Celebrated annually on November 19 in Belize, Garifuna Settlement Day is a public holiday that commemorates the arrival of the Garifuna people to the country's coastlines in 1802. The day was first observed in the town of Stan Creek in 1941 and was declared a national public holiday in 1977. The Garifuna are descendants of Carib, Arawak, and African people, and this day honors their contributions to the Belizean society and preserves their unique culture and traditions.
Garifuna Settlement Day is marked with vibrant and multifaceted celebrations. These include reenactments of the Garifuna's initial arrival in Belize, which generally involve a flotilla of colorful dug out canoes landing on shore at dawn. The day is further filled with prayer services, parades, traditional Garifuna music, dances like Punta and John Canoe, and feasting on Garifuna foods like cassava bread and hudut, a traditional fish soup.
This day does not only celebrate the Garifuna people's arrival, but also their survival against attempts at cultural assimilation and extermination. Garifuna Settlement Day is considered critical in promoting multicultural understanding and unity in Belize. The Garifuna language, music, dance, and philosophy are recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity. Hence, this day plays a pivotal role in fostering awareness about the cultural diversity and paying tribute to the resilience of the Garifuna people.