The Importance Of Birthdays In American Culture - 1208 Words

In American culture, birthdays are an important event and celebrated in many ways. Birthdays are more than just singing â€Å"Happy Birthday†. Celebrating ones birthday whether it be a first birthday, a thirteenth birthday, a sixteenth birthday, a twenty first birthday or an fiftieth birthday are all often substantial and considered to be an accomplishment. Birthdays may just be any other day in any other culture but, the American culture does more to celebrate ones day of birth and often celebrates them by going over the top. A birthday, commonly known as an occasion, is a celebration of the day of which a person was born. The definition may seem simple but, Americans make a an ordinary day something extraordinary. A first birthday in†¦show more content†¦Years with more responsibility and something every kid looks forward too. For some reason being a teenager is so much cooler than being an eleven or twelve year old. Celebrations often include friends and more exp ensive parties that symbolize growing up. Im talking about sleeping over a friends house for a night to eat a whole bunch of junk food, watch scary movies and stay up super late. Weird, right? Although the celebration of a thirteenth birthday are comparable to those of previous years, once a person turns sixteen, its like a whole new world. In the American culture a sixteenth birthday is where a teenager starts to transition into an adult. Most of the time girls celebrate the beginning of becoming a woman with a huge party called a â€Å"Sweet 16†. A sweet 16 is thrown to show how beautiful of a girl she has become and what an amazing woman she will become. This event can either be formal or in formal but normally consist of bright colored, long, puffy dresses that help the girl stand out from her guests. The number of guests normally range from 70 to 200. But, I could only imagine how expensive this actually is. Paying for, what sounds like an expensive dress, to paying for a venue, to paying to feed guests and even decorations to go along with a possible theme can most definitely add up and seems to be just way over the top for a birthday party. Although gifts are given and oftenShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Jhumpa Lahiri s The Namesake, Ashoke And Ashima Ganguli1666 Words   |  7 PagesEmbracing Culture Immigrants to America face a major challenge when they first arrive. These immigrants from all different backgrounds and cultures feel like outsiders in America because the culture they have been immersed in their entire lives is no longer present in America. In Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake, Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli come to the United States after they have lived in India for nearly thirty years. Ashoke and Ashima are only familiar with the Bengali customs and traditions; theyRead MoreHeritage Assessment1246 Words   |  5 PagesEvery culture is different and perceives the world differently. Cultures are inherited and a learned behavior. Everyone has a cultural heritage. This heritage assessment tool is helpful in understanding the different practices, distinctness and traditions of each individual. I am from the United States and the United States is home for diverse culture. My native language is English which I use in my everyday life. I’ve had some classes in Spanish and I know a few words but I’m not fluent inRead MorePuerto Rican Culture And Family History1706 Words   |  7 Pagesthe pleasure of interviewing a person of Puerto Rican decent and I learned very much about her culture. Melanie W. is a Puerto Rican American who was born in 1983 in Seattle, Washington to Raul and Elba. Melanie is a 31 year old female who is married to her husband, Joshua for 8 years. Melanie and Joshua are currently expecting twin boys. After talking with Melanie, I have learn quite a bit about her culture and family history. I will discuss further into details later in the paper. There are many influencesRead MoreAge Rituals For Females : The Bat Mitzvah, The Quinceanera, And The Sunrise Ceremony1422 Words   |  6 PagesThe ride around the Sun starts the day we are born, and each time we have made a full revolution we celebrate a birthday. Interestingly enough, cultures around the world have decided that after so many birthdays, a child has reached the coming of age and is celebrated through some type of ritual. I quote the coming of age because it is practiced differently from culture to culture. However, the underlying similarity is that it marks the time in which a child has reached a milestone in life thatRead MoreA Description of Cultural Patterns973 Words   |  4 Pageselements that address the manner in which a culture orients itself to activities, social relations, the self, the world and the passage of time. In the following reflection I will identify each one of these dimensions with the cultural patterns shown in my country. Starting with the activity orientation, which defines how the people of a culture view human actions and the expression of self through activities, we can identify the Puerto Rican culture as a â€Å"becoming† one. A â€Å"becoming† orientationRead MoreA Description of Cultural Patterns979 Words   |  4 Pageselements that address the manner in which a culture orients itself to activities, social relations, the self, the world and the passage of time. In the following reflection I will identify each one of these dimensions with the cultural patterns shown in my country. Starting with the activity orientation, which defines how the people of a culture view human actions and the expression of self through activities, we can identify the Puerto Rican culture as a â€Å"becoming† one. A â€Å"becoming† orientationRead MoreDifferent Cultures Around The World867 Words   |  4 PagesThere are many cultures around the world, each with a unique set of characteristics. For example, I identify myself as a Korean-American. Education and family is valued over the individual. We hold the superstition that shaking one’s leg means shaking away one’s luck. As a Korean-American, we believe that our elders should be respected. For example, when we see an elder, we bow and say hello. Birthday celebrations for immediate family members and relatives include eating seaweed soup to promoteRead MoreIvan Miranda, A Native Of Acapulco, Mexico868 Words   |  4 Pagesgeneration of his family in America, therefore, a majority of the answers are of direction of his family’s values towards his grandparents and the ethics that are taught by them. In addition, I came to understand more about his family’s thoughts on the importance of elderlies, along with the loss of their heritage’s way of life towards the elders. Ivan and his siblings were raised to love and respect their elders. The elders are the origin of the family and without the elders, none of them would be hereRead MoreThe Intentional Family By Malery Wahlin1627 Words   |  7 Pagesthe early twentieth century, Americans turned a corner in family life, never to go back. By the 1950’s, the Psychological Family had largely replaced the Institutional Family as the cultural norm in American. The chief goals of families were no longer stability and security but rather the satisfaction of individual family members. Men and women’s roles ideally were â€Å"separate but equal.† This emergence threatened historical family values by reversing the importance of the individual and the familyRead MoreGeorge Orwell s The Great Gatsby 1684 Words   |  7 Pagessignificance of these early birthdays and sporting success. One would have two trace back to the beginning of one’s sporting carrier to discover the answer. The typical cut off for age groups in sporting leagues is January first. Children playing sports with birthdays closer to the first typically do better due to maturity. This slight advantage leads them to getting better training and coaching and ultimately giving them a bigger advantage. This advantage grows until the lat er birthdays simply cannot keep