The last remains of King Momo have been swept, the last of the booths are closed, and the road, full of revelers, trucks, and fun, is replaced with cars - bumper to bumper. Sint Maarten Carnival 2024 is done. As there is so much that can be written about this year's festivities, this piece is going to touch on the yearly tradition that coincides with Carnival - the "You can go to carnival but not to church" sermons. As these sermons are bellowed from the pulpit, this piece is going to look at the origins and importance of the culture of Carnival, the disconnect from the church, and why the road might feel safer than the church.
Caribbean Carnival is Liberation
The concept of Carnival is not unique to the Caribbean. With a murky origin story in ancient Europe and Egypt to celebrate the new year, the festival became integral in Catholicism, as it was the last time the patrons could indulge in meats and alcohol before the Lenten period. Colonialism brought those initial practices to the region, where white settlers would participate yearly in various festivals. During that time, the slaves in Trinidad kept their indigenous practices of masquerade and music, holding what is called Canboulay. As the heading states, Caribbean Carnival is liberation. After the emancipation of slaves in the mid-19th century, the white colonialists abandoned their festivals and the now-freed slaves combined their Canboulay with Carnival, creating the marriage of food, dance, music, and fun that we have today. These festivals of celebrations and freedom were immediately criminalized by the colonial government but that did not stop them. Carnival (and similar festivals) has spread out throughout the region, with countries taking the traditions brought over by their enslaved ancestors and marking it into a festival of food, music, dance, and freedom.
This is why one can argue the importance of Carnival in sxm. As an island that has consistently become victim to its thirst for rapid development and economic growth, we have seamlessly wiped away most of our tangible and intangible heritage. However, Carnival remains the main time of year when we remember the importance of calypso as storytelling, the importance of band music (and supporting our local artists), and continuously passing down our local staples to future generations as we partake in our johnny cakes, chicken legs, ribs, sates, conchs, and oyster soups. It is the only preservation of our culture that is standing strong, and even then, the foundation is a little shaky.
“You can go to carnival but can’t come to church.”
For the last two decades of my life, April's sermons either focused on Easter (depending on when Easter falls) or Carnival. While the Easter sermon highlights the importance of the resurrection, those who go on the pulpit to condemn carnival tend to do it with such disgust that it makes you question the purpose of this message.
"They can go carnival, but they can't come to church."
As a child, that sentence (or the variations of it) sounded like 100% truth to me. Like yes, how come they can't go there and not church? As a teen, I would mumble that carnival looks more fun anyway and then would be quickly reminded that the things of the world must look appeasing to remove you from godliness. Now as an adult, I realize that sentence holds more power and comes with more nuance than we want to admit.
It is framed as a call to action from the church to push the word of the gospel and focus more on godliness, purity, and things that would bring you closer to Christ, for many Christian denominations (especially in the Methodist church in which I grew up in), your journey with Christ includes your commitment to the church, its functions, and its mission. The statement "they can go carnival, but they can't go church" is more of a how dare you statement. How dare you participate in something that's not of the church?
Here is where the problem lies. Many of those in ministry either don't know or refuse to acknowledge the cultural aspects of the day-to-day lives of their members and those they claim to mission to. As mentioned before, Carnival makes up an integral part of SXM's culture, with many people in the church being pioneers in the preservation of our culture. Going on the pulpit and ridiculing carnival is not just going against this "worldly" event but against the people in your pews (whether they admit to it or not).
Persons argue that it is not the event itself but the vulgarity of said event. This brings up another theological argument of what is considered vulgarity in the eyes of the church. The idea of what's vulgar or not is based on the societal standpoint (fueled by the patriarchy) and has shaped what's acceptable and what's not. But how can one utterly understand what's vulgarity for those in the pulpit if their standards are consistently changing or aren't consistent across the board?
For example, as a bigger person how I dress, dance, or even exist can be considered vulgar but for someone smaller than me, it can be considered fine. The vulgarity lies within the fact that I am fat, and not the function itself.
The concept of vulgarity is rarely mentioned in the critique of Carnival, thus painting this broad stroke across a multilayered event.
It all boils down to this. If your theological breakdown of what's happening within your community, and an understanding of cultural practices does not provide the proper nuance to be discussed on the pulpit, don't do it. You are being a disservice to your congregation and invalidating the lives and lives of the people you're trying to reach.
The Road is My Church
It is telling that despite all the news that would come from jump-ups and jouverts you would see many people clinging to the fact that the road is their haven. It is a place where they feel free, alive, and happy. This is the same comfort that the church states it brings but one many don't experience.
If we turn to the scripture, Matthew 11: 28-30 states: 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (NRSV). As a church, the place that is supposed to help you with your journey to Christ, one must create an environment that's encouraging, welcoming, and freeing for those reaching the point where they are comfortable to lay those heavy burdens. However, when your spaces reek judgment from the pulpit to the pews, spew bigotry, and protect abusers, people would not show up.
They would rather go to carnival (or anything else) than church. There is no comfort and safety in the church, thus why the road is my church.
Conclusion
It all boils down to liberation. Whether you know it or not, people just want to be able to be free and live as their authentic selves. Your tone of how dare you from the pulpit diminishes the overall nature of the people you claim to minister to and puts a hamper on the mission you aim to serve. Contextualizing is important. Knowing your history and truth it's important. Whether you like it or not, participating or not, carnival is important. Carnival is sweet. Carnival is nice.