Celebration banner hung in Immaculate Conception Cathedral

On Friday, February 7, 2020, the Caribbean island nation of Grenada celebrated 46 years of independence. In 1974, the island gained independent sovereign nation status under Queen Elizabeth II via legal means instead of revolution. It’s nice to know that can happen. Grenada is still part of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Since I am spending two weeks vacationing here, I was able to see some of the festivities. One of the most notable differences between how the USA celebrates and Grenada is how the two peoples wish each other well. In America, people say “Happy Fourth” or “Happy Independence Day.” In Grenada, I noticed they will also say “Happy Independence Day,” but it is far more common to hear “Happy Anniversary.” As a writer, it struck me that if an author set her contemporary story on the island, this would be the kind of detail that would trip her up. Once again in-depth research no matter where your setting is important.

In 2004, Hurricane Ivan, a Category 3 storm, directly hit the island. 39 people died, and 90% of the homes were destroyed. Then ten months later, Hurricane Emily (Category 1) struck Grenada, truly feeling like nature had it in for the island. Some structures were never rebuilt. The old Parliament building across from the Immaculate Conception Cathedral was abandoned in favor of a new structure. The villa where I stayed was built with interior and exterior walls of reinforced concrete. Not too good for internet reception, but hopefully capable of withstanding a hurricane.

Grenada is a lovely island to visit. The people are friendly. They even invited our (fairly large) group to their Anniversary Day party after church. It was wonderful to taste their food as prepared by the regular people, instead of chefs.

I really like Grenada.