When it comes to our heritage, there is so much to celebrate that often we don?t think about all of its facets ? subjects such as ethnicity, religion, culture, architecture, sports and more. Indeed, many of us either don?t know about, or have forgotten, the history of our evolution as a multi-faceted society, or even the names of those who have contributed to our culture along the way.

To help us catch up, the Department of Cultural Affairs has researched local magazines and books and compiled a list of heritage facts on a variety of topics, of which the following is a sampling:

May 24 was originally known as Queen Victoria?s birthday, before it became Empire Day, then Commonwealth Day. It was renamed Bermuda Day in 1979.

The Easter Parade was an annual event from 1930-1968.

lBermudiansof both races, free and enslaved, were heavily involved in maritime traditions such as boat-building and navigation in the 1700s.Slavery was abolished in the British Empire and Bermuda on August 1, 1834. Mary Prince, a Bermudian born and raised in slavery, wrote an account of slavery in Bermuda after she went to England. Enslaved men and women constructed the Cobbs Hill Wesleyan Methodist church in 1827.

The first Methodist church in Bermuda was established when Rev. John Stephenson came from Ireland to preach the gospel to black and coloured people.

Before Bermuda was divided into parishes, the regions were called tribes, and in 1614 there were eight of them, all named after the primary shareholders of the Virginia Company, except St. George?s. Devonshire parish was known as Cavendish Tribe, after the family of the principal shareholder, William, Lord Cavendish. Somerset was named after Sir George Somers, who loved the tribe so much he called it ?Somers Seat?.

The civil rights movement began in Bermuda before its advent in America. The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) churches were in the forefront of the challenge to the civil rights of black people in Bermuda.

Bermuda?s capital was moved from St. George?s in 1793.

The earliest recorded reference to our musical heritage started with the church. Bermudians adopted spirituals, blues, ragtime, Dixieland, jazz and soul styles from America; classical and opera styles from Europe; and calypso, reggae and gombey styles from the Caribbean.

Limbo dancing performed here is also performed in other Caribbean regions, including Surinam, Haiti and Trinidad.

Prior to being called gombeys, Bermuda?s vibrant dancers were known as The Indians. Some of the first Indian/gombey groups were Shaggy?s Crowd, Norford?s Crowd, and Nine Eggs.

Walter (Dickie) Greene held the first nightclub dance at the old Alexandrina Hall on Church Street (site of the present Bank of Bermuda branch) in 1945. Mr. Greene also held the first beauty pageant here in 1940.

Carnival came to Bermuda in 1971 when Choy Aming and ?Dickie? Greene held a carnival at PHC field in Warwick.

Big band stars of the 1940s included Mark Williams, Happy Smith, Ernie Leader, Freddie Matthews, Ghandi Burgess, Maude Fox and Lance Hayward. Celeste was one of Bermuda?s finest calypso queens. She performed at Harmony Hall for many years with the Al Harris Band. Pianist Lance Hayward performed with Frankie Rabain on guitar and Clarence ?Tootsie? Bean on drums, before moving to the US, where he enjoyed great success.

The Talbot Brothers (Roy, Archie, Mandy, Dick, Austin and Ross) were the most famous entertainment group.

Cup Match was first played in 1902, and grew out of a friendly match between two lodges, one in St. George?s and one in Somerset. Both teams began with strong family connections. Simons, Hunt, Simmons and Crockwell are some of the family names associated with Somerset Cricket Club, while Smith, Darrell and Swainson are some of the original names associated with the St. George?s Cricket Club. The annual trophy was ordered from England in the first half of the eighteenth century, and cost 21 shillings. People who could not afford to go to Cup Match gathered at the site of the Phoenix Drug Store (now known as Aston & Gunn) where an up-to-date scoreboard was kept for all to see.

Eastern County games began in 1904, making it the second oldest cricket competition after Cup Match. The first Eastern County match was played between the families of St.David?s and Tucker?s Town.

l The Bermuda Football Association was established in 1928 with two leagues: the Bermuda Football League for black players, and the Bermuda Football Combination for white players. The Bermuda Football Union was formed after the Second World War as the agency for organising all football.

The first unofficial marathon derby took place in 1909 between British soldiers and Bermudians, who raced around Somerset Village. The first official marathon took place from the Princess Hotel in Pembroke to Somerset in January, 1910. Stanley Burgess was the first to win the marathon derby at age 49, and the oldest to run the race at age 82.

Pineapples were grown in Bermuda for 60 years during the 1700s and exported to England.

Loquats were introduced to Bermuda from Japan. The delicious, succulent Bermuda orange was introduced here before 1617.

Between 1840 and 1900 Bermuda was a thriving agricultural society, exporting to the US up to half a million crates of fresh produce such as onions, potatoes and lily bulbs in a single season, and was consequently known as the ?Market Garden of New York?.

Lemon grass was boiled and consumed as a remedy to reduce fevers. Father John was similarly used, in addition to being a body-building tonic. The pulp of prickly pear stopped diarrhoea, and match-me-if-you-can leaves were applied to the body for a variety of ailments, including reducing fevers.

Many Bermudians can trace their roots back to the Caribbean islands, including St. Kitts and the Dutch Antilles. A large immigration of West Indians arrived here in the late 1800s and settled in areas such as Friswell?s Hill and Somerset.

The first group of Portuguese immigrants arrived in Bermuda on November 4, 1849 from the island of Madeira on board the vessel, .

A large percentage of St. David?s Islanders are descendants of Pequot Indians of North America.

Between 1901 and 1902, 4,600 Boer prisoners of war from South Africa encamped on the larger islands of the Great Sound.