Junkanoo

Junkanoo is the Bahamas' national celebration, and it happens in the dark: groups take to Bay Street in the small hours of Boxing Day and New Year's Day and rush - a driving, shuffling advance behind enormous costumes of layered crepe paper, powered by cowbells, whistles, brass and goatskin drums heated over fires to tighten the skins. Costumes take a year to build in secret group shacks and can stand three metres tall; the competition between groups is fierce and judged on music, costume and presentation. Its roots trace to the days when enslaved people were given a few days off around Christmas, and the celebration has been passed down and elaborated ever since.

What you actually see

• The rush-out - groups advancing up Bay Street from around two in the morning.
• The costumes - towering crepe-paper constructions judged on craft.
• The cowbell and drum sections - the sound that carries across the island.
• The Junkanoo museum - costumes and history year round in Nassau.

When to go

The two big parades are Boxing Day and New Year's Day, starting in the small hours and running past dawn. Summer Junkanoo events and smaller island parades happen at other times but do not match the scale. Book Nassau accommodation months ahead for the December window.

Honest expectations

This is an all-night event - things get going around two in the morning and the best hours are before sunrise, so plan sleep accordingly. Bleacher seats sell out and standing areas get packed tight; both are loud enough that ear protection for children is sensible. It is a participatory local celebration rather than a show staged for visitors, which is exactly why it is worth attending on its own terms.

Nearby

Nassau's old town and forts, Paradise Island and the harbour.