Marriage and Family

A growing number of young people are choosing not to marry until after they have established themselves financially or have begun their careers. Weddings are important events in the lives of Bajans. Traditionally held in church, a wedding ceremony is followed by a gala reception in a local hall, hotel, or restaurant, at which a steel band will play. Bridal dresses are similar to those worn in western Europe or North America, and brides wear long veils. Elaborate wedding cakes are provided by the family.

The extended family continues to be important in Barbados, and members may live together or near one another. The father is considered head of the family, but the mother’s role in bringing up children is equally, if not more, important. Single-parent families, usually headed by the mother, are common. Many women work outside the home46.2 percent (1999). Grandparents often care for children while their mothers are at work. Many of those who have emigrated to the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom to find work maintain family ties by making telephone calls, visiting, and sending money to their relatives in Barbados.

Some houses are made from cement and painted in pastel colors, but many families live in traditional wooden chattel houses that are set on coral stone about 1 meter (about 3 feet) above ground to improve air circulation. Chattel houses were designed for easy assembly and disassembly because plantation workers in the past were often required to move from one working area to another. Today the houses occupy permanent sites and are so well built that they may be passed from one generation to the next.

Eating

The national dish of Barbados is cou cou (made of okra and cornmeal) served with flying fish or salted codfish. Lobster, shrimp, dorado (a large game fish), red snapper, turtle, tuna, and the Crane Chubb fish are also enjoyed. White sea urchin eggs are considered a delicacy. Mangoes, papaya, bananas, cucumbers, guavas, avocados, and coconuts, as well as pumpkins, tomatoes, eggplant, breadfruit, and numerous other vegetables are grown in Barbados. Local dishes include jug jug (Guinea corn and green peas), pepper pot (a spicy stew), and conkies (cornmeal, coconut, pumpkin, raisins, sweet potatoes, and spice steamed in a banana leaf). Black-bellied sheep and goats provide meat, and cows and goats provide milk.

Bajan cuisine combines African and English traditions, and fast food and pizza are also becoming popular. International cuisine is available in resort areas.

Socializing

When greeting, a handshake is usual, but a hug is common among friends. In formal meetings, one might use conventional English phrases such as “How do you do?” In other circumstances, a variety of more informal phrases may be used. An answer such as “Not bad” is common and considered a friendly response. An evening telephone call begins with “Hello, good night….”

Bajans usually visit one another on weekends, but a favorite time for men to gather is Sunday morning, and topics of conversation range from politics to cricket. Cricket and other sporting events are important occasions for old friends to get together. Shops in the country districts and barber salons in the city are also places of lively discussion, especially around election time. Guests are often invited to afternoon tea.

Recreation

Cricket is the national sport. Bajans also enjoy soccer, bridge, chess, cycling, basketball, rugby, and volleyball. Barbados offers excellent opportunities for swimming, windsurfing and surfing, yachting, waterskiing, sailing, scuba diving, and skin diving. The country’s extensive coral reefs encourage diving, and there are three sunken ships offshore for underwater exploration. Other sporting activities include polo, horse racing, golf, squash, and tennis. The national table game is dominoes. Sunday and holiday picnics at the beach are popular. Music (including Bajan folk songs and calypso) and dancing play an important part in Barbadian life. Music is often played by steel bands, whose instruments are tuned oil drums that are struck with rubber-headed drumsticks.

Holidays and Celebrations

Four annual festivals celebrate important events in Barbados: The Holetown Festival (three days in February) celebrates the arrival of the first settlers; the Oistins Fish Festival is held on Easter weekend as a tribute to the fishing industry; the Crop Over Festival (mid-July to early August) celebrates the end of the sugarcane harvest; and the National Independence Festival of the Creative Arts (November) allows people to display talents in various fields. Other holidays include New Year's Day (1 January), Errol Barrow Day (21 January), Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day (1 May), Whitmonday, Kadooment Day (first Monday in August), United Nations (UN) Day (first Monday in October), Independence Day (30 November), Christmas Day (25 December), and 26 December.

Source: Encarta Interactive World Atlas

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