Holidays in American History
1 a) the Christmas celebrations was a controversial concept during the colonial times. It was considered illegal in some New England colonies and one could be fined for celebrating the festival. At the same time, Christmas was not part of Bible as it was not mentioned in the New Testament. The colonists living in New England rejected the idea of Christmas citing that it was celebrated in unregulated manner. They believed that man must live according to God laws thus he needs to live in a simple orderly way. Therefore, discipline and organized life were also part of their beliefs. Christmas was viewed as impure festival, a sin they greatly avoided. Moral restrain was highly valued thus they were not happy with the manner it was celebrated (Dennis, 83).
According to colonists, Christmas was festival full of sin, luxury and immorality. As such, it was a festive that was inconsistent with God Laws. It was just like a celebration befitting the god of harvest (Venus). Therefore, colonists were shocked to find that the Birth of Jesus Christ was celebrated in sinful manner. In other words, it was conducted in a way that was contrary to Jesus’ life. The celebrations were marked by all kinds of excess and immorality.In middle and other Southern States, Christmas was day when people indulge in drinking and overheating. At the same time, it was a day when begging justified, the poor went to ask for food and drinks from wealth people while others celebrated by using fireworks and gun shots. For colonists, this was extravagance and it was not fit for celebrating the life of Jesus Christ whom they considered to be sacred. In other words, Christmas was celebrated in sinful manner (Christmas, Part 1)
4 a)
The Valentines’ Day holiday was appealing to Victorian ideal of romantic love and compassionate marriage because they have common elements. In other words, they are both defined by the same values or ideals. Desexualization is evident in both cases. Valentines’ Day is celebrated in desexualized manner in the 19th century. Ideally love takes precedence than sexual desires. In other words, it is day that when love is shared rather expressing sexual desires. This value is also consistent with Victorian ideals (Saint valentine’s day, part 1).
Victorian supports the sexual restrain and they believe in sexual repression. They argue that sexual matters are sacred and they should be done in privacy rather than in public arena. Put differently, sexual expression is not fit in a public place as it is private affair. At the same time, Victorians claim that women have control over their sexual desires and they are committed to loving their children than anything else. Victorians showed big repression to sexual matters hence they were receptive to valentine day which was also defined by desexualization. Meanwhile, Valentine days became popular among Victorians because it was based on the idea that love leads to strong or long term relationships. In this way courtship and love results to long-term relationship, an idea that is consistent with Victorian’s concept of love before marriage ( Saint Valentine, Part 1).
Victorians felt that they need to desexualize the day because it was believed sexual engagement led to unhealthy life as it drains one’s physical energy. They believed that sexual engagement was perceived as immoral. It was associated with all evil things including masturbation, seduction and sexual abuse. Sexual engagement was also inconsistent with their religious beliefs which were majorly based on the idea of purity, living a life devoid of sin just like Christ ( Saint Valentine, Part 1).
6b) As compared to Mothers Day, Fathers Day took longer time to gain popularity, and this is attributed to the manner in which it was celebrated and societal values of the 20th century. Specifically, Mothers day was celebrated in a sentimental manner than Fathers Day. It was celebrated in a manner that was cultural appealing. For example, symbols used for advertising the Mothers Day were colorfully made to make a strong sentimental statement. At the same time, moral purpose of motherhood, which was highly valued at the time gave women strong cultural meaning. Their role as moral teachers gave them high recognition and thus they were accorded great honor. This is in contrary to the men’s physical discipline, role that was lowly regarded at the time. Simply put, Mothers day gained popularity than Fathers Day due moral role played by women in the family setting. The role was highly valued than physical discipline played by fathers.
However, the popularity was never realized until the shift roles played by fathers. In other words, there were several changes that led to the popularity of Fathers Day. Democratic concept had to be introduced in the family. This means that the family was run in democratic manner. At the same time, Fathers had to play nurturing role unlike before who they just an economic provider. In this regard, the father becomes more involved in rearing children, spending more time with his children and showing them paternal love. In other words, fathers began to play roles initially reserved for women. Through these roles, fathers gained cultural appeal that consequently gave Fathers Day the sentimental quality hence gaining popularity ( Mothers Day and Fathers Day, part 1).
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Essay 2
Mothers Day, Fathers Day and Thanksgiving are holidays marked by criticism and protest. Specifically, Thanksgiving is a protest day for Natives rather than a day of celebration. Indians or Native claim that Thanksgiving reminds them of betrayal. It is a day in which they lost their land, their crops and cultural heritage. It is a mourning day for Native as they count all miseries brought by the European immigrants who came to America. These include loss of life and forced assimilation brought by Europeans. They believe that their good gestures were betrayed. Note mentioning, Thanksgiving is a holiday that was also celebrated after war battles. In some cases, it was celebrated to mark the defeat of Natives or killing of Native warriors. These battles claimed a big part of Native’s population thus it is mourning day for Indians (Thanks giving, part 3).
On the hand, Fathers Day is a holiday that was started as a protest. It is important to point out that was idea of Sonora Louisa Smart Dodd, woman brought up in single father family. Fathers Day came as an answer for Mothers day which was given big attention. Some people like Sonoral felt that their fathers are not celebrated yet they play critical roles in the family ( Mothers Day and Fathers Day, part 1).
7(b).Native Americans honor a day of thanks giving with a different perspective. For many Americans, Thanks giving means a great day with carvings of turkeys, enjoying with family members, and giving gratitude for the blessings of the year. But this is very different with the Native Americans. The native Americans will honor this day with a perspective of accounting for their historical plight in the United States. According to their Co-leader Munro, this day in the history of the lives o Native Americans has bloody roots. This is a day of giving thanks that a militia had come back safely form destroying over 700 Pequots (Dennis, 112). Children, women and elders were victims of this tragedy. Therefore, this is the reason why this is a special one for mourning in honor of the Native Americans ancestors and the struggle of the native people in the current world. Native Americans had a higher rate of suicide in the US where millions of them have lost their lives in the European genocide. The national day of mourning is to set the record about the past and the current situation. They also regard this day as a day of mourning by addressing their current painful situation of poverty and unemployment.
The 1621 thanks giving celebration that was attended by Massasoit the chief of Wampanoag symbolized the different relationship between the puritans and the Native Americans. The puritans offered a feast for a number of tribes as a symbol of friendship; however, they offered food and drinks that harmed many Native Americans symbolizing the differences between them. Similarly, when Massasoit’s son proclaimed a thanksgiving in 1676 in order to unite their homeland, the bloody conflict occurred and this led to his murder (Dennis, 88). Therefore the story behind these two events supports the Native Americans view of thanks giving as a day of mourning. This is because they lost their fellow members in a celebration which was said to be a symbol of friendship but instead costed the lives of their people. Similarly, in the attempt to bring unity in 1676, Metacomet was captured and murdered painfully hence making it an important day to mourn for these important people.
Honor your father and mother
The vintage Mother’s day and father’s day greeting cards have a significant illustration on the great importance and value of the father and the mothers. It may not just mean as light as that but it is a way of appreciating all the efforts that the mothers and fathers in raising the children. This is a way to recognize the role that our mother and fathers have played in bringing us up (Rockwell, 32). It is expressed in form of love that children have about their parents. These cards carry a lot of meaning in recognizing the parental role. Therefore mother and fathers are worthy of their own holidays. This is important for so many reasons that every person has towards the role these two people have played in life. Hence giving them a special day of honor is a way of recognizing and appreciating that they are great.
Work cited
Dennis, Matthew. Red, White, and Blue Letter Days: An American Calendar. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2002. Print.
Coontz, Stephanie. Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage. New York: Penguin Books, 2006. Print.
Rockwell, Anne F, and Lizzy Rockwell. Mother's Day. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers, 2004. Print.
