Bahamian slaves were given a few days off. This allowed them to leave the plantations to be with their families and to celebrate the holiday with music, dance and costumes. In the early years, Junkanoo participants wore grotesque masks and walked on stilts. They were allowed to move around anonymously and let off steam.

After slavery was abolished, Junkanoo almost disappeared, but a few islanders kept the tradition going. Over time, Junkanoo's popularity has waxed and waned. Today, it is a joyous celebration of freedom. It is an important part of the Christmas season, and The Islands Of The Bahamas is the only country where you can experience it.

Costumes

Junkanoo - Bahamian FestivalAs Junkanoo traditions have evolved, so, too, have the costumes. Sea sponges, leaves, fabric and shredded paper have at one time or another played their part in costume construction.

Costumes today are made out of crepe paper that is meticulously glued to fabric, cardboard or wood. They usually consist of a headdress, shoulder piece and skirt, which are elaborate and brilliantly coloured. Group members make their own costumes and it may take them up to a year to complete the intricate creations.

Costume design is tied to a theme and is a carefully guarded secret. Themes vary greatly -- they can be contemporary, based on the past or anything the group chooses.

Junkanoo costumes that may have once been discarded as rubbish after the parade, are now being preserved for posterity. The winning creations are placed in the Junkanoo Museum, formerly located in downtown Nassau at the Prince George Wharf. The museum is temporarily closed, because it is being relocated.

Junkanoo Groups

Junkanoo participants that you see rushin' down the street are members of well-organised groups. These people work together year after year to make Junkanoo the exhilarating experience it is.

The Junkanoo festival is a community-wide effort. Families, friends and neighbours gather within groups -- usually from 500 to 1,000 members -- who perform together at the parade.

Competition among groups is fierce, so members choose a theme and keep it a secret until the day of Junkanoo. They spend months preparing for the event at their "base camp," or "shack" as they call it. The dancers work on choreography, the musicians practice music and the costumers work on their creations.

In Nassau, Junkanoo groups go by such colourful names as "Valley Boys," "Saxons," "One Family," "Vikings," "Roots" and "Fancy Dancers."

Music

Distinctively Bahamian, the music you hear at Junkanoo today is very much as it has always been. Rhythmic goombay drums, copper bells and mouth whistles soon sweep you up in the Junkanoo beat.

Music is the most important part of Junkanoo. The rhythmic sounds of goatskin drums, cowbells and whistles -- accompanied by a separate brass section -- create an infectious beat that’s too strong to resist!

Slaves, who originally made their musical instruments from cast-off items, fashioned rum or food containers into drums and scrap metal into bells. Today’s musicians use similar methods. Like their ancestors, they stretch goatskin across the drum opening and "tune" it by burning a candle under the skin to tighten it to the right pitch.

 
Junkanoo Expo

<olA brand new attraction at Nassau's waterfront. The first Museum of it's kind showcasing large, colorful, intricately designed artistic creations from recently passed Junkanoo parades, held annually on December 26th and New Year's Day. The Expo complex also includes a souvenir boutique, with Junkanoo paintings and a variety of Junkanoo craft. Open daily 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Admission: $2.00 adults, $0.50 children. For more information, telephone (242) 356-2731.

 

Don't forget ... our FlagFans make perfect stocking-stuffers for the Carnival Reveler on your list, so shop today!

Your Fans at

www.FlagFantasy.com

 

 

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2015 Christmas Culture

Black Friday!   Christmas to Carnival!  As cooler temperatures become the norm throughout North America and Europe, things start to warm up in the Caribbean, where the Christmas Season is filled with the joyous anticipation and celebration of the birth of the Lord.  Christmas preparation focuses on  special traditional dishes and drinks, and Parang music influenced by Latin culture.  Of course many complain that Carnival keeps nipping on the heels of Christmas more and more each year, thereby not giving the latter the full focus and extent of celebration it deserves.   We at Flag Fantasy agree with that assessment, but that being said, would like to remind our fans that this is a short Carnival season (Monday, Feb. 8th & Tuesday, Feb. 9th) … So if you're looking for the ideal Christmas Stocking Stuffer for the Carnival Reveler on your list, you can't go wrong with our FlagFans!   Buy 3 or more and get Black Friday discounts of 20% from now through Carnival by using Discount Code BlackFriday on qualifying purchases!

Sharon & Your Fans

@ www.FlagFantasy.com

 

 

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Miami Broward Carnival 2015

Summer is winding down here in North America, and its unofficial close was marked by the Labor Day Parade in Brooklyn, NY.  A great time was had by all! 

However things are NOW heating up in Florida with Miami Broward Carnival  just around the corner!  Fetes, Flag Parties, Food and Fun will be on tap all weekend long for the Columbus Day holiday!  Bands like Radikal International, Bajan Fuh Evah, Ti Chapo, and One Island Band will be showcasing their colors & creativity at the Carnival Parade on Sunday, October 11th.  And of course, for the first time we will be missing the sweet strains of Calypsonian Rootsman (Yaseu Isei) at the carnival. But he had been preparing us for this for years … "In Miami … When you miss me, I'll be there!"

Have a Safe & Happy Miami Broward Carnival and Stay Cool!!!

Sharon & Your Fans

@ www.FlagFantasy.com

 

 

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2015 Summer Wind Down

Dog Days of Summer & #Carnival Season heating up!  #BostonCarnival #NottingHillCarnival #LaborDayParade #NYCarnival #MiamiCarnival just around the corner!  #Costume ... check!  #Makeup ... check! #Hair&Nails ... check!  #FlagFan ... Shop NOW at www.FlagFantasy.com to get yours in time to #ShowYourColors !  Let our #Fans Cool & Caress you in the Heat of the Excitement on De Road! Discounts on purchases of 3 or more FlagFans. A Cool Necessity for You & Your Carnival Crew!  Tag us with photos & videos of you & your #Fans.

Have a Safe & Happy Carnival.

Your #FlagFans @FlagFantasy.

 

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2015 Emancipation Day

Excerpted from http://www.sebadamani.com/blog/happy-emancipation-day-nyc ...

Emancipation Day is a day that marks the ending of enslavement for many people of Afrikan descent. Emancipation Day is celebrated in many former British colonies in the Caribbean and areas of the United States on various dates in observance of the emancipation of enslaved people of African origin. The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ended slavery in the British Empire on August 1, 1834 and throughout the Caribbean Emancipation Day is widely observed during the first week of August. In many Caribbean countries the Emancipation Day celebration is a part of Carnival, as the Caribbean Carnival takes place at this time (although Carnaval in Trinidad and Tobago takes place in February or March according to Ash Wednesday, not near August. In the U.S. different states have different days that they mark and celebrate Emancipation Day.

 

Emancipation Day 2015 from Flag Fantasy on Vimeo.

 

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