Guyana Where and What 2023-2024 for website_compressed

Festivals in Guyana
Calcutta on 13th and 29th January
1838, respectively. The journey took
112days and of the 249 immigrants on
the Whitby, 5 died. The 244 remaining
were taken to Berbice where 164
persons were recruited by Highbury
and Waterloo plantations and the
other 80 were taken to Demerara to
Belle Vue Estate. The Hesperus with
its 152 passengers (13 died en route)
were distributed between plantations
Vreedestein, Vreed-en-hoop and Anna
Regina.
They were all bound by a 5-year
contract under certain terms and
conditions. However, they were ill
-treated and brutalized with the
exception of some on the Berbice
sugar estates who were well treated.
Nevertheless, the death rate was
relatively high. Within a year 48 had
died and by the end of indenture
ship in 1843 a further 50 had died.
It was clear that the immigrants did
not acclimatise well and fell sick very
quickly. At the end of indenture ship
236 Inidans returned to India on 2
ships, the Louisa Baillie and Water
Ditch. Sixty opted to remain in Guyana.
Since 2018 a Portuguese Arrival Day is
being celebrated every May 2nd with
a special event hosted by the Ministry
of Social Cohesion while Arrival Day
for Guyanese of Indian ancestry is
celebrated with a holiday on May 5th .
EASTER
This is an exciting time of the year
for all Guyanese. The Easter season
symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. On Good
Friday businesses are closed. It is
usually a sombre day with special
programmes or movies played to
show the Passion of Christ. There are
many church services that reflect on
the holiday season. Then all the fun
starts on Easter Sunday and Easter
Monday. When looking up in the sky
one can see hundreds of kites flying.
These are usually different shapes and
colours; the sweet buzzing sound of
the kites, is a wonderful sight. The Kite
season normally starts a few days or
a month before Easter. This is when
the children and even adults buy
coloured kite paper to make the kite
or purchase one from the many kitesellers.
In Guyana it is very important
for a person to have kites that can fly
the highest and buzz the loudest. It is
fun for some to have razor blades in
the tail of their kites so that when it
moves in the sky the wind swing and
cut the string or punches a kite that is
close by. This may sound very mean,
but it’s all part of the fun. Kite flying
is mostly done on the sea wall, Hope
Beach, National Park or in any wide
open spaces where the wind is strong.
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