Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign island country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude.
June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and is the second of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the third of five months to have a length of less than 31 days. June contains the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the most daylight hours, and the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, the day with the fewest daylight hours. June in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent to December in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. In the Northern Hemisphere, the beginning of the traditional astronomical summer is 21 June. In the Southern Hemisphere, meteorological winter begins on 1 June.
November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars, the fourth and last of four months to have a length of 30 days and the fifth and last of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. November was the ninth month of the calendar of Romulus c. 750 BC. November retained its name when January and February were added to the Roman calendar. November is a month of late spring in the Southern Hemisphere and late autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, November in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of May in the Northern Hemisphere and vice versa. In Ancient Rome, Ludi Plebeii was held from November 4–17, Epulum Jovis was held on November 13 and Brumalia celebrations began on November 24. These dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar.
Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas, at Guanahaní, an island in the Bahamas, on October 12, 1492.
Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday, also known as Monday of the Holy Spirit, is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a moveable feast in the Christian liturgical calendar. It is moveable because it is determined by the date of Easter. In the Catholic Church, it is the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, marking the resumption of Ordinary Time.
Indian Arrival Day is a holiday celebrated on various days in the nations of the Caribbean, Fiji, South Africa, and Mauritius, commemorating the arrival of people from the Indian subcontinent to their respective nations as indentured labours brought by European colonial authorities and their agents. In Guyana, Mauritius, and Trinidad and Tobago, it is an official public holiday.
Emancipation Day is observed in many former European colonies in the Caribbean and areas of the United States on various dates to commemorate the emancipation of slaves of African descent.
Hinduism is the leading single religion of the Indo-Caribbean communities of the West Indies. Hindus are particularly well represented in Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, where they constituted 18 percent of the total population, as of 2011. The Cayman Islands also hosts a sizable Hindu population, with 2.4 percent of the country affiliating with the religion. Smaller groups of Indo-Caribbeans live elsewhere in the Caribbean, especially Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Belize, Barbados, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, and Bahamas.
The monarchy of Antigua and Barbuda is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Antigua and Barbuda. The current Antiguan and Barbudan monarch and head of state since 8 September 2022, is King Charles III. As sovereign, he is the personal embodiment of the Crown of Antigua and Barbuda. Although the person of the sovereign is equally shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled King of Antigua and Barbuda and, in this capacity, he and other members of the Royal Family undertake public and private functions domestically and abroad as representatives of Antigua and Barbuda. However, the King is the only member of the Royal Family with any constitutional role.
The Antiguan Carnival is a celebration of the emancipation of slavery in the country held annually from the end of July to the first Tuesday in August. The most important day is that of the j'ouvert, in which brass and steel bands perform for much of the island's population. Barbuda's Carnival, held in June, is known as Caribana. The Antiguan and Barbudan Carnivals replaced the Old Time Christmas Festival in 1957, with hopes of inspiring tourism in Antigua and Barbuda. Some elements of the Christmas Festival remain in the modern Carnival celebrations.
Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Dutch town of Leiden and the Australian territory of Norfolk Island. It began as a day of giving thanks for the blessings of the harvest and of the preceding year.. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and around the same part of the year in other places. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been celebrated as a secular holiday as well.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Antigua and Barbuda:
Tax information exchange agreements (TIEA) provide for the exchange of information on request relating to a specific criminal or civil tax investigation or civil tax matters under investigation.
CARIPASS is a voluntary travel card programme that will provide secure and simple border crossings for Caribbean Community (CARICOM) citizens and some legal residents of CARICOM nations. The CARIPASS initiative is coordinated by the Implementation Agency for Crime and Security, and seeks to provide standardised border control facilities within participating Caribbean communities.
Visitors to Antigua and Barbuda must obtain a visa from one of the Antigua and Barbuda diplomatic missions or in certain cases in United Kingdom diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries.
Antigua and Barbuda and Mexico are members of the Association of Caribbean States, Organization of American States and the United Nations.
The following lists events that happened during 2021 in the Caribbean.
Royal tours of Antigua and Barbuda by its Royal Family have been taking place since the 20th century. The former Queen of Antigua and Barbuda, Elizabeth II, visited the country three times: 1966, 1977, and 1985. Other members of the Royal Family have also paid visits.
The following lists events that happened during 2022 in the Caribbean.
Activities: Round the Island Tour, Mountain Climbing - Gros Piton (2579'), Beach Picnic - Soufrière."
