Celebrating Cultural Roots
We just celebrated St. Patrick's Day! It's a day of great music, dancing, everything green, including beer. I am not Irish but I enjoy celebrating this day because it taps into a cultural pride. Everyone gets into the spirit of the day. There are even buttons that say: Irish for the day. Our community has as one of its goals to become a multicultural, anti-racist congregation. One small way we can do this is to learn about festivities for each of the many cultures we are connected with. Part of my background is Polish. Three years ago I traveled to Poland and when I walked through the cities I felt I was walking on ground my ancestors would have walked on. It was a profound experience and made me appreciate my ancestry even more than before. It also made me more sensitive to the cultural roots of others, and I returned from that trip more eager to learn about and celebrate those cultures, too. How do you learn about/celebrate cultures that are not your own? M