I went back to Japan this winter vacation to eat osechi! How many people tried osechi (=お節) before? In Japan, we eat osechi as a New Year’s day special meal. A few decades ago, usually each family made this by themselves. It took about three days to make it all; however, in recent years we just buy an osechi pack from a famous hotel or restaurant. (Example picture is below)
On the third Monday of January every year, the US celebrates Martin Luther King, Jr. day to honor the memory of this important freedom fighter during the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Above is Dr. King speaking to the people during the March on Washington when he gave his famous “I have a dream” speech.
King sitting inside his Birmingham jail cell
Dr. King was a political activist who supported equality for everyone regardless of color, gender, or nationality. He led African-Americans in their fight for freedom at a time when the country was suffering from intense hatred between the white population and the African-Americans, especially in the south.
To work toward ending racial segregation and discrimination, Dr. King at times put his life in danger and was even imprisoned during a march in Birmingham, Alabama. This man was an advocate for all people who suffered inequalities and discrimination, including women and immigrant groups. Dr. King fought hard until the end of his life when he was assassinated in 1968.
Martin Luther King Jr. obtained his doctorate degree in theology at BU. The "Free at Last" sculpture of 50 doves in the center of Marsh Chapel commemorates Dr. King, and his dream for peace in the 50 states of this country
To honor the life and legacy of this important freedom fighter, a movement started to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday a holiday after he died. After a bill was introduced in congress, it gained support in 1976. The bill became law in 1983, and in 2000 this holiday was finally observed in all 50 states.
What do you get when you mix 2 Italian-American sisters who are both teachers at CELOP, 46 lawyers, 4 Fulbrighters, and children? You get Thanksgiving 2014 with my sister, Donna Palermino.
Thanksgiving Food Italian Style
Food at Thanksgiving is a lot or “abundante”, as we say in Italian. First, we first had munchies: nuts, chips, and cheese and crackers, Then, there was turkey and lasagna, homemade meatballs and sausages, and all kinds of veggies, cranberry sauce (dark red jelly-like sauce eaten with the turkey), a chicken macaroni dish (from a student’s wife), and Korean food. The desserts multiplied; almost everyone brought something sweet. Pies were plenty, including Terry’s famous homemade apple pie that disappeared fast!!
The Guests—Our Students and Fulbrighters
Our guest list was very interesting: international lawyers, a couple of judges, recent law school graduates, 3 Fulbright students and 1 scholar, and several children. Donna teaches law to lawyers and judge(s) from across the globe in the summer at CELOP. (Another instructor teaches English, as well). This international group while very serious really knows how to party! I am fortunate to teach legal English to other international lawyers and some law graduates in the summer. They, too, came and had a great time. Still, another legal group came! I teach legal English presently to international students at the BU law school. They also came with friends and children and partied. Every year I invite a Fulbright group, since I am on the board of the Massachusetts Chapter of the Fulbright Association. Fulbright alumni (people who had a Fulbright scholarship) and board members invite students to spend Thanksgiving dinner with their family.
The Party’s Over
This celebration was fun, exciting, and exhausting. For Donna and me this is a those special event we look forward to each year. Why? Coming from a very big Italian family that has shrunk (gotten smaller) over the years, we miss not sharing this time with family and friends. So, this our way of showing thanks. We are both thankful for our closeness in our nuclear family and our opportunities at CELOP, which have offered us many occasions to work with and socialize with gifted people from all around the world. Here’s to you!!
Everyone is familiar with Christmas, Santa Claus and his sleigh filled with toys, right? The Jewish festival, Hanukkah, a time when the family unites, celebrates the history of the Jewish people and their religion, Judaism. Is this new for you? Have you heard of Kwanzaa, the African-American holiday originating in Africa? The family gets together to celebrate and give thanks. Let’s find out more about these, shall we?
In the Christian holy book, the Bible (Old Testament), a person can read this:
An angel of the Lord appeared to them…and said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord….This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger” (Luke 2: 4-19, Source: http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/Devotions/Noebel_MeaningofChristmas.aspx)
So, we can see that Christmas according to Christianity celebrates the birth of Jesus, the little infant pictured here. Over the years, in churches across America on December 24, Christmas Eve, and December 25, Christmas day, many Christians attend mass (a church gathering where people pray to praise the birth of the son of god) to celebrate this day.
The celebration of Hanukkah is based on the Hebrew calendar and takes place in the autumn month known as Kislev. This holiday usually lasts 8 days and celebrates an important military win of the Jewish people and “a miraculous supply of oil for the Temple.” Here you can see the Hanukkahmenorah that has nine candles; each candle represents 1 of the eight nights, and the extra one is for lighting all the others.
Like other holidays in December, Hanukkah is a time for families to reunite, to eat special food, to give gifts, particularly to children, and to have fun playing the dreidel game, spinning a special top. You can learn more online about the dreidel (www.wikihow.com/Play-Dreidel), and the history of Hanukkah (judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/hanukkah.htm).
Kwanzaa--The Celebration of the First Harvest
http://www.euclidlibrary.org/kids/tickle 1
Beginning in Africa and celebrated in North, South, and Central America, and the Caribbean, Kwanzaa is from December 26 to January 1. The name comes from Swahili, “matunda ya kwanza” or “first fruits”. The African people originally celebrated the first harvests during this time.
Seven major principles are celebrated at this time: unity, self-determination, work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Similar to the other holidays, Kwanzaa is a time to celebrate the family, the community, and religion.
In 1966 Maulana Karenga, an Africana Studies Professor at California State University, Long Beach, established this holiday here in the US. He started it as a way to resurrect (to bring back) the African roots and culture of African-Americans. To learn more about the origins of this holiday, just look at this link: www.holidays.net/kwanzaa/sitemap2.htm
And if you’d like to have more detailed information about these holidays and other types of Christmas celebrations around the world, you can read this very interesting article: www.unitedplanet.org/blog/2013/01/03/from-christmas-to-diwali-winter-holidays-around-the-world (United Planet Blog)
By Katja Davidoff
Christmas in Denmark is an interesting mixture of old and new traditions. Some traditions were incorporated from nearby countries, such as Sweden. I experienced many of them during the holidays with my Danish mother. Many Danes spend the month before Christmas attending holiday parties. Denmark is full of Christmas lights and greenery. Tivoli gardens are lit up as well and hold a market with vendors and goods to sell. Children expect to receive presents from a man similar to Santa Claus, called Juleman, which is translated into Christmas man. Delicious dishes are prepared along with traditional cakes. A special rice pudding called ris á la mande with almonds is one traditional dessert. Some Danes attend midnight mass on the evening of the 24th and then celebrate by having a feast with family the following day. A Christmas tree is also tradition and it is often decorated with small Danish flags and Danish Christmas hearts.
My mother taught us to make these classic hearts when we were little. One takes very stiff foil paper and creates a mold of two halves of a heart. The two halves are then woven together to create a basket that one can hang on the tree. Those baskets are then filled with small candies or chocolates. Places are also decorated with Julenisse, which are Christmas pixies and Julebok, which are Christmas goats. The Julebok is usually made of straw and decorated with red bows, while the Julenisse often wear red hats. Some people also celebrate Santa Lucia on December 13th. This is originally a Swedish ceremony later adopted by the Danes. A procession of young girls dressed in white gowns visit door to door. The leader of the procession wears a wreath on her head embedded with lit candles. The visitors bring hot cross buns to the homes they visit. A few typical food items at the feast are red cabbage, open-faced sandwiches, almond pastry, and glögg; originally a Swedish hot apple cider with spices and fermented into alcohol.
In Japan, Christmas is not as important of a holiday because we have few Christians. Therefore, Christmas day is not a holiday in Japan. Students have to go to school; other people also have to go to work. However, we do have Christmas customs such as sending cards or receiving gifts from Santa!
After Halloween, suddenly the decorations change to Christmas ones, and also many stores start Christmas sales. These sales continue until Christmas day, but they are not as big as Black Friday in the U.S. In Japan, we usually celebrate Christmas with our significant others, and celebrate New Years day with family at home. Thus, Christmas is considered a romantic day. Many couples visit romantic places decorated by Christmas lights.
There is also a very unique Christmas custom in Japan. We eat KFC on Christmas day! During December 21st to 25th, KFC Japan sells over 6.6 billion yen. KFC Japan makes most of the profits during Christmas season. I know many people ask “WHY KFC?” In Japan, we don’t have the custom of eating Turkey, so in the past KFC Japan started to advertise Christmas Chicken! This advertising success continues and many people buy KFC Chicken on Christmas day. When you visit Japan, Christmas season, you can see long lines in front of KFC.
On November 22nd, at the Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Marketplace Center, the Christmas tree lighting ceremony took place. When I arrived, there were already a lot of people who were trying to see the lighting of the tree and the shows. Before the tree lighting, several artists performed in concerts, and fun shows were going on. Families, couples, students...everyone sang a song and enjoyed this event. I could feel Christmas, even though it was still the end of November!
“5...4...3...2...1...!” When the entire tree lit up, beautiful decorations and LED lights blinked. Over 350,000 LED lights were used! It was so beautiful; I couldn’t stop taking photos and videos. I want to visit again to take more photos! Every night from 4:30 to 9:30, a light and sound show occurs every 30 minutes. It must be beautiful. Wear warm clothes and visit with your friends! If you haven’t visited and seen Faneuil Hall’s big beautiful lighted tree, you should check it out! Nightly performance featuring the music of the holiday pops event from November 22nd, 2014 to January 4th, 2015＊http://www.faneuilhallmarketplace.com/blink
Thanksgiving day is a national holiday in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. The original Thanksgiving Day was in 1621. When the Pilgrims who desired to become free from religious restrictions came from England, it was an extremely cold winter. Many people died because of hunger and disease. Fortunately, the Native Americans helped them to make crops when they arrived. The following year, they were able to grow a lot of crops. The Pilgrims commemorated their fortune and gave thanks to the Native Americans. This was the first original Thanksgiving Day. However, at that moment this holiday was not a national holiday...
In 1941 President Franklin Roosevelt decided that the fourth Thursday in November would be a national holiday: Thanksgiving Day. Currently, during the Thanksgiving holiday, people cerebrate with relatives gathering at one house to eat a big meal, traditionally with Turkey as the main dish, and side dishes like mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and many other dishes!
Black Friday is the Friday following Thanksgiving day. This is because it is regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Many retailers are going to offer a discount sale to kick off the Christmas shopping season. In addition, this “Black Friday” means that retailers can make a lot of money on this day. It will be crowded everywhere. If you haven’t joined in Black Friday, you should. You will probably have a great experience!
Cyber Monday is the Monday following Thanksgiving day. Cyber Monday is similar to Black Friday, but the difference between the two is shopping online versus going out to shop at retail stores. For example, Amazon or other online shops are going to sell goods cheaper than usual. Perhaps you can purchase your favorite goods cheaper online!
Photo Credits (in order of appearance):
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)
freeinternetpictures.com/thanksgiving-day-united-states.html
businessinsider.com/what-not-to-buy-on-black-friday-2013-11
hdguru.com/just-announced-new-cyber-monday-hdtv-deals/
By Rina Hirate
On November 22nd, at the Faneuil Hall Marketplace and Marketplace Center, the Christmas tree lighting ceremony took place. When I arrived, there were already a lot of people who were trying to see the lighting of the tree and the shows. Before the tree lighting, several artists performed in concerts, and fun shows were going on. Families, couples, students...everyone sang a song and enjoyed this event. I could feel Christmas, even though it was still the end of November!
