The primary cultural group from which is my ancestral heritage is Irish-Scottish. These two nationalities are similar, yet different. Ireland is an island off the west coast of Europe. Scotland is the land at the uppermost part of the United Kingdom. They both have a similar language which is unique, called Gaelic. The religion is divided between Protestant and Catholic. They celebrate many of the same holidays, and have many mutual traditions, cultures and values. I combine them as one-and-the-same in my family.
Irish traditions may be more well-known than Scottish, but here are a few of both. Some current American traditions can be traced back to old Irish traditions, of which are still currently practiced in Ireland: “Girl’s Night Out”, “Fat Tuesday”, “Halloween”, spring cleaning, and even “tying the knot”. Girl’s night out occurs in Ireland each year on the eve of January 6th and is called “Little Women’s Christmas”. This is considered the one day off by women in Ireland, from cooking, cleaning, and any household chore. Fat Tuesday, known as Shrove Tuesday in Ireland, occurs on February 24th. On the eve of Lent, pancakes are made thick and sprinkled with lemon juice and sugar, then rolled and eaten as a sweet. Many pancakes are eaten, because of the fasting time period of Lent. Also, unmarried daughters were tested on their pancake making skills, and how well the first pancake made was an indication of her romantic chances for the upcoming year. Most people are aware that Halloween is associated with ‘All Hallows Eve’ evolving from the Catholic Church. But, prior to the Catholic Church acknowledging this holiday, Celtic tradition celebrated the eve by trying to scare away evil spirits through
unwelcome dark homes, and m...
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..., God is first and foremost for guidance and salvation, then our family and friends are also our strength. I would like to think my culture makes me a better person; a better mother, sister, employee, friend, and student. And with this identity I can strive to reach out to others to learn about them and their culture. If other people in the world did the same, prejudice and hatred would be non-existent.
Works Cited
Robert Sullivan. Ireland Fun Facts”. Web Site. Irish Letter Publishing, 2011-2012. Web.
13 Feb.2012. http://www.ireland-fun-facts.com/irish-culture.html
“The Official Gateway to Scotland”. Web Site. Web. 15 Feb 2012.
http://www.scotland.org/culture/history-and-tradition/heroes-and-heroines/
“Scotland’s Enchanting Kingdom”. Web Site. Web. 13 Feb 2012.
http://www.scotlands-enchanting-kingdom.com/scottish-customs-and-traditions.html.
Culture sometimes informs the way one views the others and the world in our everyday lives. Some say your culture shapes you as who you are but others say that it’s the experiences you’ve had. Whenever I hear the question “To what extent does one’s Culture inform the way one views others and the world?” I think of two different things. I think of the differences between people, an example being people who have homes and the homeless. They have different point of views because they are in drastically different situations. So I do agree with it may have to deal with experiences, but then I also think about racism and racial judgement, etc. Thats where the Culture comes into play and then with that information I stand in the middle. Its both,
This gentleman is six foot two, short black hair, black eyes, and with no real distinguishing marks. He is heterosexual, African American, and is An Atheist. His name is David, and he is walking home while wearing sweat pants with a ripped up t-shirt that was from home. Some people would consider this gentleman to be poor and have a horrible education with nothing good on his mind. However David is a part-time firefighter, with a part-time job, and also being part time college student. There is a difference between people hardcore supporting their culture or beliefs, compared to individuals who get stereotyped like David for example. In the article, “Sticks and Stones: The Irish Identity”, by Robert McLaim Wilson and published by Grand Street.
In the early 17th century (between 1717 and 1770), a group of settlers known as the Scots Irish came over to what would later become the United States. This group of settlers had a long history with relocation and prejudice, and came to the colonies in seek of refuge from the British government. In the mid-1600s, this same group of settlers had lived in Scotland. This was their first home -- before they were relocated by the British government during the plantation era. The British took this group of presbyterian Scotsmen and relocated them to Ireland to start plantations and farms across areas of Ireland. The Scotsmen relocated to Ireland only stayed there for a generation before they moved to the colonies in North America, taking their culture, art, and music along with them. They were a melting pot of culture and art form, and, with the music they carried with them, they would eventually inspire some of the greatest genres of music we have today.
In order to legitimise a regime or cause, traditions may be constructed around historical or mythological events, people or symbols that reinforce the image required to focus people’s conception of the past. People can be encouraged to invent a cohesive view of their shared ‘traditions’ by what could be called cherry picking bits of history.
Sweden, Germany, Scotland, and England are all countries from which my ancestors derived from. All of these ethnicities come together to form the two sides of my family that are living today. On my mom’s side of the family, her ancestors came from Germany, Ireland, and Sweden. On my dad’s side, his ancestors came from Sweden and England.
I classify my race, ethnicity, and culture as a white, Irish-Italian- American, woman. My mother was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland and my paternal grandparents are from Sicily, Italy. I imagine being first generation Irish and second generation Italian helps me relate with my ethnicity.
As individual thinks the world to be diverse, often we take for granted unknown cultures. At times, most minority cultures is view as one thing whereas the ethnicity is multifaceted. Historically we used assumptions, not evidence, to equate cultures with social identities (Handwreker, 2002, p107. Society usually dismissed individuality of cultural and tend to put everyone with similar background in the same category. Recognition cos ethnic group has to rely on each other to voice out opinion on the matter and educated the history of personal culture.
During the period when the Celts existed, which is approximately 800 BC - 400 AD, they were just a little tribe compared to other large civilizations such as the Romans and Greeks. They still managed to conquer many regions and prove victorious in most of their battles. Who were these Celts that survived numerous struggles? Where did they originate? What kind of social structure did they have? What kinds of beliefs did they have? What sort of weapons and armor did they use in battle? What were some of their military tactics? These are some of the questions that will be evaluated in the following paragraphs.
I believe God has gifted each and every one of us with a gift that makes us unique and useful to our calling in life. Being taught to love like Christ it allowed me to stop and pause to see the value in each individual. Then apply that to myself and others to grow and expand on our natural born spiritual talents. I strive to help guide and allow others to see and reach their potential by being able to accept themselves. The final value that I feel I maintained through my cultural development is the mindset that when I leave Earth; I will do so boldly and with no regrets or should haves left in me. This value was instilled by my high school and middle school football coach, who was a major influence on what shaped me as a young man. His words continue to echo in my head about how important that we do the most with our time here and we leave this place better than we found
Humans, as a whole, are naturally affected by others around them. We all assimilate to be the most likeable and successful we can be. Due to this, we are extremely affected by our upbringing and culture, some argue. Others argue that this is false, as every individual has the ability to choose their outlook on the world. In my opinion, I believe that our culture affects how we view others around us, though we do pick and choose the manner in which we conduct ourselves--either accepting and promoting our cultures, or refusing to acknowledge certain aspects of them.
This paper will investigate the culture of Ireland by taking a look at the five characteristics. Each characteristic will be allotted its own subsections. The first section will encompass the history to illuminate the connection of a country’s struggle and their learned culture. I will communicate the key aspects that connect an individual culture to the region of the world it inhabits in the second section. In the third section, the language and art of the land are discussed to draw lines to the symbols a culture is founded upon. The fourth section of the essay is dedicated to the characteristic of culture being made up of many components. This is illustrated by the ethnicity/racial, weather, terrain, and military breakdown of the island. The final section is commentary on the dynamic characteristic that interacting cultures learn, develop, and transform due to their shared contact and friction.
Everyone comes from a different cultural background. Many of us though, never really stop to think about what defines our own, I, myself included. This is important to do though, so one, we can know ourselves better, but also so we can start to understand other cultures as well. Surrounding the idea of culture are the concepts of ethnicity, class, gender, age, and belief, each of which I will be reflecting upon.
Culture can be defined by one’s family history. Without a doubt, the way a person a raised has a huge impact on their life. Parents teach their children how to be a good person based on their own beliefs. If a parent grew up from a poor background, then that parent may instill the importance of education and hard work. If a parent grew up being overweight, then that parent may instill the importance of eating healthy and exercising. In other words, the next generation is learning behavior patterns to hopefully better themselves as a whole.
My heritage culture is what has shaped me into who I am today. I am a Caucasian female who is twenty-three years old. I am a granddaughter, daughter, sister, and friend. I am a Christian, and more specifically a Baptist. I attend Musella Baptist Church in Musella, Georgia. My ethnicity is a blend of Cherokee and English. Along with my family and who I am particular experiences have opened my eyes to the other cultures’ practices. Additionally, witnessing the diverse cultures has allowed me to become a more accepting of others’ differences. Through my own family’s culture, beliefs, and experiences I have become more aware of the diversity that surrounds me.
There are a lot of different cultures in the world we live in today. Finding the place you belong and discovering your own culture can be a challenge. This is especially true when you look at culture as an individual versus culture in your family, or even within your community. I’ve always been very family oriented, so that plays a big part in who I am and how my family’s dynamic works. I believe that my family has had a huge impact on the development of my culture, and I hope that I have had the same impact on theirs.