Religion/Latino Pentecostals/evangelicals

Christmas celebrations and traditions amidst social challenges

The Latino community in United States are a deeply religious group that forms the larger part of the immigrant populations and are mostly drawn from those country that mostly use the Spanish language. For this community Christmas is perceived as a religious holiday or festive occasion that has to be celebrated together with family members. Throughout this festive season, the Latina families tend to integrate their traditions that preserve and indicate their values, language and culture with the ones in United States society (Warren, 2016, 1). Many of the Latino families identify themselves with Christian Faith and they participate in church activities in the United States more than they did back in their native countries. Major factors which can be used explain this tendency is the feeling of isolation and loneliness. Such a feeling results from the social struggles they have to face in United States while trying to be included in this society. Moreover, these families leave their extended families and social circles back in their native countries and hence, tend to depend on church participation for social support where they can also get a sense of belonging as they are experiencing transition, change or loss (Warren, 2016, 1). For many Latino’s , Christmas celebrations start before the actual Christmas day and may at times last into the beginning of January (Becerra, 2014,1).

As shown in the Home Alone films, this holiday comes with large parties where the cultural foods from a major part of the celebrations. These Latino celebrations are big with friends, families and in some cases the whole neighborhoods gather to sing, dance, eat and drink until late into the night. However, such holiday celebrations differ from household to household and even so, one true aspect of across the entire population is that Christmas holiday festivities and traditions acts as gifts that are always giving. Nochebuena is such festive and is celebrated with La Sangre de Navidad on Christmas Eve by the Cuban families in United States and especially in Florida State (Sheets, 2014, 1). For the cultures that have Spanish influence, the Nochebuena is the most essential celebration to commemorate the birth of Jesus. In many Latino households, the Christmastime feast involves a dinner that features lechon, Spanish for roast pork as the main part of the meal (Sheets, 2014, 1). In the families with Mexican origin, dinner may include various homemade dishes comprising of atole, tomatoes, bacalao and so on.  The celebration is also done through many nativity scenes which serve as a reminder to the population about the religious background and this last into the night as people catch up with loved ones who include friends and relatives. The Christians with Spanish origin, the Christmas celebrations see people coming together to feast on various dishes such as seafood and soup with households after participating in church activities and services.  Those with Puerto Rican origin traditionally participate in playing dominos and cooking the whole pig using a Caja China Box on top of burning goals.  Among the Latino America families who are Catholics, they at times share various dishes after attending Misa de Gallo mass.  This mass commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ and is then translated to Roosters Mass and this tradition arise from a tale about crowing rooter that herald this occasion (Sheets, 2014, 1).  

A common tradition practiced among the Latino community is the Three kings’ tradition which includes giving gifts, singing holiday carols (aguinaldos) door-to-door caroling (parrandas) and sharing food which embody the spirit. Such customs vary from household to household depending on the country of origin. However, the custom of sharing among the family and friends is commonly celebrated across all whole community in similar festive and rich ways (Latimer, 2017, 1). Even though many of the people of belonging to the Latino community have adopted the United States tradition of exchanging gifts during Christmas, many of them still preserve some gifts which they open on Three King’s Day after twelve days.  Such days are eagerly anticipated by children as they wait to be given gifts by ‘the kings’, friends, parents and families. The Three Kings Day is also held dearly by adults and their children where they engage in gatherings and parties where they feast on various foods or drinks. Hence visiting with friends, family and neighbors is significantly central in these traditions and happens before, during or after the holday for the Three King’s Day. However, there are varieties of festivals and parades hosted on this day by the United States Latino communities which date back to around 1884 from countries such as Puerto Rico. There have also been efforts among these communities to hold public and educational programming that are aimed at maintain these festivities. Through such programs aspects such as colorful costumes, lively music, floats, animals are included with the participation of community members and even students (Latimer, 2017, 1).  The end of this celebration involves distribution of gifts to children who have participated in parade marching sponsored by some donors. Various Three Kings are nominated by El Museo and community leaders’ committee and who preside of the said parade.  To be chosen as one of the kings marks outstanding political or cultural achievements within Latino people residing in New York (Latimer, 2017, 1). Such tradition is also persevered through artistic works in form of gigantic puppets that reflect the kings, and which are paraded with decorations and pops. This aligns with a popular Christian culture where the Three Kings are depicted entering Jerusalem to participate in celebration of Jesus birth (Latimer, 2017, 1).  Legend has it that every king brought with him an offering from their respective homes.

In the midst of such celebrations, the Latino community has to adapt to the American lifestyles and a domestic culture whose influence extends to the Christmas celebrations. The community has integrated its foreign culture with the western culture even as it encounters various challenges. This community faces a lot of challenges in the society and they have to find refuge in their Christian background in order to feel at home or accommodated while undergoing a cultural transition.  While facing the discrimination challenges in major sectors such as education due to lack of policy addressing the needs of immigrants, the Latino people seeks refuge in church practices and festivities especially Christmas. In this celebration, the population finds relief in interacting with others undergoing similar challenges (Vega, 2015, 24). By participating in various festive organized at the family or community level, the Latino people are able to identify with their religious background which serves as an important aspect in ensuing that they do not lose touch with their Christian faith. Celebrating the birth of Christ forms a central part of their religious conviction and in the middle of myriad of social challenges especially for the immigrants; they are able to find peace. Another obstacle they face is the desperate efforts by some public figures to try to weaken the religious significance attached to Christmas while misinterpreting laws and the constitution (Warren, 2016, 1). This can be attributed to the community living in pluralistic society where every religion should be celebrated and embraced but for the Christians to appear politically correct, they are expected to be accommodative of others even if it means through weaken the religiosity of Christmas holidays. Moreover, those individuals who are fighting the true meaning of Christmas holidays are increasing in numbers, especially the officials who claim to be removing religious Christmas ornaments, such as those seen in Home Alone films, in their efforts not to be seen as offending anybody.

Through their efforts to protect a small minority of offended Americans, but such endeavors are insults to the majorities especially among the Latino community who are determined to keep Christ within Christmas celebrations.  Such efforts may not present a big problem to the Latino community where Christmas religious significance is rekindled during Nochebuena where Christ is still the reason the celebrations are carried out (Sheets, 2014, 1). The major threat to celebration of this holiday is an age that tends to profess diversity and tolerance in expressing ones’ opinions but with single expression of Christian origins or principals being disfavored. The secular agenda seems to diminish the significance of Christmas origin whereas other non – Christian holidays are not being suppressed by secularism. This is n attempt to suppress a single religion to the benefit of others and the origin of their holidays.  The Latino community desire to continue the celebration of Christmas freely is threatened and this is forbidden through the establishment of the First Amendment and the Clauses on Free Exercise. However, there is religious liberty which has been brought by Christianity to the civilization of the modern world. This religious liberty was the base for tolerance and diversity ideas and which should form the basis of Christmas celebration in a secular society (Aniol, 2015,1).The Christianity faith has an important principle of not forcing religion on anybody and the need to grant everyone opportunity, knowledge and freedom to choose whether to believe or not to believe for themselves. In fact, Christ whose birth is celebrated on Christmas never forced religion on anyone. On the basis of such constitutional backing and religious conviction is the freedom granted to the Latino community to continue with the Christmas celebrations and traditions in United States secularized society. The constitutions grants religious liberty that creates a conducive environment in which the Latino Community can freely celebrate their Christmas traditions in a diverse culture and where some individuals may feel the need to suppress the significance of such festivities (Vega, 2015, 27).

While Christmas traditions are becoming incorrect politically in the many American Society segments, the traditions are carried on among the Latino community as they proudly put out a display of Jesus Christ faith. The efforts to quash any display of public nativity and to sensor any reference to Christmas is perceived as quite ridiculous. This is because many of the families still display the Nativity scenes and other religious traditions which serve as a reminder of what Navidad really means. In a society where the Christmas festive have been commercialized by the business community , so that  the true meaning of Christmas is watered down , many among the Latino community adhere to the true meaning of the holiday(Aniol, 2015,1). Christmas cannot be meaningful if it is not celebrated from a Christianity point of view and any efforts to do so have lead to its commoditization and the majority of American society has no religious connection with it.  The celebration of Christmas is one area in which Hispanic community, even more than many Americans maintain their traditional religious and family values. Furthermore, more than a shopping period or gift giving time, more than a period for greed and commercialization, the Christmas celebration is a time for homeland and religious traditions (Aniol, 2015, 1).

 Secularization of charismas has seen serve an entirely different purpose in the post modern period especially among the business community especially among the retailers who capitalize on the spending boom during this season. There is an increasing tendency for consumerism driven by the emphasis on giving out gifts which has in turn led to redefinition of this holiday and various Christian groups have been fighting what they perceive to be an encroachment on a day that is expressly religious. The groups have been rallying against the tendency to replace Merry Christmas greetings with Happy Holidays (U.S.NEWS, 2011,1).  Though such tendencies can be observed among some members of Latino community as they become assimilated into the secular culture, majority in the community regard highly this tradition. They regard as a time for reaching into their souls and reflecting on their lives, faith in Christ, heritage and the importance of being with their loved ones. No matter where they are, many Latinos have a longing to be with their family to share dinner on Dec.24 and take part in family reunion which equals a thanks giving moment. What this means that rather than dreaming of white Christmas , many Latinos longing is for tropical , greener and religious Nativity , similar to the ne they are familiar with back in native homelands. While other memorable times can face as time goes by, the Nochebuena family reunions reserves the past Christmas memories so that they remain clear. During this time, past family stories are narrated, family members who have been apart are invited and those who have passed on are mourned through meal sharing.  While sharing this dinner, various discussions normally focus on passed Nochebuenas, enjoying good times and offer thanks for the various obstacles that have been overcome (Sheets, 2014, 1).  This how Christian religion is embraced and values passed on to younger generations among the Latino community.  As aforementioned, the traditions may differ among the millions of Latinos in United States especially when it comes to the family feast dishes but their essence doesn’t change.  It is perceived as a moment where by individuals can dig out the foundations of their Christian faith and values and the culture so that they can be taught practically to the younger children.

In fact, such religious views and family traditions can be compared to the events and festivities shown in the movie Home Alone. The films are relevant to the Latino community in terms of the themes shown in the content. The scenes in the films elicit nostalgia as the Christmas holidays a pegged on remembering traditions and the past.  The films serve a great job by hitting on the holiday traditions points which are brought out by the kid staff memories (Kincheloe, n.d, 1). The movie goes long way to remind the viewers what it felt to be a young person back in the homeland countries. The Christmas holidays in the film use nostalgia to elicit emotions by showing how Christmas is valued among the Latino community and it is relevant to the conventional Christmas traditions among this population.  A major value depicted among the Latino community during Christmas is the value of giving which is also represented in this film. It is also an important value for those who profess to be follower of Christ and giving out gifts during the Christmas holiday related much to it.  The spirit of the biblical saying that “it’s better to give than to receive” is well depicted in the Christmas traditions maintained among the Latino community. In the film, Kevin meets Marley an old man who he avoids at first but eventually realizes that he is a good neighbor who has not been in contact with his family (Kincheloe, n.d, 1). The 8 year old boy offers advice to the old man to reconnect with his relatives and this lead to happy ending for the man.  This simple sign or message resonates with Latino community Christmas holiday spirit of connecting with other family members. Eventually, after Kevin has tried to distance himself emotionally from his family, he starts missing them and wishes they were home for the Christmas holiday and he starts believing that he was the reason they disappeared. However, he now realizes how important the family is to him and even goes to visit Santa to get help.  This shows content whose theme is bringing families together and that builds strong emotional bond that have them stick together as portrayed in the Home alone films.

Furthermore, this Latino community culture shows a collective approach to the development of family relations and it is important for generational continuity and human development. The celebration of Christmas and its significance as presented in the films shows a culture with strong family values, religious beliefs and the desire to be involved with the personal life of each member of the community (Eakins, 2001, 3). While the Latino are growing and migrating, they bring with them a culture that upholds collectivisms evidenced in Home Alone Christmas celebrations, which can be considered to enhance the individualism culture in the United States. The framework of a given culture can act as a catalysis that induces collective human endeavors and build an integrative system that is dynamic and which interconnects various cultural aspects which comprises of culture, religion and cohesiveness economic wise. This integrative process is demonstrated among the Latino community and which offers a significant effect on the cultural psychic among the American culture (Eakins, 2001, 4).  A psychological approach to cross-culture with an aim of understanding human behavior is achieved after realizing that human behavior is influenced by culture.  Though some members in the community may appear to be detached from their religious values and culture , the bigger number serves as an example that exemplify the greatest kind of family cohesiveness (U.S Department of State, 2008,1). 

The Home Alone films show that members of Latino family operate as a very close unit. The integration of culture with Christianity is well depicted by the Christmas festivities, so that it serves as a central cohesion theme among the community members. There is also the sense that family cohesion has its advantages and disadvantages. Apart from bringing the joy of togetherness and sense of belonging, it can also be a source of pain for some individuals who may feel that they have been left out of family activities (Eakins, 2001, 3).  In the Home Alone films, Kevin feels that his siblings are isolating him and looking down upon him because of his naivety which makes him to grow cold feet towards. He relates their relationship with the family to his parents forgetting him while they went visiting for the Christmas holidays (Eakins, 2001, 3). This clearly shows how the cohesion between family members in the Latino culture can leave some members feeling ignored or left out in the major Christmas festivities, and hence this serves as the negative side of it. However, the parents do not abandon Kevin intentionally, but the forgetfulness makes them lose track of him on the day they were to fly to France. His mother is feels very guilty and her worry is that she is a bad parent. After enjoying the absence for a short while, Kevin realizes how importance and valuable the love and protection of his parent are to him. His mother makes up for this by emphatically going back to his son and doing everything she could for their reunion. This shows that the Latino culture is fully ingrained in the families so that any break on this cohesiveness makes people very uncomfortable.

The Hispanic Christianity and the related Christian worship is influenced by various factors which includes the cultural background from their country of origin, the influence from the western Christianity culture and practices and the denominational affiliation. The diversity of this influence is depicted by the various religious groupings that have influenced on Latino Christians and their beliefs. While many Latino profess the catholic faith, there has been a major shift where many Hispanic people are joining the Protestants and evangelical churches (Rodriguez, 2008, 1). Many Protestants and evangelical Christians and churches have continued to place a lot of importance in indigenous cultural practices or traditions like Santeria. However, there have been varying tenets between the mainstream Protestants and the evangelical denominations regarding Christmas. In the past, the Latino Protestants and evangelicals have had to bear the challenge of being the minority among the Latino American Catholics and Anglo-American Protestants.  The celebration of Christmas especially among these evangelicals and Protestants has been influenced greatly by the western Christian culture.  Just like the whole society has blended the secular customs with religious customs on Christmas, the Latino community Christian festivals especially the Christmas celebration has seen the incorporation of various decorations, rituals and foods into their own (Rodriguez, 2008, 1)

The celebrations presented in the film Home Alone is not purely Hispanic but involves a mixture with Christmas celebration traditions among the western culture. This can majorly be related to the major shift being experienced in the Christian culture in western world with a lot of influence from the secular society. The changes can also be seen in commercialized Christmas with new custom of gift purchases in measures that border consumerism (U.S.NEWS, 2011, 1). In addition, various Latino Protestants and evangelicals have also adopted traditions such as Santa Claus that was not found among the Latino Christian celebration of Christmas holiday. This also includes the adoption of Christmas trees whose origin is credited to German churches, but later became popularized in the United States. Currently, many American evangelical churches and protestant churches have adopted this tradition including the Latino Christians as seen in the in the Christmas pop and celebrations shown in the Home Alone films. In this sense, Christianity among the Latino community has expanded to embrace other traditions practiced by the western Christian denominations (Eakins, 2001, 4). These contemporary observances have included the various foods that form part of American dishes and desserts like the Crostli and Pfeffernuesse. In other instances, the Latino Christians have adopted some non-Christian traditions so that in a secularized society, the spirit of consumerism has lead to increased buying activities that cannot be related to the previous celebrations. Such integrations of traditions appears inevitable given that even other religions like Muslims and Jews have members who have been influence into the Christmas holiday celebrations.

In conclusion, the celebration of Christmas holidays among the Latino American community involves gathering of families or friends and neighbors in line with the traditions that encourage cohesiveness. These traditions can be traced back to the homelands where Christmas has been observed as a major Christian holiday especially among the Catholics. This community has intended to maintain this holiday with its original styles of celebrations in the midst of social life that does not encourage cohesiveness so that to have a sense of belonging. However, these traditions have maintained the religious sense although there is a lot of influence by secularism and western Christian culture.

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