1.4.3 Identity and Traditions

What shapes your identity?


It's Christmas Eve and the Andersons have gathered around their Christmas tree, sipping hot chocolate and eating mincemeat tarts. Grandpa reads 'Twas the Night before Christmas, and then the children hang their stockings on the mantelpiece, leave a carrot for Rudolf, and go to bed, dreaming about the gifts they will receive tomorrow and the big turkey dinner they will eat.  Across the street, the Girards have placed a crèche, or nativity scene, under their tree. Then, they are off to church to celebrate midnight mass where they remember the birth of Jesus Christ. When they come home, they will open their presents and have a huge dinner to celebrate rèvillion, or "the awakening".

Cultural accommodation: The Andersons and the Girards represent the
dominant
controlling or prevailing over all others
dominant cultures in Canada. They celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday and a
custom
a long-established practice or habit of a community; an unwritten and unstated rule of behaviour

For example, people in China eat customarily with chopsticks. Many Canadian households have a Christmas tree.
custom. Most Canadians celebrate Christmas to a certain extent-for some, as a Christian festival, and for others, as a time to join with friends and family in goodwill and giving. Many people celebrate Christmas because they have adapted their beliefs to fit the dominant society. By doing so, they are modifying or changing their own culture. This is an example of cultural
accommodation
When one culture modifies itself in order to fit in with the dominant culture.
accommodation.

  • Other celebrations: Many Canadians do not celebrate Christmas. Hindus and Sikhs celebrate Diwali or the "Festival of Lights", celebrating the victory of good over evil. It is marked by fireworks and decorating with light, gift-giving, and restrengthening family ties.

  • Muslims celebrate Ramadhan for a month in which they fast (do not eat) throughout daylight hours. This teaches them restraint and brings them closer to God. At the end of Ramadan, a feast called Eid al-Fitr is held to celebrate good will and unity among Muslims.

Holidays are important times to celebrate the
tradition
refers to all of the following-an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom);the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs from one generation; cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions.
traditions of our culture. These "holy days" recognize important religious events although the meaning might have faded from the original purposes. Special foods, music, rituals, and activities have been passed from one generation to the next and form part of our identities. Traditions surround other important days, such as birthdays or the first day of school. Traditions include any customary activities, attitudes, or beliefs.

Families develop their own traditions, or customary ways of doing things. The way you celebrate someone's birthday or the way your family watches hockey games may involve traditions.

Christmas tree

Source: Wikimedia Commons

A tradition is

  • an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behaviour
  • the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs from one generation to another
  • cultural continuity in attitudes, customs, and institutions.

Digging Deeper


Read more about changing traditions in our globalizing world here 


For your 1.4.4 Discussion,  explain a tradition (other than Christmas) that is meaningful to you.

Realize that traditions are not only religious holidays , but include any way that you and your family celebrate an event. Traditions can include the customary ways that you and your friends dress for a hockey game or a trip you make every year.

Your response must be a paragraph of at least five sentences.

Go to the next page to access the 1.4.4 Discussion area.
Your discussion posting will be graded according to the Paragraphs and Discussions Rubric.