Between “Price and Power”: National Holidays in the Surinamese Nation

Should Suriname review the number of national holidays, as the private sector has been arguing for years? In its view, these are days with no economic reciprocity. However, societies do not develop only on the basis of their economic course, but also because of their social spheres that contribute to social rest necessary for strong economic progress. In Suriname, the social field is culturally very diverse. In religious terms, it even ranks first in the region and fourth in the world. This article aims to analyze the position of national holidays between ‘price and power’ as a case to understand narratives about cultural diversity in the Surinamese nation. Price metaphorically refers to the economic cost, the “price tag,” of national holidays, while power refers to their social significance in the larger society. More specifically, the article compares the backgrounds of the recognition of religious holidays in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In doing so, it addresses the dynamics between the identification processes of cultural groups, the imagined Surinamese nation, and interculturality. The analysis stems from approximately 15 years of reflections on national holidays in a changing social and political context and previously published studies as discussed by Algoe (2009; a; b; 2022).