John Frum Day

John Frum Day is an annual celebration, held on February 15, in the villages of Sulphur Bay and Lamakara on Tanna Island. Each year, a ritual army of men paint “U.S.A.” on their chests and perform an amalgamation of a military drill and kastom dances with wooden guns. They raise the American flag, build WWII airplanes out of grass, and build a makeshift landing strip, all with the expectation that John Frum will return with more “cargo” (material wealth).