My picks for the best January events, festivals and holiday happenings in the Caribbean begin with New Year's Day and include Carnival celebrations, music festivals, Three Kings Day observances, and more.
1. New Year's Junkanoo Parade, Bahamas
Bajans welcome the New Year with parades featuring traditional junkanoo dancing and music, on islands from Grand Bahama to Abaco. The parade in Nassau is the biggest and considered the best; it starts at 2 a.m. and runs through 8 a.m. Other parades take place on New Year's morning.2. Aruba Carnival Celebration
© Aruba Tourism Authority
Each Caribbean Carnival celebration is unique, and Aruba's exhibits both Dutch influences and the culture of the Antilles, featuring parades in San Nicolas and Orenjestad highlighted by tumba and calypso music, a balloon parade, the crowning of a Carnival king and queen, a Heineken drinking contest, and the burning of King Momo.
3. Three Kings' Day in Puerto Rico
The feast of the Three Kings, a.k.a. El Reyes, is a huge celebration in Puerto Rico. On the eve of Three Kings' Day (the Feast of the Epiphany), children put a box containing grass clippings for the Magis' camels to eat, and good children are rewarded by Los Reyes with gifts. Thanks to the importance of this January holiday, you will see Christmas decorations in Puerto Rico well after folks back in the U.S. have packed theirs away until the following December. If you are in Puerto Rico in January, try to catch up with the Three Kings from the town of Juana Diaz, who tour the island before heading back to the Holy Land.4. Barbados Jazz Festival
Courtesy of the Barbados Tourism Authority
Established in 1992, the Barbados Jazz Festival is a week-long celebration featuring performers such as Lee Ritenour and Erykah Badu, with performances in diverse venues such as historic plantation homes, a rum factory, and Farley Hill National Park.
