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Haiti is a small nation comprising of several small islands. It also covers approximately one third of the Caribbean isle of Hispaniola. The country is economically backward and the people there lead a tough life. Roman Catholicism is Haiti's state religion and most of the people of Haiti follow it. About 20% of the people follow Protestantism; nevertheless the religion named Voodoo is also followed by a small part of the population. Festivals and celebrations do have an important place in social and cultural fabric of Haitian life. Carnival can be said to one of the popular celebrations that Haitians celebrate, another religious festival that is celebrated in Haiti on a modest scale is the Drapo Art.
Carnival is the major religious festival that is celebrated in Haiti with a lot of fanfare and enthusiasm maintaining all the religious rituals and practices. Before the commencement of Carnival all the religious rites, such as fasting and many more rites are followed. On the Carnival celebrations day, processions come out on the road, participants with colorful clothes and costumes move on to different corners of the streets. Music is an important element to the Haitians' lives. They have different kinds of musical instruments that can be prepared at home; some of them are Shaker, Tambourine, Drums and Tambourine. Delicious dishes also an important part of the carnival festival. Rara band is the most attractive feature in the Carnival processions.
Drapo Art is another religious festival that is celebrated in Haiti but on a small scale. The followers of the Voodoo religion usually celebrate this festival. In this celebration voodoo flags are painted and are magnificently decorated. The paintings that are made on the flags are considered to be sacred and they take uncountable days to be done perfectly.
Apart from religious festivals there are some non-religious celebrations too in Haiti that gives a mental boost to the Haitians. One of such celebrations is to Take Action. Thus Take Action is a charitable action of distributing clothes and food materials to different houses.
Finally, the Krik! Krak! Festival is a family oriented Haitian celebration that generally revolves round music, songs, dances and riddles. The Haitians generally do not have many facilities to enjoy in life, thus these kinds of festivals give them an opportunity to rejoice themselves and get mentally boost up.
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