Essay about Christmas in Trinidad and Tobago

In this paper I will discuss Social Theories such as Structural Functionalism, Conflict theory; with emphasis on Karl Marx’s early work and how it relates to the conflict theory and Symbolic interaction. I intend to define and discuss relevant sociological terms of these theories and how these theories could apply to my favorite holiday which is Christmas.

The perception of foreign cultures can at times be quite peculiar. The article “Eating Christmas in Kalahari” by Richard Borshay Lee, foretells a classic example of cross culture misunderstanding when people from different cultures operate in a culturally unfamiliar environment. Richard Lee, a social anthropologist, explains what he learned living with the !Kung Bushmen, a South African tribe, for three years. This Gemeinschaft community of hunters-gatherers worked together to teach the anthropologist something important to their people, even though he was unaware of their intentions in the beginning.

It is curious that as children, humans have the ability to observe and remember details of specific situations and instances yet lack the ability to describe them. Truman Capote, as a grown man, took advantage of his vivid memories and composed the short work, "A Christmas Memory." The story begins in late November, a month symbolic of all the years gone by that Capote could remember beginning preparations for Christmas fruitcakes.

According to the encyclopedia, culture is defined as “The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought [www.wikipedia.com].” In Trinidad these particular aspects are very distinct to the people's daily lives on the island. The diversity of actual cultures and ethnicities on the island has melted together over the centuries to create a Trinidadian culture of its own. There are influences from almost every part of the world including, India, China, the United States, Lebanon, Spain, Britian, Africa, and cultures native the Caribbean.

In Castillo’s three-stanza poem, she starts off by using the literary device of symbolism. As one reads this poem, it is quickly realized that it is a narrative and easy to follow along with. Compared with some other flowy and fancy poetry, “Christmas, 1970,” is a bit different. In the first stanza, Castillo talks in the present tense, as they put together a Christmas tree during their first Christmas in the United States, an unfamiliar territory. Castillo uses the device of symbolism to support her overall theme. She states “Mother finds herself opening,

“Eating Christmas in the Kalahari” by anthropologist Richard Lee demonstrates many more concepts in sociology. In the article Lee is doing fieldwork in the Kalahari desert observing the hunting and gathering practices among the !Kung (Ju/’hoansi). Lee experiences many times of cultural misunderstandings related to naïve realism, cultural shock, and also not fully understanding what is culturally and ethically appropriate. He learns a very valuable lesson when, in his eyes, has a perfect idea for an appreciation gift to the Ju, because of their incredible cooperation during his study. Which unexpectedly turns into an unpleasant joke that Lee will never forget.

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.

The island of Hispaniola was founded by Christopher Columbus in 1842 and claimed for Spain. The island was neglected by its mother country due to the lack of minerals on the island. The French

Every family has their own unique way of spending time together with loved ones only seen during the holidays. In the Stock home, there is only one thing we enjoy doing. Sure, like every other family we have our grand and elaborate dinner, which is composed of all the greatest delicacies my mother and grandmother can whip up. Of course, as is expected,

My family has many traditions one of them is to make tamales on Christmas Eve so they are ready for Christmas Day. My family stays up on Christmas Eve and we stay up all night till the clock hits 12:00, that is when we start opening presents. Later on we go to sleep/take a nap and wake up so we can do El Nacimiento de Dios. El Nacimiento de Dios is when our family gathers around the setting of where Jesus was born and "we see his birth". We usually do a posada which is huge dinner with many types of Mexican foods like tamales, posole, rice, beans, etc. Each year my grandma, grandma, uncle, aunt, and some cousins come for Christmas from Mexico and we have a family gathering where we meet our family members in which we have not seen for a long

The holidays have sprung upon us. There is a chill in the air. In some places, the ground covered with snow. It is a time where stores are filled with candy canes, Christmas trees, and chocolate Santas. When you look at storefronts there may be snowflakes in the windows, or Christmas trees in your local malls. Christmas, it seems so magical to most, it’s the holiday most know. However, there are some who celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanza, or they just belong to a different culture and their holidays are filled with their own traditions. For some, December is not marked by going to a tree filled the parking lot, inhaling that pleasant smell of pine, while searching for the perfect tree. Instead, their December starts with a tradition not as widely

Christmas is the annual festival celebrating the birth of Jesus on the 25th December, at least that is what it began as initially. Since it has expanded into an international phenomenon for consumption, taking priority over our everyday practices of life (Michel De Certeau, 1980). Our time we spend divided between work and leisure in accordance to the codes and conventions of society shifts, Christmas derails these expectations. Yet surprisingly Christmas gains little attention in terms of social research, despite the fact that it can be explored diversely. The inquiry ‘What is Christmas?’ links to multiple aspects of social research. The aspects of Christmas can be subdivided into the following; religion, commercialism, gift-giving, social relationships, sensualism and mythology. This essay will analyse these fundamentals of Christmas through both psychological and sociological perspectives, as the theories among these two social sciences are best suited to the elements which make up Christmas itself.

Christmas in Dominican Republic was the best time. My grandmother and my uncles would kill a pig for Christmas’ Eve and all of my cousins and I would play hide and seek into the night. Also, we had a chicken that would always jump on my little cousin as soon as she came to our house. We would always laugh and tell her the chicken did not like her. I wonder if the chicken would have liked my little brother? I never found out.

Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. I love seeing the shinny Christmas lights that decorates my street and the sound of fresh fallen snow on the ground. Christmas reminds me of family, the laughter and loved we shared, and the gifts we gave to each other. My house on Christmas became the center of my joy.

As a child, my family would celebrate every holiday with grandeur, especially Christmas. We have specific traditions and rituals that we carry out during the season, but the most important of our traditions is what we do on Christmas morning. Our rituals and traditions reflect our values as well as my own of family, unity, and tradition. The morning of the holiday my mother has always woken my brother and I, and then brought us to our dad so we could all walk down to the family room. As we gather in the family room around our tree and presents, my mom serves us each a piece of her Christmas casserole, saved for this special morning. Following our video-taped walk down to our presents, my brother, mother, father, and I open one gift from each other and the first thing in our stocking. After this ritual, my brother and I would go downstairs to our in-law suite where our grandmother lived, to wake up our Mimi and pull her upstairs so that we could finish opening presents and have hot chocolate with our entire family. One Christmas morning