New Year’s Day in the Bahamas is celebrated with Junkanoo , a polychromatic burst of music, dance, storytelling, and parades that was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2023. It’s the first intangible—a practice, skill, tradition, or craft—in the island nation recognized by the international cultural organization.

A Bahamian New Year tradition since the 18th century, Junkanoo revolves around pulsing street parades, enlivened by cowbells, whistles, horns, and goatskin drums. Many participants don bold outfits created in communal studios called “shacks,” where elders teach youths costume design, an experience considered a rite of passage. Parades are held annually on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day throughout the Bahamas—with t

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