After carnival comes Lent

After carnival, we have a forty-day period which is called Lent. During this time, people get closer to God by going to church and eating healthy food. It begins on Ash Wednesday, this year February 14th and ends on Holy Thursday, before the celebration of the Lord's supper. Lent refers in particular to the forty days spent in the desert by the people of Israel, between  their coming out of Egypt and entering the promised land; it also refers to the forty days Christ spent in the beginning of his public life. This number of forty symbolizes the time of preparation for a new beginning.

This time usually corresponds to the dry season in our tropical area which is also called "carême".

Agnès P

After Lent, a period of fast, penance and prayer comes Easter which is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. It is celebrated at church or during a family dinner. There are a lot of Easter eggs, decorations and gifts. In Martinique, we decorate eggs and hide them for children to find them during an egg hunt.

Lindsay A

Soon, we'll celebrate Easter and we'll eat crab "Matoutou" and rice. Matoutou is cooked in a colombo sauce. "Colombo" is stewed meat or fish cooked in a curry sauce with potatoes and carrots cut in dice. Whole families and friends spend the Easter Monday at the beach sipping and eating crab matoutou.

Aurélie M

Crab matoutou

Chicken colombo

We invite you to try our local recipes

A nice blog about Martinican traditions