Jamaica Culture and Traditions

Customs and traditions

The most common way of health is a handshake with direct eye contact and a smile. Female friends can hug each other and kiss each other on both cheeks, while men usually pat each other on the shoulder or fold their palms together in a “high five”.

Before establishing a personal contact, one should address individuals with mr / mrs / miss / ms and the surname.

• Countryaah: Overview of the capital city of Jamaica, including information about its population, economy, geography, history and map.

Family, work, and hobbies are often good conversation topics when meeting someone for the first time, but you should wait to talk about politics and religion that can be sensitive topics. Giving praise to Jamaican country, athletes or food can be a great way to start a conversation. Jamaicans are often warm, friendly and laugh a lot. Humor is important and can facilitate both in private contacts and business conversations.

Times and business

You should book business meetings a couple of weeks in advance and then confirm that the meeting really should be held a few days before the day in question. The meetings, which begin with small talk, are formal but kept in a friendly tone. Professional status is important at meetings and at companies.

For the Jamaicans, it is often not so important to fit the times. It is not uncommon for a person whom you have met to meet at least half an hour late. As a visitor, you are still expected to be on time for meetings, but it is good to be prepared that you can wait a bit. The rate of work is generally lower than in Europe and the United States.

Dress

Most people are well dressed at work. In many service professions you wear uniform, as the school children do. In offices, women usually dress in skirts and jackets and men in pants and shirt. In the financial sector, men are expected to wear a shirt and tie and sometimes even a suit. Shorts and sandals are rarely used at work, but almost exclusively on the beach.

Food

According to Abbreviationfinder, Jamaican food culture has drawn inspiration from many directions: indigenous peoples, Spaniards, Englishmen, Africans, Indians and Chinese. The food often consists of fish, seafood, chicken or beef seasoned with, for example, ginger, nutmeg, spice or curry. Rice or beans are served to the meat or fish. The country’s national dish is ackee and saltfish (salted cod and fruit ackee). Other typical dishes are the spicy smoky chicken dish jerk chicken, ox tail and beans as well as goat in curry. Food bananas are widely used and the diet includes a variety of fruits such as mango and papaya.

Holidays

According to Countryaah, in addition to the usual Christian holidays and New Year’s and workers’ day on May 1, Jamaicans celebrate Independence Day on the first Monday in August and National Hero Day on the third Monday in October. The latter draws attention to Christopher Columbus’s “discovery” of America. In Jamaica, the Chinese New Year is also celebrated.