Today in History: Haiti proclaims independence on Jan. 1, 1804

Editor’s note: This story is part of our This Day in History series, where The Haitian Times revisits pivotal moments that shaped Haiti and its Diaspora.

Every Jan. 1, as the world rings in the new year, Haitians across the globe also remember something far deeper, the birth of the world’s First Black Republic, on Haitian Independence Day.

On Jan. 1, 1804, Haiti officially declared independence from French colonial rule, abolishing slavery and asserting freedom for all people. The declaration came after a brutal 12-year war that began in 1791 to break from enslavement imposed by French colonizers and enforced by one of the most powerful military forces of the era.

In the Artibonite port city of Gonaïves, Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaimed Haiti’s independence, forever altering the course of world history by inspiring liberation movements. The formerly colonized land of Saint-Domingue took on a new name — Haiti. Derived from the Taino-Arawak language of the indigenous people who lived there before colonization spread around the world, the word meaning “land of the mountains.”

That victory made Haiti the First Black Republic in the world and the second such government in the Western Hemisphere after the United States. It also sent shockwaves across the globe, proving that enslaved people could defeat empires, claim their humanity and govern themselves — redefining what liberation could look like for oppressed people everywhere.

The first two days of the year are dedicated to remembrance. Jan. 1 marks Independence Day, while Jan. 2 honors Ancestors’ Day. Known in Haitian Creole as Jou Zansèt and in French as Jour des Aïeux, the second day pays tribute to the nation’s founders and the countless Haitians who sacrificed their lives for freedom. Together, the dates reflect a universal struggle to break chains, reclaim dignity and assert fundamental human rights. 

Soup joumou: A ritual of freedom

More than two centuries later, that legacy lives on — not only in history books, but in kitchens, living rooms and community gatherings around the world.

One of the most enduring traditions of Haitian Independence Day is the preparation and sharing of soup joumou, a pumpkin-based dish symbolic of the liberation gained.

Before emancipation, enslaved people were forbidden from eating pumpkin, as it was a delicacy reserved exclusively for the colony’s enslavers. After independence, the newly-freed people began cooking the soup as a symbol of freedom, preparing and sharing it to mark their liberty and pride.

To this day, Haitian families in Haiti and throughout the Haitian Diaspora rise early on Jan. 1, or stay up late on Dec. 31, to prepare soup joumou. Often, the family matriarch organizes the ingredients days ahead, with cooking beginning in the early morning of Independence Day. 

Many believe eating the hearty stew brings blessings of health and prosperity for the year ahead.

Beyond Jan. 1, the dish remains reserved for meaningful moments — family Sundays, life milestones and funeral receptions — believed to restore strength and revitalize the body.

If you’d like to try your hand at this Haitian delicacy, follow the recipe below: 

Soup joumou ingredients (serves 10-12)

• 2.5 pounds pumpkin or squash, peeled and cut
• 1 pounds beef neck bones
• 1 pound of beef cubed
• Half a pound of oxtail (Optional)
• 1 lime, halved
• 1 scallions, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 colored bell peppers
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 shallot, minced
• 5 tablespoons epis
• 4 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 10 cabbage leaves, quartered
• 2 large carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4-5 whole cloves
• ½ cup penne or macaroni
• 2 potatoes, quartered
• 1 yellow yam
• 2 malanga 
• 2 green plantains
• 1 large turnip, cut into pieces
• 1 Scotch bonnet pepper
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• Salt, pepper and herbs to taste

Preparation

Cook the pumpkin in 6 cups of water over medium heat for 30 minutes. 

Clean the variety of meat (beef neck bones, beef, and oxtail) with lime juice, then marinate with the scallions, onion, garlic, shallot, colored bell peppers, epis, salt and black pepper. 

Cook the meat covered in a stockpot with 3 cups of water for 40 minutes. Add pureed pumpkin and additional water, bring to a boil and cook for 40 minutes. Add all the vegetables and cloves, and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, uncovered, for another 20 minutes, then season to taste.

Once your “soup joumou” is ready, you will savor a warm bowl of Haiti’s most coveted and revered dish, a powerful symbolism of freedom. 

A legacy that continues

Haiti’s revolution did more than secure independence—it offered the world a blueprint for resistance, dignity and self-determination. That work, many Haitians say, remains unfinished.

As Haitians mark Independence Day this Jan. 1, the call is not only to celebrate, but to remember. The revolution lives on in collective memory, cultural practice and an enduring refusal to surrender hope for a truly liberated Haiti.

For Haitians at home and across the Diaspora, the day serves as both a commemoration and a commitment—to honor the past, confront the present and carry forward the unfinished promise of 1804.

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