Planning a House-Warming Party

One such tradition is not socializing with neighbors but only talking to her sisters or other family members. Both of my great-grandparents came from a large family and so the Sunday was always considered family day. It was nothing to see a yard off of kids playing or see the men playing a game of horseshoes as the women would set out the dinner. However, it was the winter time that holds the most memories for my mother. It was then that the families would all gather at the family pond and go ice skating and the men would build a big fire and everyone would stand around and drink hot chocolate. One such tradition in the winter time was right after the first snow fall of the season. We would take a big mixing bowl and go out and fill that bowl as full as we could. Then she would go in and make a big bowl of snow ice cream (Food in Every County). One bright sunny day, our family was going to Lake Pomme De Terre for a family picnic. Like Shteyngart, I was all set for some grilled hamburgers or hot dogs or even some fried chicken. However, that was not meant to be. Like Shteyngart, is aw food being set out that was I saw food that was familiar to my great-grandmother’s culture. Instead of grilling hamburgers, she set out chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans and for dessert a shoofly pie, sugar cookies, and schnitz pie, which is made with dried apples (Food in Every County). My mother laughed when she saw my face because later my

On the fourth Thursday of every November, families gather together to spend a day filled with food and laughter. Thanksgiving celebrates the day the settlers and the Native Americans enjoyed their first meal together. However, my parents were both raised in Mexico and never had a typical yearly Thanksgiving celebration. Despite my parents home being Mexico, they started a family in America and decided to teach their children about both of the places they come from. A compromise between American and Mexican traditions formed and served as a family tradition until last year. A year ago, my family ate a Thanksgiving meal at my sister's parent-in-laws house.

As the holiday season is coming nearer each day, I found it appropriate to look further into the traditional Thanksgiving topic. I can only describe what my family does, my Puerto Rican and Caucasian family. As far as I can say, we are not necessarily traditional with our celebration of Thanksgiving. So I figured why not use this assignment as a way to further look into the holiday and how it is celebrated across America, this can mean anything from families celebrating it in their homes, to the retail shops of the country selling holiday/seasonal items to go along with the tradition. I would like to examine the traditions of thanksgiving.

This past weekend I visited the Numunga powwow and the cultural traditions are absolutely phenomenal. Being free to the public to experience and expressive dance that it routed back to the ancestors. True expression of one's diversity with intense beauty. I am not Native American but how I do treasure and appreciate different cultures. In these type of social situations communities are learning and exciting way. With the goal of acceptance of all people that could have personal meaning and understanding into the future.

By hosting this special day, families and friends were able to join together and celebrate each other’s cultural qualities.

I figured that an adult must have been coming soon to tell us what we should do, but after waiting around for a few minutes, I couldn’t bear just being there and not doing anything. I knew that guests would be arriving shortly, so I took the initiative and proposed that we should start setting up the chairs and tables that were stacked against the wall. I asked half of the people volunteering to help me, and the other half I asked to look around for any party decorations or table settings that could be put out. Surely enough, Victoria, one of the volunteers found plates and utensils in the kitchen, so we got to work setting up the dining

hardships, they face problems with their new house as it is in very bad condition. However, fixing

Abigail Hill wrote a paper on the influence her mother, Juanita Ray Hill, had on their family and the family rituals that she implemented. By analyzing the Hill family rituals, I have been able to also analyze the rituals I want for my future family. Creating a good home environment is essential to individual and family development and growth. Some of the family rituals from the Hill family I want to include in my family and some others I do not want to include. I want a home environment that of teamwork, responsibility, love of God, and appreciation for nature. The best way to promote these family values is to have rituals that teach and promote them.

(Even the “ex’s” and the people who are not quite in the picture anymore.) As we gather around the table we share things we are thankful for. Whether we are thankful for the sweet banana pudding waiting for us after supper, or whether it is something heart felt, we always come together and share things as a family. But most importantly, we share food. Each separate family brings something they cooked and my aunt sets it out as a buffet line along her kitchen counters and we join hands and say the blessing, and start fixing our plates. Us ladies get to go first. As I make my way around the counter tops each year, I fill my plate with tender turkey and juicy ham, potato casserole, green beans, macaroni and cheese, rolls, corn on the cob, and other things

The event I chose to attend was the Natchez 29th Annual Powwow. I was unaware of how much history that was in the city of Natchez. This was a pretty fun experience for my husband and me. The Powwow takes place every year in March in the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians. I had never attended a Powwow before, but had always heard how interesting it is. The Native Americans use Powwows to meet together in dancing, singing, visiting with old friends and meeting new friends. Powwows honor and keep alive the Native American traditions and cultures. Through this experience, I was able to see how important spirituality is to the Native American cultures.

A cultural event that I have attended in the past that has had a memorable affect on my life was a Native American Powwow. This event takes place every year, Thanksgiving weekend in Tucson, AZ. I arrived in the late afternoon, as the sun was going down. I remember seeing many different types of people, from tourists to the different Native American performers. The physical setting of this particular celebration was outside, and based around, one main circle. Drums were beating so loud, you could feel the pound inside your chest. Different activities were going on all around, such as dancers, vendors, and a huge variety of foods to choose from. The circular dancing arena is known as the arbor, this area is blessed before any of the events

Since my family lived so close together, we had many family traditions that remain important. We gather for nearly every holiday for a meal and routine. For Easter every year, we have an Easter egg hunt and dinner at my grandmother’s house. For Christmas Eve, we always went to my great-grandparents house and had dinner and exchanged gifts. For Christmas, we celebrated at home, and then went to my grandmother's for breakfast with our cousins. The importance of all of the holidays we celebrated was that no matter what was going on in our lives,

My parents immigrated to this country from Mexico many years ago and they brought along their culture, which makes up a major part of my identity. I am Mexican American and the stereotype that we have a lot of members in our family is true, but it doesn’t tell the full story. I have a lot of aunts, uncles, and cousins and I am very grateful for them because each and every one of them has taught me important lessons that have shaped who I am today. When all of us are together we stand out because there are so many of us and we can also get very loud. We always know how to have a good time and we’re also the life of every party. Every Christmas eve we all get together at one of our aunt’s houses and celebrate the birth of Jesus. We set up a nacimiento, or Nativity set, made of figurines that represent the ones who were present during his birth. We cover the set with hay, surround it with little figurines of animals and drape Christmas lights all around the set. Then we do a rosary and commemorate the ones in our family who have passed or could not make it. During these celebrations we always have tamales, menudo, and hot chocolate. These foods are very important to us because most of the women in the family get together the day before the event and prepare the food. In this time we all have time to catch up on the latest gossip and drama that is going on in our lives. One thing that I have recently been interested in again is the traditional Aztec dances and rituals. When I was younger I used to participate in the dances with my mother but we had to quit due to the long and late hours of practice. I have started to go to retreats where we spend most of our nights dancing and praying to temples and different gods. Doing this makes me feel more connected to my ancestral roots and i feel a sense of pride.

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