Independence Day in Haiti is celebrated annually as a public holiday on every 1st of January[1] along with New Years Day, commemorating the nation's liberation from the French Empire.[1][2] It also marks the birth of the world's first independent black republic, one achieved through an unprecedented successful slave revolt with the Haitian Revolution.[1][2][3]
On January 1, 1804, Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaimed Haiti's independence from the French in the port city of Gonaïves, ending the 12 year-long war against the bondage imposed upon the people by the French planters.[1] This date is also special as the island, previously called Saint-Domingue, obtained a new name - Haiti - meaning "Land of the mountains" in Taino-Arawak.
In honor of Independence Day, nationwide celebrations and festivities are held with additional special tributes such as renditions of the anthem and firework shows paying respect to Jean-Jacques Dessalines, hailed as the hero of the revolution.[1] Additionally, military parades are held in the nation's capital city of Port-au-Prince that are accompanied by cultural showcases with public figures also delivering speeches on Haiti and its future.[4]
Central to the celebrations is the tradition of eating Joumou soup, a symbolic dish cherished by Haitians as a symbol of equality and freedom due to the fact the French had forbidden the enslaved to consume it during colonial rule. Upon independence, Haitians embraced the soup, making it take on new meanings of defiance and liberation. Since then, its consumption has been enshrined as a declaration that French rule is a thing of the past in Haiti.[3]
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