Building on Tradition

i wrote a paper on the african american traditions and culture.. the topics i was suppose to discuss include religious pracitces, cuisine, marriage and burial ceremonies, dances and songs , holistic medicine…
why or why not were those transmitted to other to our culture today

too primitive.

I need a word that means the shared values and traditions of a group for social studies, and i can’t find it in the book. please help.

Mores. Shared values are called Mores.

When God tells His people not to have anything to do with traditions of men?
No I do not celebrate Christmas
No I do not Ccelebrate Easter either

You have it right. They are not harmless. Though few get physically hurt, the damage to our spirits goes much deeper.

"When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord, and because of these detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you."
Deuteronomy 18:9-13

If we imitate the things of the world and of pagan origin, how can we be set apart? We cannot serve two masters. We compromise our faith when we participate in things like these. Even if we are just dipping our toes in it we’re still getting wet. And many who continue to do this get deeper and more involved, and compromise themselves more and more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumer
http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/showcase/dlottmesopotamia4.html
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/middle_east/sumer_citizens.html

My fiance’s mother is 100% mexican which makes hime 50% Mexican. I’d like to include some sort of Mexican tradition into our wedding this fall, but I don’t want to go as far a a pinata. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

you could have a marachi band. which is traditional for all mexican celebrations

you could also purchase coins …

The Thirteen Gold Coins (Trece monedas de oro)
The madrina de arras holds the 13 coins the bridegroom presents to the bride. The coins, or arrhea, was a Roman custom of breaking gold or silver, one half to be kept by the woman and the other half by the man, as a pledge of marriage.

The groom gives the bride thirteen gold coins as a symbol of his unquestionable trust and confidence. He pledges that he places all of his goods into her care and safekeeping. Acceptance by the bride means taking that trust and confidence unconditionally with total dedication and prudence.

The custom of the coins originated in Spain. Thirteen gold coins (arras) are given to the bride by the bridegroom, signifying he will support her. Often presented in ornate boxes or gift trays, this represents the brides dowry and holds good wishes for prosperity. These coins become a part of their family heirloom.

The number 12 represents Christ and his 12 apostles. The coins are presented to the priest by a friend or relative (usually the purchaser). The priest then blesses the coins and hands them to the bride who places them in the groom’s cupped hands at the beginning of the ceremony. The coins are then placed on a tray and handed to an assistant to be held until later in the ceremony. Near the end of the ceremony the box and coins are given to the priest who places the coins in the box and hands them to the groom.

The groom will then pour the coins into the bride’s cupped hands and places the box on top. This represent his giving her control as his mistress of all his worldly goods. (Sometimes their hands are tied with a ribbon for this portion of the ceremony.)

another tradition is the lazo … if your fiance is catholic or his family is this is really traditional and important

The Lasso (El lazo)
As part of the ceremony to symbolize unity, a large loop of rosary beads or a lasso (cord) is placed in a figure eight shape around the necks of the couple after they have exchanged their vows. It also is beautiful when made of entwined orange blossoms (which symbolize fertility and happiness). A double rosary lasso may also be given by one set of the parents and may be blessed with holy water three times in honor of the trinity.

A special person/couple places the lasso around the shoulders of the bride and groom, groom’s shoulder’s first. The lasso may also be tied around their wrists. The couple wears the lasso throughout the remainder of the service. (The loop is symbolic of their love which should bind the couple together everyday as they equally share the responsibility of marriage for the rest of their lives.)

At the end of the ceremony, the lasso is removed by either the couple which placed the lasso on the couple, or the priest. The lasso is given to the Bride as a memento of her becoming the mistress of the groom’s heart and home.

best wishes!

I am curious also about wedding traditions, raising children and household customs…thanks so much for any help!

Their customs are influenced not only by their religion but also by local diversities. I’m not an expert on the subject, but I can recommend you this book:
http://books.google.com/books?id=iqtVESaJUgkC

What were some of the elements of Medieval culture and how do they differ from the Renaissance culture?

In the Medieval era, the role of the church is very strong. Church lands cover extensive areas, as once a piece of land is given to the church (e.g., in a will), it never comes out. There is basically only one church in the West, centred in Rome (the Orthodox church existed in the East before the Renaissance). Churches run most schools, and education rests with the Church.

Later, non-church education took place. Many schools were still run by the Church, but secular education took place. The Reformation happened in Renaissance times, which led to the loss of church ownership of land (particularly in England, but elsewhere in Europe as well).

Feudal reforms took place as well, as Monarchs began ceding powers to others. Landowners became more powerful, and the centres of wealth moved downward into lower levels of society.

Explain why some authors in the Catholic tradition remain unafraid of contact with other religions and world views. Think about basic principles, such as ‘unity’, from Pieper, Dulles, De Lubac, and Newman.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. (Matthew 29:19-20)

The mission of the Church is to proclaim and establish the Kingdom of God begun by Jesus Christ among all peoples.

This mission cannot be accomplished by not talking to or being afraid of the people of the world.

It is also a bit hard to not contact the other people of the world when 1 in 6 people in the world are Catholic.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, sections 767-769: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt3art9.shtml#767

With love in Christ.

Down with the WEST! Down with Liberals! Down with Western values! Down with Western behaviors! How dare you liberals try to pull the rug out on 3000 years of built up traditions for your love of MONEY! Westerners, have no hearts, and they are slaves to their jobs and money! Long live the East and we will never ever ever ever join you and your foolish ways! Confirm?

Where I live, lawyers are never needed. And, sure, I may have to bribe the police for a national ID in my country or to send my son to school, but I don’t have to pay no where close to the taxes you pay. My life is 10 times more filled with joy than a Western mans life!
And, another thing, USA – you say, you have freedom to speak, but then someone speaks out at some University and he is tazered by the police.. ( YOU TUBE video ) What is up with this?
Adam, I’d rather have poor people than Sad people or Sad case people. The west has big drug addict problem and many many very depressed people! Here in my country, you can be hung for using drugs. This is the best way! You folks waffle on everything!
Furthermore, how can I take the word of a man serious when he doesn’t even know how to use a common shovel to grow a common crop? Down with America and its BS ideology!

Who cares about 3000 years of traditions? People usually only keep up tradition because "it’s always been that way," not because the traditions have any inherent value. The great thing about the modern world is that we get to decide what practices are valuable and what practices aren’t.

For most of history, most people in the Eastern world have been impoverished, brutish, and miserable. Western liberal values invented all of the technology and most of the great art and music in the world. I’ll take them any day.

Learn the basic steps for traditional Mexican dancing in this free instructional video dance lesson.

Expert: Aleli Montano
Bio: Aleli Montano holds a BFA in Dance from the Boston Conservatory and joined Donna Sternberg and Dancers in Santa Monica in 2006.
Filmmaker: Nili Nathan

Duration : 0:2:24

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