The Bahamas hosts the New Year's Eve festival called Junkanoo, traditionally held in Nassau.
Junkanoo is a major Bahamian street parade featuring elaborate costumes, music, dancing, and competition among participating groups. The principal Nassau parade takes place in the early hours of Boxing Day, December 26, and again on New Year's Day. The New Year's parade is therefore a central part of the Bahamas' year-end holiday season.
Its origins are commonly connected with the era of slavery in the Caribbean, when enslaved people used limited holiday time to gather, make music, and celebrate. The name's exact origin is debated, with theories connecting it to the historical figure John Canoe or related West African and Caribbean traditions.
Modern Junkanoo includes large handmade costumes, cowbells, goatskin drums, whistles, and brass instruments. Although the festival is especially associated with Nassau, Junkanoo events are held in other Bahamian islands and in Bahamian communities abroad. It is not the same event as Trinidad and Tobago's Carnival.