Come every April, I would throw on my clothes and run out to our Dolmades tree to pick leaves to prepare for our traditional dinner. My grandfather grew up in Sparta Greece. He grew up celebrating a different occasion that most people do not. Most families across the world, celebrate a tradition known as Easter. The whole family comes over, turkey and mashed potatoes are spread out all over the table, and you’re waiting for the moment your mom tells you that it’s time to eat. However, my family is different. Instead of celebrating Easter we celebrate Greek Easter. Both are quite similar in ways but have very different traditional values and most importantly, food.
Initially, my grandfather would celebrate Greek Easter when he was a child and then brought the tradition to my family. However, the food prepared wasn't easily accessible to him when he was a child. Growing up in Greece, food and money were scarce. To add, he grew up during World War I, soldiers would scavenge through his village frequently. Roaming house to house taking any supplies and food they could get their hands on. With that being said, in order to celebrate Greek Easter, he had to find leaves, rice, and all the essential needs to prepare the food. Walking through town barefoot, he would only find limited supplies to make the food. Like Jonathan Safran Foer said in Storytelling “In the forests of Europe, she ate to stay alive until the next opportunity to eat to stay alive again. In America, fifty years
Most of Kevin’s family is Lutheran and because of this they make Christmas and Easter huge events. During the whole month of December, Kevin’s family home has Christmas everywhere you turn, with decorations, Christmas trees, and nativity scenes everywhere in their house. In a ways, they almost bleed Christmas and it culminates with the family going to Christmas Eve service and then having a large Christmas Eve feast with many members of the family attending. They then end the holiday by going to the Christmas service at their church and eating the leftovers of the feast from the night before. Easter happens in the exact same way except Kevin’s family goes for the more religious aspect of the holiday then what they do with Christmas because they believe that it is with Easter that their faith is strengthened and can be supported with evidence. Even though food is a big part of his family traditions around the holidays, there is not central dish that accompanies every holiday meal. For the most part it is the basics of ham, potatoes and other traditional holiday food that his family
City of God is based on a true story that takes place in the '60s in Rio de Janeiro about two boys growing up in the neighborhood take on different paths in life. A child who wanted to prove himself, became a merciless drug lord, who killed , raped, robbed and threatened in order to gain power. The other kid, Rocket, witnessed the violence going on in the neighborhood around him and became a photographer. This film demonstrated two paths people growing up in this environment could take and showed the result of their choices. These choices were affected by how good of a role model they had. Lil Zee never really had a positive role model, but rocket has his brother to guide him. Lil zee that lived a more dangerous and violent
The Catholic Church was a dominant and powerful foundation represented throughout The Canterbury Tales and through the Medieval Era. The majority of religious figures in the story portrayed characteristics of unscrupulousness and deceitfulness which emerged from the corruption of the church. The exception is the Parson; who is an accurate symbol of what the Clergy should be, unlike the Friar who neglects to pursue his missionary. For instance both men act in contrast of each other and illustrate both the admirable and the sinful appearance of the clergy. Throughout the tales these two men and their polarity are presented on accounts of their obligations of the clergy, charitable nature, and their lifestyles.
Further, it’s worth noting the actual origins of Easter – a word derived from Eastra, the goddess of spring - originally a celebration of the spring equinox, with the date determined by the cycles of the moon.
Easter is the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, but in the bible the word Easter is not mentioned. The idea of Easter arrived in America in the 1700’s when Germans immigrated to Pennsylvania. In Germany the kids would make nest for the “Osterhase”, or the “Oschter Haws”, and the bunny would deliver the eggs to the good kids. The egg and the bunny are symbols of fertility and new life. This idea spread across America, but we spiced it up a bit. We turned the nests into baskets and changed from eggs to chocolate and other goodies. Now we find eggs filled with treats.
Homer is the writer of the Odyssey and Euripides is the writer of Medea. Homer is a Greek poet. Euripides is one of the best Athenian play writers and poets of the Greeks. They both were philosophers in their society. No one is really sure how long Homer lived for. Some say Homer lived from 750 BC all the way to 1200 BC. Euripides was alive from 485 B.C. to 406 B.C. No one really knows the exact location of Homer’s birth but some would say he lived on the coast of Asia Minor. Euripides lived in Athens, Greece. The Odyssey was written near the end of the 8th century BC. Medea was written in 431 BC. The genre for the Odyssey is epic poetry and for Medea it’s a tragedy. The intended audience for this document is the Greeks from back then because he travels from one place to another for ten
Traditions and customs make a group of people different from others. For example many families have different traditions when it comes to holidays, like fireworks for the 4th of July or making turkey for thanksgiving. All these types of traditions are important in daily life. In The Odyssey by Homer, many examples of Greece customs and
Since the Invention of the spoken language humans have told stories. Over hundreds of years, these stories were spread and changed. William Blake believed that all myths and religions started from the same place. That two completely unrelated sets of beliefs, like the Greeks and the Christians, could have many similarities. The two certainly have their differences but, also have a plethora of parallels.
Towering mountains. Bright blue seas. Glittering white temples dedicated to the gods. Though Ancient Greece was made up of many different regions and colonies, these 3 things were almost always in view. The ancient Greeks worshiped many different gods and goddesses that each controlled something in the mortal world. What was different about their gods and goddesses was that they were very human like. They looked like mortals, had thoughts like mortals, and they even quarreled with each other like we do. Ancient Greek religion is also known as Greek Mythology, Classical Religion, and Classical Mythology. Though whatever people call it, decisions made in Ancient Greece were heavily influenced by their religion.
While learning more about those of Greek Ancestry, I discovered March is Greek-American Heritage Month. I also recall hearing about a Greek Festival which takes place every year in Ann Arbor, MI. I went to www.annarborgreekfestival.org, to find out more information on this festival. It is called the Ya’ssoo Greek Festival of Ann, Arbor. It spans over a three day period. Activities beginning as soon as 11 in the morning, and end around midnight. This year, one of the prizes offered through a raffle was a trip to
Social location is the certain group people belong to depending on their place in history and society. Your social location is defined by your gender, race, social class, income, jobs, religion, sexual preference, age, and geographical location. Sociologists look at social location to find out why people do what they do. Your social location plays a big part in how you construct ideas and how you behave. An example of this is how a male child will act when he grows up, because he is in the male group, some of his behaviors or ideas will be influenced by other males. It can even affect your gestures and the way you laugh. (Page 2)
We all have family traditions, some of which we take pride in, some of which we dread and despise but, whether you know it or not they are what make us who we are. One of my favorite traditions that I can truly say I’m passionate for would have to be Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner for the holiday goes by in a blink of an eye because of all the enjoyment. However, the preparations that lead up to the day are long and prestigious even though they are what make the dinner so great. Since the holiday comes up before we know it, we get started as soon as the year hits mid fall.
There are holidays in every culture where the food is the focal point. For example, the most important tradition involving food in the U.S. is Thanksgiving. According to a 2015 poll, 95% of people in the U.S. spend Thanksgiving with their families.“Thanksgiving by the Numbers.” Fox Business, Fox Business, 23 Nov. 2016. This is because people in the U.S. grew up making memories with their families, and they want to make more memories with their children. These traditions are important to people because they make them nostalgic, so it’s necessary for people to take a break and spend time with their families.
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,
As the family grew older, every one separated and as my cousins and I got older and had our own children the holidays at grandmothers house have faded away. No one even goes to grandmothers house for Thanksgiving or Christmas, and there are no more Easter Sunday egg