North Carolinians often associate Christmas time with pine trees, presents, and Santa Claus, but never stop to think about how other Christian cultures such as the African American ones in New Bern,Jamaica, and the Caribbean celebrate this time of year.The contrast between the African-American celebrations called Jonkonnu, and American Christmas celebrations is profound. The Jonkonnu celebrations occurs in tightly knitted communities that use music,dance, and songs to express their appreciation of one another instead of the tradition of gift-giving. Jonkonnu is an African-American Christmas celebration, which takes place in New Bern, but originated in Jamaica, and the Caribbean.
Jonkonnu can be traced back to West African slave ships which
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The celebrations started slow at first, but became more popular as time went on and are now a staple part of the Christmas celebrations at Tryon Palace(Tryon Palace). Jonkonnu in New Bern is celebrated twice on the second Saturday and twice on the third Saturday every December(Mims). The day begins with the official announcement of Jonkonnu by the Town Crier, which is followed by revelers dancing for people on their doorstep to collect donations.(Mims). The Town Crier usually yells a chant such as “John Canoe is Coming John Canoe is coming!”(Mims). According to Mckown, Participants in the celebrations, dress in their best clothing, or in a costume. Typical costumes include horse heads,horned masks, and tails which are usually made of cloth,wood,colorful rags and leather(Mckown). The most important figure known as the Rag Man, is covered head to toe in colorful rags and is often danced around once the celebration begins; however, the Rag Man’s importance during the celebrations today pales in comparison to his significance during the era of slavery(Mims). According to Mims the Rag Man was allowed to do “something that was totally taboo the other 364 days of the year: shaking hands with the slave master.” The celebration begins with people dressed up in their costumes, or best clothes, dancing to music and the beat of the
Even though they are all different Native American tribes, they have similarities and differences throughout their cultures. The tribes that we are going to compare are the Inuit, Sioux, and the Haida. Differences can be they live in different areas in Canada, hunt in different ways, and do different housing. Similarities can be they all live in Canada, they all do art, and they travel. These three tribes have many differences and similarities.
There are quite a number of people who believe that Jehovah's Witnesses are prudish for their differences in their morals and standards. For example, many find it difficult to believe that they do not celebrate Christmas or birthdays, or any other festive holiday. Many don't understand what's so wrong about standing for O Canada or singing anthems for any other country. The fact of the matter is, there are quite a number of festive holidays that people around the world celebrate that they may or may not know have pagan backgrounds, or are quite obviously based on its influences. To Jehovah's witnesses, it is very important to stay away from such kinds of celebrations because they feel that it's a necessity to worship God with their whole soul and in the way he wants them to. This would not be possible while participating in celebrations that have paganism as its origin.
Of all religious holidays that have been adopted by secularists, one of the most popular would be Christmas, originally meant to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. With the exact date of Jesus' birth unknown during ancient times, Christmas was initially assigned to January 6th, but was changed to December 25th under the influence of the winter solstice (Nothaft 903). Peculiarly however, is the universal celebration of Christmas al...
When you mention Alaska and the Arctic Circle, one envisions igloos, dog sleds, and invariably, Eskimos. However, little do most know, that what most refer to as Eskimos is actually a generalization representing three distinct groups. In order to understand the societies that live in this region and acknowledge their cultural differences we must explore the different groups that inhabit this region of which there are two: the Inuit, and the Yupik.
When the great holiday of Thanksgiving comes to mind, most people think of becoming total gluttons and gorging themselves with a seemingly unending amount of food. Others might think of the time spent with family and friends. The whole basis of the holiday is family togetherness, fellowship, and thankfulness for blessings received during the previous year.
Christmas is a holiday celebrated by most of the world. Christianity is very popular in the US and Hispanic cultures. In the US, Christmas is celebrated with going to Church on Christmas Eve, spending time with their families, and many other things. People also reenact the nativity scene, sing Christmas carols, and do
“Rituals and Traditions; It Takes a Tribe,” written by David Berreby and “Indians: Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History” written by Jane Tompkins, both exemplify a typical controversial topic in the United States of America today. The US prides there self on the basis of freedom, and how Americans are made up of individuals with backgrounds from all around the world. Many consider the US to be a “melting pot”, a society where cultures are just blended together and not recognized fully on their own, where as others consider the US to be a “salad bowl”, where people of international cultures hold fast to their traditions and practices and coexist with the cultures around them. Both authors of the readings propose that generally speaking,
Question 1: In what ways does Source 1 incorporate elements of spirituality and religion in the Murri people’s preparation for Christmas.
Source 1 displays the aspects of the Indigenous culture and spirituality during the festive season. It acknowledges the native Indigenous Aboriginals of Australia; specifically their land, sea, and their inhabitants. This source is almost a manual, giving instructions to what is to be done, being a step by step process in acknowledging “the light Jesus brought into the world”. “The light”, as Jesus is described, is a symbol of Truth and Righteousness, opposite to Darkness as that of Hell and Evil. The ceremony starts with a spiritual act of a coolamon being placed with stones every week, including the act of placing
There are approximately 196 countries in the world and almost every single one of them celebrates Christmas differently. Christmas in Mexico (Navidad) is a million times different than the Christmas that we know and celebrate in the U.S. In Mexico there are lots of events that happen before January 6th, which is Epiphany day (The day of the Three Wise Men) also known as “El Dia de los Reyes”. I am will be explaining every all of the events that take place during Christmas (Navidad) all the way up to January 6th.
Christmas is a holiday filled with tradition, family, and happiness, but what most people don’t know is that Christmas is celebrated all over the world, not just the United States. Latin American countries are especially passionate about Christmas. The way Hispanic people celebrate changes throughout each country. Each one has its own unique Christmas culture. In this essay I am going to write about some of these different countries, and tell how each one is similar and different in showing their Christmas spirit.
Another food is stuffed turkey and roasted stuffed pig. During Miranda(a event where a pig gets fried) a Christmas party in thrown with family, friends and neighbors. Also, families decorate Christmas trees. On Candle day, which is December 7th, candles are lit in window sills and and in streets to celebrate December. Most of these candles are red and blue. On the 16th of December families, neighbors and friends pray for 9 days. Santa does not exist in Colombia, instead Jesus gives them presents. A way that children hope to get presents is on the day before Christmas Eve, children write notes to baby Jesus and put these notes in the pesebre (nativity). These notes also can be called Carta Niño Dios. On Christmas, which is the 25th, they eat leftovers from Christmas Eve. On Christmas people in the U.S. eat ham, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, ham, stuffing and bread. In the U.S. people decorate Christmas trees with ornaments and lights. Families also hang stockings above fireplaces, bed posts, stair cases, window sills, door knobs and other places. Also, some children leave out cookies for Santa, they also write letters to him. It is believed that Santa Claus eats cookies that are left out for him, and he leaves presents under the Christmas trees for all the good boys and girls, and if you don’t be nice you get coal in your stocking instead of candy. Also, a tradition that started in 2005 is Elves
Ah Christmas, it is said to be the most wonderful time of the year. In the United States Christmas is a time of giving and receiving, spending time with your family, and in most Christian families, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is hands-down the most highly commercialized holiday celebrated by Americans. In fact, according to CBS news, the average American will spend $700 on gifts this holiday season, totaling for a whopping $465 billion spent nation-wide. From mall Santas as far as the eye can see, to hearing Christmas music in every retail store you enter. Christmas is a time of high spirits and high spending in the U.S.
Christmas is filled with traditions and events, but how did they start and why do we still do them? Traditions are often passed down throughout generations for centuries, but the origins are often unknown or forgotten.
The Traditions and Holidays of Great Britain Every nation and every country has its own traditions and customs. Traditions make a nation special. Some of them are old-fashioned and many people remember them, others are part of people’s lives. Some British customs and traditions are known all over the world. From Scotland to Cornwall, Britain is full of customs and traditions.