Can Nine Mornings be the impetus towards greater benefits from our national festivals?

The 2024 Festival was officially launched with a street parade and rally on December 1, while the popular lighting up of the historic Botanic Gardens on the evening of December 15, will provide an excellent entrée into the Christmas Festival and festivities.

While the Nine Mornings Festival itself has a long history, it was much more urban-based, with the major activities concentrated in Kingstown and its environs. Perhaps the most beneficial aspect of its modern revival has been the extension of the festival, on an organised basis, to the rural areas. There has also been greater emphasis on popular involvement, including the incorporation of traditional games and innovations. These lend themselves to a community/people’s atmosphere.

It is interesting to note that the three major festivals in our country all occur within the last half of the year. In the case of Carnival, while much of it, including rural activities, takes place in June, the national climax comes in July. Christmas of course occurs at the end of the year, ushering in the New Year. In between them is Independence. Each of these three Festivals has its own unique character and strengths though it is fair to say that the Independence Festival still lags behind its older, more traditional companions. Perhaps we can begin to explore not only how we can exploit a greater linkage between all three, and within it, how we can learn from the other two festivals to further develop the Independence Festival.

Independence is our National Festival, celebrating the official birth of the Vincentian nation, in constitutional terms. For some nations, in the Caribbean and ex-colonies in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Polynesia, independence has a special significance. To a large extent this is based on the fact that many of these nations achieved independence after very bloody armed struggles giving a sense of national accomplishment and thus national identification.

While in the Caribbean the struggles for national liberation, against colonialism and slavery were also bloody experiences, the 20th century accession to independent status was not marred by the same levels of violence. In addition, many of those who led their countries into independence were prone to accept the view that it was a “gift” from the colonisers.

While it is true that in some countries, the independence festivals are highly regarded and appreciated, much more can be done utilising the opportunity to build patriotism and lift national consciousness. It may not be a bad idea at all to draw inspiration and examples from the popular Nine Mornings and Christmas activities, to try and infuse more popular involvement in the independence festival, whether in terms of lighting up, which has fallen off significantly, and definitely in generating rural involvement. It may be worth the trouble for the organisers of independence activities and our government to explore such a linkage.