The Bahamas celebrates New Year's Eve and New Year's Day with the Junkanoo parade, whose major event takes place on January 1.
Junkanoo is a Bahamian street festival featuring elaborate costumes, rhythmic music, dancing, and competitive parade groups. The largest public celebrations take place in Nassau, where participants parade through the streets in the early hours of Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
The festival’s history is linked to the African heritage of enslaved people in the Bahamas and to traditions that developed during the colonial period. Its name and precise origins are debated, but its cultural importance in Bahamian national life is firmly established.
Junkanoo is sometimes confused with Caribbean carnivals held later in the year. Its New Year’s Day parade is a distinct Bahamian tradition, with groups judged on elements such as music, costumes, choreography, and overall presentation.