Dancers at the Emancipation Village

Photographer: Anthony Harris

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Trinidad's Major Festivals & Holidays

This festival island constantly celebrates life, creativity, and diversity – Archbishop Desmond Tutu called T&T a “rainbow nation” when he visited in the 1980s (though he gave his native South Africa the same description as well). Indeed, every day’s a celebration in Trinidad — or so it can appear at times when our many ethnic groups and religions have given us such a wide array of festival and holidays. These are some of our most distinctive celebrations.

And don't forget to visit our Calendar for an updated list of the current year's holidays and events.

Hosay

This originally Islamic festival commemorates the martyrdom of Hussain, the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, and later murder of his brother Hassan. The lively three-night celebrations culminate in a procession of exquisitely made tadjahs (fanciful replicas of the tomb of Hussein) carried through the streets to the thunder of tassa drums; they are eventually cast into the sea. Popular venues for watching and joining Hosay activities are St. James, Curepe, Tunapuna, Couva, and Cedros. Dates vary each year according to the moon. In 2009, for example, Hosay happened twice: in January and in December.

Carnival

Undoubtedly the island’s largest and most famous festival, showcasing some of the nation’s most distinctive artforms: calypso, soca, steelband, limbo and others. The island’s signature festival includes fetes, music, dance and a two-day parade of bands in towns across the island. For the full low-down, see our Carnival articles.

Phagwa (Holi)

Each March the Hindu community recognises the beginning of the Indian spring and the Hindu New Year. A major hallmark of the festival is the vegetable dye abir, a vegetable dye (commonly a distinctive purple) that Phagwa (or Holi) participants spray over one another as part of the revelry. Celebrations also include chowtal singing and dancing competitions. (If you attend a Phagwa celebration make sure to wear old clothes!) Especially popular is the Children’s Phagwa celebration hosted each year at the Tunapuna Hindu School, while the Aranguez Savannah is another popular venue for celebrations.

Orisa Family Day

A traditional procession in which devotees accompany Orisa (also spelt Orisha) drummers from Lopinot Junction to ancestral lands for a day of rituals and prayer. Usually held in March.

Spiritual (Shouter) Baptist Liberation Day (public holiday)

Celebrated on 30 March, this day commemorates the abolition of the colonial-era British-instituted Shouters Prohibition Ordinance, which forbade participation in this African-influenced religion. The Baptists are also sometimes referred to as just Shouter Baptists or as Shango Baptists.

La Divina Pastora

A Catholic devotion with origins in Spain, this tribute to the Divine Shepherdess is also made by Hindus, who refer to the wooden Black Virgin statue in Siparia’s Catholic Church as Siparee Kay Mai. On the day of celebration, the statue is decorated with flowers and dressed in white, and processed through the streets. Held annually on the second Sunday after Easter, the festival is one of the main events in the southern town of Siparia.

Trinidad & Tobago Fashion Week

Founded in 2008, the event showcases some of the most talented local and regional designers and models, both established and emerging, every May.

Taste T&T

This event showcases some of the island’s best and favourite foods and chefs. Venues like the Jean Pierre Complex and Adam Smith Square are converted into massive restaurants, hosting signature events like the T&T Recipe and Cooking Competition, the community-oriented Pot Spoon Throwdown, and the Demonstration Kitchen with gourmet chefs. During the subsequent Restaurant Week, featured restaurants offer specials and coupons.

Indian Arrival Day (public holiday)

Celebrated on 30 May, in commemoration of the arrival of the first indentured labourers from India on the Fatel Razak in 1845, following the Emancipation of African slaves in 1838. More than 140,000 Indians were recruited over the next 70 years to work Trinidad’s plantations after emancipation left them without labour. Communities re-enact the arrival of this first group on beaches around the country, and outstanding members of Trinidad’s Indian community are rewarded for their contributions. The Divali Nagar site just outside Chaguanas is a focal point.

Corpus Christi (public holiday)

On this public holiday (often held in June, but which varies according to the religious calendar), Roman Catholics process through Port of Spain as a public profession of faith, a practice dating back to Spanish colonial days. It is a traditional day for planting crops, as it is believed that it always rains on Corpus Christi.

Red Earth Eco Arts Festival

Hosted at natural oases like Chaguramas and Blanchisseuse, the festival raises environmental awareness through environmental and arts events. It is held each year around World Environment Day (5 June).

WeBeat Festival

An annual festival each June centred around the Western Main Road in St. James, featuring vintage kaiso (calypso), talent shows, a pan explosion and a steelband parade to end the festival.

Emancipation Day (public holiday)

Celebrated on 1 August to commemorate the emancipation of African slaves in 1838. It’s marked with street processions (including towering moko jumbies, and a flambeaux-lit Canboulay procession in the evening); church services; cultural shows; and countless events and activities at the Lidj Yasu Omowale Emancipation Village in Port of Spain, including lectures, exhibitions of African art, and a trade exposition. The Village hosts craft and clothing stalls and shows featuring local and international acts.

Santa Rosa Festival

Celebrated in late August, the festival honours the patron saint of the local Amerindian Carib (or Karina) community. A month-long Amerindian/Catholic festival, it commemorates the death of Santa Rosa de Lima, the Roman Catholic patron saint of the New World. It begins with the firing of a cannon on 1 August from Calvary Hill in Arima, and ends on the Sunday following the feast day of Santa Rosa (23 August). A statue of the saint is borne through the streets of Arima in a procession by members of Trinidad’s Carib community, led by the Carib Queen, and Roman Catholics. Other observances include sharing traditional Amerindian foods and church services.

Independence Day (public holiday)

Celebrated on 31 August, this was the day when Trinidad and Tobago became independent from Britain in 1962. It starts with a parade of the various protective services; later, national awards are given to deserving citizens, and fireworks light up the Queen’s Park Savannah. There are often also huge concerts and an Independence Day Cycling Classic.

Panyard Sensations

An annual series each September in panyards across the island showcasing the national instrument, the steelpan, as well its top bands and practitioners.

Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival

This September festival started in 2006 and is now the second largest of its kind in the region. It showcases a range of dramatic, documentary, short, and animated films from or about the Caribbean and Latin America, and hosts a number of workshops and educational programmes. W: www.trinidadandtobagofilmfestival.com

Republic Day (public holiday)

Marks the adoption on 24 September, 1976 of a new republican constitution (in which a President replaced the Queen of England as the head of state, and the islands became a republic within the Commonwealth), and the first meeting of the republican parliament. Events include the Hyundai Open Water Classic at Maracas Bay and the Republic Day Cycling Challenge and 5K Fun Run.

Amerindian Heritage Day

Descendants from around the region gather for a smoke ceremony and street procession in Arima on 14 October to honour the heritage of what we know as descendants of the Caribs, Awaraks (Aruacs) and other Amerindian ancestors. Many of the names and cultural characteristic attributed to these groups as part of the island's colonial heritage, however, have been called into question and debated with the emergence of new research about the Caribbean region's inhabitants at the time of Columbus' arrival.

Divali & Ramleela (public holiday)

Celebrated in October or November according to the moon, this Hindu lunar festival of lights honours Mother Lakshmi (goddess of light, beauty, riches and love) and celebrates the return of Lord Rama from exile: thousands of flickering deyas light his way. Felicity in south Trinidad is among the most popular venues. In the nine days leading up to Divali, Trinidadians of all ethnicities and religions visit the Divali Nagar site in Chaguanas, and hundreds take part in the ritual lighting of deyas at dusk on the day itself. The Ramleela, theatrical re-enactments of stories from the Hindu scriptures, takes place just before Divali (usually in October). Also known as Ramdilla and Ramlila, this nine-day festival dramatises the life of Lord Ram with music and dancing. The best-known productions are held in Couva and Felicity, in central and south Trinidad. Hindus across Trinidad attend the outdoor spectacles, which involve bright costumes and an epic finale.

Best Village

The Best Village competition keeps folk traditions alive in local communities, and is where some of the nation’s finest performing arts professionals make their start. Ten counties vie for various titles in the Prime Minister’s Best Village trophy. Action heats up at mid-year, culminates in October/November, and encompasses all indigenous local culture – dance, drama, music, storytelling, folklore, carnival traditions, food and farming products, sports, and the selection of a Best Village Queen, La Reine Rivé.

Eid-ul-Fitr (public holiday)

Eid marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan (the ninth month of the Muslim year, according to the moon), a period of prayer and fasting from dawn to dusk. Morning communal worship in mosques and large open spaces throughout the country is followed by alms-giving; people visit family and friends, exchanging gifts and sweets. Hospitality and meals are shared with family, friends and neighbours of all backgrounds. Sawine, a milk-based vermicelli dessert, is a holiday favourite among the many sweets on offer. The date of this festival varies, since it depends on the sighting of the new moon.

Though not all of these are official public holidays, there are other religious and non-denominational days that have been designated holidays.

Other public holidays: New Year’s Day (January 1), Good Friday and Easter Monday, Labour Day (June 19), Christmas Day and Boxing Day (December 25–6). And don't forget to visit our Calendar for an updated list of the current year's holidays and events.