Bahamian Independence Day.

July 10th, was the Bahamian Independence Day, they celebrated their 34th year of independence. In honor of their celebration I had every intention of posting the words to their national anthem on Independence Day. But as you can see, I missed it. Better late than never!

National Anthem of the The Bahamas
Lift up you head to the rising sun, Bahamaland.
March on to glory your bright banners waving high.
See how the world marks the manner of your bearing!
Pledge to excel through love and unity.
Pressing onward, march together to a common loftier goal;
Steady sunward, tho' the weather
Hide the wide and trea'rous shoal.
Lift up your head to the rising sun, Bahamaland;
'Til the road you've trod lead unto your God,
March on, Bahamaland.


The celebrations actually began the night before. There were events and fireworks in several places in town. The center of the celebration seemed to start at 4:30 a.m. on July 10th with the Junkanoo parade. People lined the streets and spent several hours watching the parade. If you remember (or want to revisit) our earlier posting about Junkanoo, you can see more examples of the costumes they wore. By late morning on the 10th, the celebrations were over and everyone either headed to bed to recover or to the beach.

When we went to pick up my parents from the Airport at 4:00 p.m. the cars were lining the streets from downtown, almost the entire way to the airport. We have never seen the beaches so full. There were a multitude of food vendors at the beaches selling fish, conch fritters, and deep fried chicken.

At one point during the day we attempted to go the grocery store, believe it or not, it was closed! It brought back childhood memories of the days when our stores were closed on Sunday's and holidays.

As the pastor at St. Andrews Kirk, I received my first invitation to a Government sponsored event. There were actually two, an Ecumenical Service of Thanksgiving and an awards ceremony. The invitation clearly outlined the dress code...morning suit, lounge suit or national dress for the men and for the women, dress, hat and white gloves. Anyone want to take bets on whether I purchased a hat and white gloves to attend the event?

Peace,

Keri