In Netflix’s Below, Come Home Year is more than a reason to bring the Penney family back to Snook’s Arm. It draws on a real Newfoundland and Labrador tradition: encouraging people who have moved away to return, reconnect with their communities, and celebrate the place they still call home. The series blends that familiar feeling of homecoming with fictional family tensions and a supernatural threat. The cultural idea is real; the specific events and characters in Snook’s Arm belong to the drama.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s Come Home Year tradition invites former residents, family members, and friends who live elsewhere to return for gatherings, local celebrations, and time with the people and places they remember. These homecomings can also welcome visitors and help local businesses, cultural groups, and tourism operators benefit from increased activity.
The provincial government’s tourism department says the tradition dates back to 1966. It is not necessarily one single province-wide festival held every year: celebrations may be organized around particular years, communities, and local events. That distinction matters because the name can describe a broad homecoming idea as well as specific organized celebrations.
How Below uses the tradition in its story
In Below, Calvin Penney’s family has been scattered by distance, personal choices, and old wounds. The return of family members for the fictional Snook’s Arm celebration creates a chance for reunion—but also brings unresolved problems into the open. As the town faces a dangerous mystery in the water, the homecoming becomes a story about who belongs, what people owe their families, and whether a community can hold together under pressure.
Netflix’s official character guide describes Jay Penney as receiving a hero’s welcome when he returns for the Come Home Year celebration, while Mary is returning after three years away. Those different kinds of returns help the show explore a familiar reality: coming home can be joyful, awkward, emotional, or all three at once.
Why homecomings matter in Newfoundland and Labrador
For a province with strong family networks and communities shaped by fishing, migration, and work elsewhere, a homecoming can mean much more than a party. People who left may return to see parents and grandparents, reconnect with old friends, revisit familiar landscapes, and introduce a new generation to their family’s roots.
Come Home Year events can also have a practical purpose. Visitors spend money locally, attend performances and community events, and support tourism and hospitality businesses. When the province officially launched Come Home Year 2022, it described the initiative as a way to bring people home, celebrate local culture, and support tourism, arts, and recreation after the disruptions of the pandemic.
The difference between real tradition and fictional drama
The real Come Home Year tradition is about reunion and community celebration. Below uses that premise as a storytelling device, then layers on family conflict, economic pressure, and a sea-creature mystery. There is no reason to assume that the show’s fictional celebration reproduces one specific real event in every detail.
That mixture of recognizable culture and genre fiction is part of the series’ appeal. The homecoming gives viewers a reason to meet the town’s residents and understand their relationships before the supernatural plot pushes those relationships to the limit. The monster may be invented, but the emotional stakes of returning to a place that has changed while you were away are easy to recognize.
Come Home Year 2022: an official example
Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial government officially launched Come Home Year 2022 in November 2021. The announcement said the celebration was intended to encourage former residents living elsewhere to return, remind current residents of what their province offers, and support tourism, arts, and cultural activity. The government also announced funding streams intended to help community partners and municipalities organize initiatives.
The official record is useful context for viewers: Come Home Year is not a phrase invented for Below. It has a documented place in the province’s cultural and tourism history. For the precise goals and details of the 2022 initiative, see the Newfoundland and Labrador government’s official announcement.
Watch the official Below trailer
Netflix’s series trailer introduces the coastal setting and the threat that disrupts the town’s already fragile relationships. It is a fictional thriller, but its focus on family, community, and belonging echoes the real-world themes associated with Come Home Year.
Is Come Home Year a real Newfoundland tradition?
Yes. Newfoundland and Labrador has a documented Come Home Year tradition that encourages former residents and their families to return for community gatherings and celebrations. The provincial tourism department says the tradition dates to 1966.
Does every town celebrate Come Home Year at the same time?
No. Homecoming events can be organized around particular years, communities, and local celebrations. It is best understood as a tradition and event concept rather than one identical annual festival held everywhere.
Is the Come Home Year celebration in Below based on one real event?
The series draws on the real cultural idea, but Snook’s Arm and the characters’ specific experiences are fictional. The show uses the homecoming to explore family reunion, local identity, and community pressure.
Sources
- Government of Newfoundland and Labrador: Stay Home Year campaign overview and Come Home Year history
- Government of Newfoundland and Labrador: Come Home Year 2022 launch
- Netflix Tudum: Below cast and character guide
- Netflix Tudum: Below plot, cast, and production details
By Shivam Das
