Traveling to Bahamas. A Local Guide to New Providence and Nassau Paradise Islands. The culture of the Bahamas includes a mix of African and European influences. People from the Caribbean and the Americas have also affected it. Social conventions and daily life: Most Bahamians value their families, however the number of official weddings declined in the late twentieth century. A single woman, generally the mother, is leading an increasing number of homes. Women were traditionally stay-at-home moms and spouses before the 1940s. Most women now work outside the house as a result of greater educational options and the growth of the tourist sector. Furthermore, by the late twentieth century, Bahamian women had begun to rise to the top of the public sector, finance, law, medicine, politics, and other fields. A maid or domestic worker is frequently employed by middle- and upper-class Bahamian homes. Housework is shared by poorer households. Grits, potatoes, bread, conch, fish, spiny lobster, chicken, and foreign meats are all staple meals. Peas and rice, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, cracked conch, conch salad, fried and steamed fish, and fried chicken are among national specialties. A typical dessert is guava duff, a cooked fruit and bread concoction served with a butter sauce. The asue (a collective savings group), friendly societies and lodges, a long tradition of storytelling, and the usage of bush medicine are all examples of folk practices. Junkanoo, the principal festival and celebration, stands out among traditional group activities.