Holidays

Holidays in Guadeloupe

Vacation in Guadeloupe is vacation in France. This is because the department, which is part of the Lesser Antilles, is a fully integrated part of the French state and therefore also part of the European Union. However, the islands are more than 6,000 kilometres away from France. This distance is also noticeable when it comes to holidays.

Overview

New Year’s Day – January 01

Three Kings Festival – January 06

Carnival – Flexible

Ash Wednesday – Flexible

Easter Monday – Flexible

Labor Day – May 01

Ascension Day – Flexible

Victory Day – 08 May

Slavery Abolition Day – May 27

Pentecost Monday – Flexible

Day of the Storming of the Bastille (National Holiday) – July 14

Schoelcher Day – July 21

Marian Ascension Day – August 15

All Saints Day – November 01

Memorial Day – November 11

Christmas – December 25

Worth knowing about selected holidays

Victory Day

Victory Day is celebrated in many countries in Europe and commemorates the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht. This is synonymous with the end of the Second World War.

Carnival

Like everywhere else in the Caribbean, Carnival in Guadeloupe can’t be beat for joie de vivre. Colorful parades, Caribbean music and tropical climate make the carnival an unforgettable experience for every tourist.

Slavery Abolition Day

This day is a holiday only in Guadeloupe and not in all of France. It commemorates the sad past when thousands of islanders were sold as slaves. It was not until 1848 that slavery was finally banned in all French possessions.

Allerheiligen

On this day, tourists should definitely visit a cemetery after dark. Guadeloupe residents honor their dead on this day by placing countless candles on gravesites. A twinkling sea of lights in all the department’s cemeteries is the result.

During the day, the graves, which often resemble small apartment buildings, are cleaned. The whole atmosphere is more like a folk festival than a day of mourning. Loudly the families talk from grave to grave. There are snack stands in front of the cemeteries so that the refreshment of the living is not neglected on this day.

Christmas

Even though Guadeloupe is part of France, Christmas is celebrated quite differently. Under no circumstances should tourists miss the traditional Christmas caroling. The countrywide events have nothing to do with the Christmas choirs that are common in our country.

Caribbean rhythms heat up the mood, the evening reminds more of party, than of contemplative holidays. The lyrics of the songs are familiar to all French people, but the melody has turned into a tropical firework over the distance to the mainland. Especially important are the drummers, who give each song its own rhythm. Christmas in Guadeloupe means a pure love of life.