Samalan Christmas Religion

Sunny Albuquerque rests atop an escalated desert, and celebrates Halloween a notch above the rest of the planet. With roots from Mexico, New Mexico has been participating in “Las Dias de Los Muertos” (The Days of the Dead) long before the land became a state of the USA. During Oct. 31 – Nov. 4, the Spanish recognize the spirits who stay among them, and honor those that have passed. They have the belief that maybe the spirits of the deceased are among them every day, but the end of October and early November is the chosen time to honor the nonliving. It teaches the Spanish to accept death, as it can’t be avoided. To bring some joy into the morbid topic, they build intricate shrines for their passed family members, dance the night away to music, and have fiestas. Skulls are vibrantly painted with the name of the deceased on them. Of course, plenty of spicy Spanish food is cooked and enjoyed.

It is primarily made up of children dressed in silver and gold robes carrying lit candles and pictures of Mary and Joseph riding a donkey. Sometimes they may become quite elaborate with live donkeys, parishioners dressed like Mary and Joseph, and a small group carrying a manger scene. Adults and musicians follow the procession, which visits selected homes. The homes have been chosen before the Posada, and the group goes up to the house and asks for lodging for Joseph and Mary. Traditionally, the families do not let the procession come in, but the hosts often provide refreshments. At each stop, passages of scripture are read and Christmas carols are sung. When they are finally allowed into a house, the La Posada dinner, provided by the host family of the night, includes Hispanic dishes as tamales, menudo and posoli. As the night draws to an end, small bags filled with treats and candies called aguinaldos are distributed as parting gifts to the

The mask is part of the ceremony known as "the Dance of the Goats” or La Danza de los Chivos. The mask on masksoftheworld.com is from Chilpancingo, State of Guerrero, Mexico. However, the traditional Dance of the Goats began in Zitlala, State of Guerrero, Mexico. The villagers created the dance after the Mexican Revolution in 1910. After the war, an epidemic took place

The KKK dressed themselves with whitesheets on their bodies and wore white masks to hide their identification. “It's strange disguises, its silent parades, its midnight rides, its mysterious language and commands, were found to be most effective in playing upon fears and superstitions (“Ku Klux

They wore long white robes with eye holes to see, and a long pointed hat. The Ku Klux Klan has had two eras of existence, lasting from 1866-1872, ended by The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, and made a comeback in 1915 and is still scattered through the U.S. today.

There are huge decorated floats with pictures of Mary and Jesus Christ on them, and volunteers carry them on their heads and shoulders. Shrouded priests in black or white hoods and white or black robes bear crosses and incense, and follow behind the floats. There are also brass bands and drummers who follow behind them. People watching yell out devotional phrases and sometimes break into songs called saetas, which means 'darts', that describe the event in an a style similar to that of the flamenco. The festivities continue all week, day and night, and culminate on Easter

Having said that, it is actually very much religious in ways that the other Caribbean festivals and carnivals are not.

The second ritual medio asiento the person goes through consultation with a santero to discuss the persons past, present and future life. The third ritual is called receiving the warrior. In this ritual the person receives objects from their babaalawo that represent the warriors. The last ritual is asiento (ascending the throne). This is the most important and secretive ritual in santeria. This is when a person wears all white clothes. In this religion drums are only used by men and must be treated with respect. For example, dancers must never turn their backs towards the drums while dancing, it is considered disrespectful (Robinson, 2009).

Source 1 displays a Indigenous prayer ceremony to prepare for Christmas. The ceremony is influenced by Aboriginal culture such as their connection with the land and the spirits of the First Peoples. For Aborigines “all objects are living and share the same soul and spirit as them”. Spirituality is heavily incorporated into the everyday lives of Aboriginals. Spirituality can be defined as the sense of a connection to something bigger than yourself and involves a search for the meaning of life.

The members of the KuKluxKlan used to wear white tunics with a hood, covering their faces, like some penitential catholic brotherhoods to keep the anonymity o f their good jobs; in fact the members of the KKK clan, believed that their job was coming directly from God, and the wore tunics and hoods in sign of humility. Another symbol that was really classic for the KKK clan, was the Fiery Cross inspired by an ancient Scottish tradition reported by Walter Scott in a novel.

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.

La Semana Santa is the Spanish name for Holy Week. Holy Week is the week previously to Easter,according to the Catholic calendar. It represents the last week of Jesus’s life as he entered the city of Jerusalem. The week starts out with Palm Sunday. Palm Sunday was the day that Jesus first entered Jerusalem, and as he was entering people worshipping him were laying down their clothing items for the donkey Jesus was riding to walk on, and they were fanning him with palms. The Last Supper is also celebrated during Holy Week. The Last Supper took place on the night before Jesus was crucified on the cross. The Supper was held by Jesus so that he could gather his twelve disciples and enjoy a meal with them for the last time. Jesus’ twelve disciples were chosen by God to spread the word of Christianity. To be Jesus’ loyal followers and to worship him and God. After the Last Supper Jesus took his disciples into a forest to pray to God all night, in hopes that He would help them the next day, as Jesus was to be crucified. On Good Friday, Jesus was crucified. The reason he was hung upon the cross, is that he was accused of committing crimes by the Romans. The Romans disapproved of the sensation Jesus was creating, and the Romans were afraid he could overthrow their government. Jesus was betrayed, as he was crucified the next day, Good Friday. As Jesus was God’s only son, God had to allow Jesus to die on the cross that day. Seemingly betraying Jesus, God allowed for him to die on the

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.

     The Ku Klux Klan has been around since the end of the civil war. It is a roller coaster of a history. From extreme power, to rapid decline, and slow reemergence. The clan, who is notorious for its violence, has a relatively innocent beginning. It was formed from some veterans from the confederate army and was first called the Kuklos Clan which, in Greek, meant Circle Clan. One person thought it would be a good idea to call it the "Ku Klux Klan" as a parody of the fraternity names which always had three Greek alphabet letters in it. They created the Clan to be mischievous and to do it without anyone knowing who they were which accounts for their costumes

During Semana Santa, there are many celebrations that go on. People honor their local saints, wear unusual costumes, and throw parades. A local Spanish saint was St. Teresa of