Passage 1 Kwanzaa is a holiday celebrated by many African Americans from December 26 to January 1. It pays tribute to the rich cultural roots of Americans of African ancestry, and celebrates family, community, and culture. Kwanzaa means the first or the first fruits of the harvest and is based on the ancient African first-fruit harvest celebrations. The modern holiday of Kwanzaa was founded in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, a professor at the California State University in Long Beach, California. The seven-day celebration encourages people to think about their African roots as well as their life in present-day America. The seven fundamental principles on which Kwanzaa is based are referred to as the Nguzo Saba. These rules consist of unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Participants celebrate by performing rituals such as lighting the kinara. The kinara is symbolic of the continental Africans. Each of its seven …show more content…
candles represents a distinct principle beginning with unity, the black center candle. Talking with family, drumming, singing, and dancing are all part of the celebration activities. 1) According to the passage ,why the holiday of kwanza was celebrated? 2) On which seven fundamental principals kwanzaa represented? 3) Write the definition of kwanzaa. 4) How does the people celebrate the festival of kwanzaa? 5) Who was founded the modern holyday of kwanzaa? 6) When and where the festival of kwanzaa is celebrated? Passage 2 Charles Darwin was born in 1809 in Shrewsbury, England.
He was a biologist whose famous theory of evolution is important to philosophy for the effect it has had on ideas relating to the nature of men. After many years of careful study, Darwin attempted to show that higher species came into existence as a result of the gradual transformation of lower species, and that the process of transformation could be explained through the selective effect of the natural environment upon organisms. He concluded that the principles of natural selection and survival of the fittest govern all life. Darwin’s explanation of these principles is that because of the food supply problem, the young of any species compete for survival. Those young that survive to produce the next generation tend to embody favorable natural changes that are passed on by heredity. His major work that contained these theories is On the Origin of the Species, written in 1859. Many religious opponents condemned this
work. Passage 3 The crystal clear, blue water and the magnificent sun make the Caribbean island of Saint Maarten a favorite vacation spot, one that is popular with North Americans during their winter holidays from December through March, as well as with South Americans and Europeans from April through August. The French and Dutch settled on the island in the 1600s, and to this day, the island is divided between the two of them. The French capital is Marigot; the Dutch capital is Philipsburg. Tourists soon discover that St. Maarten has an intriguing history. Ancient artifacts found on the island date back to the Stone Age, 6,000 years ago! Tourists also learn that 1,200 years ago the Arawak Indians inhabited all the islands of the West Indies and were a peaceful people living under the guidance of their chiefs. Three hundred years after the Arawaks first arrived on St. Maarten, in the 1300s, they were defeated and forced to abandon the island by a hostile tribe of Indians originating in South America. This new tribe was called the Carib. The Caribbean Sea was named after them. Unlike the Arawaks, they had no permanent chiefs or leaders, except in times of strife. And they were extremely warlike. Worse, they were cannibalistic, eating the enemy warriors they captured. In fact, the very word cannibal comes from the Spanish name for the Carib Indians. The Spanish arrived in the fifteenth century and, unfortunately, they carried diseases to which the Indians had no immunity. Many Indians succumbed to common European illnesses; others died from the hard labor forced upon them.
Hanukkah is a religious holiday celebrated by the Jewish, it involves the burning of eight candles, one each day. Some people say that Hanukkah is basically a Jewish Christmas, but its not, no holiday is celebrated is the same way as Hanukkah. Also, what holiday has more than three names, Hanukkah does. Its names are Hanukkah, Chanukah, Festival of Lights, the Feast of Dedication, and the Feast of the Maccabees.
“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,
Charles Darwin, the Father of Evolution, was a British scientist who laid the foundations of the theory of evolution, transforming the thinking of the entire world about the living things around us (Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882)). After working on his theory for nearly 20 years, he published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859. As soon as the book was released, the controversy began with each sides gaining followers until the climax on July 10, 1925. The idea that animals could “evolve” and change into new species, including humans, was one that challenged not only how people thought about the natural world, but challenged the story of the creation from the Bible itself. Even though Darwin himself never said that humans “evolved” from apes, everyone took it as a logical extension of his new theory. It went against the idea of argument for design that had unified theology and science for decades (Moran 5). This new threat to Christianity and the social culture of the time was one that would transform state laws on their educational curriculum.
Kwanzaa is not a religious, political or heroic celebration rather a cultural one. It begins the day after Christmas and runs until January 1st. At the time of it's inception, Blacks were beginning to question the American culture around them and how they were reflected in it. One of the most glaring and incongruous reflections was in the Christmas holiday season. The mass commercialism of the season placed a hardship on poorer Americans, of which Blacks were a high percentage. Also all the trappings of the Christmas season reflected the dominant society, i.e. no Black Barbie dolls, few black or ...
People 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 to anybody. The celebrations are with 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, Jamaica, and the Caribbean.
wrong over a period of a year can be a very daunting idea. It could be
Anyone with even a moderate background in science has heard of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Since the publishing of his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859, Darwin’s ideas have been debated by everyone from scientists to theologians to ordinary lay-people. Today, though there is still severe opposition, evolution is regarded as fact by most of the scientific community and Darwin’s book remains one of the most influential ever written.
Evolution is the reason for many different species and their existence. Evolution proves that there is much more to the world than the human can see. Charles Darwin had looked into the eye of the storm, and found something revolutionary. His research has changed and reshaped science in it’s own very existence; changing how scientists see their works. Charles created a new way of thinking, and proven that there is always an alternate reason why something is the way it is, and how it became that way, not to mention he constructed against religion that proves itself to be wrong. Everything has a reason, and evolution has made that reason clear to us, through Darwin’s works.”Charles Darwin is best known for his work as a naturalist, developing a theory of evolution to explain biological change.”
Charles Darwin has five parts to his theory of natural selection, firstly the “Geometric increase” which claims that “all living things reproduce in great numbers”, meaning that species may survive but not all will survive because, the resources used for survival for instance ,food will not be enough for all living things. “The struggle for existence” because there is a limited number of resources and can only sustain some and not all, not all living things will survive, however the question lies in which living being will survive?. “Variation” is the third part of natural selection which claims that within those living things there are variations within them that will determine whic...
The impact these men had on religious thought was tremendous. Some of them are the starting points for many of the controversies existing today. Of all the scientists, historians, and philosophers in the nineteenth century, the most influential and controversial was Charles Darwin. Born in 1809, Charles Darwin always had an interest in the nature, so he chose to study botany in college. His strengths in botany led him to become the naturalist on the H.M.S. Beagle. On a trip to South America, he and the rest of the crew visited the near by Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It was there he noticed many different variations of the same general plants and birdshe saw previously in South America. He also observed ancient fossils of extinct organisms that closely resembled modern organisms. By 1859, all of these observations inspired him to write down his theories. He wanted to explain how evolution had occurred through a process called natural selection. In his published work, On the Origin of the Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life, or On the Origin of Species for short, Darwin stated that, "new species have come on the stage slowly and at successive intervals."(1) He also said, "old forms are supplanted by new and improved forms," and all organisms play a part in the "struggle for life.
When I think of Hanukkah I mostly think of three things Family, the Maccabees and all the games that you get to play. During my Hanukkah dinner with my family we always have so much fun and it is always a great memory. When I hear stories over and over again they usually get boring but not the story about the Maccabees. The story about the Maccabees is probably the best story that I have ever heard. When I first started learning about Hanukkah I was very little, and what gets the attention of little kids better than games. My teacher first taught us about all the games that you play on Hanukkah and I was so amazed that during this holladay we get to play so many amazing games, we get to spin the dreidel and not
Charles Darwin in his book, On the Origin of Species, presents us with a theory of natural selection. This theory is his attempt at an explanation on how the world and its' species came to be the way that we know them now. Darwin writes on how through a process of millions of years, through the effects of man and the effects of nature, species have had an ongoing trial and error experiment. It is through these trials that the natural world has developed beneficial anomalies that at times seem too great to be the work of chance.
Charles Darwin, the English naturalist and geologist is attributed and accredited for his theory of evolution. His theory of evolution is based on the premise that strong heritable traits help individuals to survive in adverse and inimical environments.
Darwin challenged the traditional ways of thinking by presenting his theory of biological evolution. Prior to the discoveries of Darwin, it was believed that every creature on earth was divinely and created specifically by God. Darwin’s theory presented that all life started from a single species. Part of this species would then randomly develop characteristics that were not found in some of the other members, and the adaptations would enable the species to survive or hinder it from surviving. Over time these changes would result in many completely different species that struggled for survival. The only creature that would survive would be the one that is most adapted via the random evolutionary changes. Changing the ways of thinking about religion, Darwin refuted the traditional thinking of religion as he provided scientific evidence stating how what many had thought to be true to actually be false. Darwin had also led to a shift in the thinking of human behavior. Darwin’s theory was later applied to the human race, as many saw competition between both countries and companies. Known as Social Darwinism, it stated that only the “fittest” would be able to survive while the others would not. Leading to an imperialist point of view, it portrayed countries that were not a European power weaker, because they were not the fittes...
• For Indigenous people, culture, family, kinship and connections to the land and spirituality are important. • Traditionally Indigenous communities pass on cultural traditions from one generation to another. This includes rituals, performances, language and knowledge of scared site and cultural objects. • Indigenous people living in urban areas may live less traditional lifestyles than those who live remotely, although values, cultural practices and obligations may still be followed. For example, the shared responsibility for relative’s children.