In Jamaica the holiday fever is rising. However amidst all this festivity is the uncertainty of a new administration. Is Bruce Golding doing enough to keep the country flowing and making things better?
Old time people will tell you Christmas is not Christmas without a visit to t Grand Market. Where you do your final shopping. The smell of Grand market was strong with the fresh smell of thyme and scallion.
However what really makes Christmas the event is in Jamaica is "JonKunnu."Jonkunnu or some people call it "John Canoe." I think this is Jamaica's version of Halloween. This is a traditional Christmas dance in Jamaica. The dance features dancers. Some of these dancers dress in costumes disguising their true identity They dance contains very low budget costumes. The music is usually coming from a harmonica, old grater, fiddle..and other homemade instruments.
History has the festival originating around the 18th Century. It mainly comes from a combined European and African history.
John Connu pays homage to John Conny. He was an active and successful black merchant near Axim(this is an area located near the Guinea Coast). He worked for the Brandenburg Company on the Coast of Ghana. (Pokoso, Takrama, and Akoda). As we can see today however, Jonkunnu is a tradition dance (more of a liberation reminder), not exclusively performed at Christmas, because it can also be performed at State Functions.
Because it was one of the few times (Christmas) the slaves were relieved of their duties, it is the ideal way for celebrations.
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