Celebrations

Now

When it comes to the US, we usually celebrate in large gatherings usually amongst friends and family. We have barbecues, birthday parties, parades, and sometimes weddings. They are usually full of fun, dancing, food and laughter.

We usually prepare the food on a grill or an electric stove. Hotdogs, chips, hamburgers, kabobs and some salads are a staple. We do not really have traditional dances due to the massive amounts of cultures residing in the melting pot of the US. Although, there are a few popular ones like the Macarena, the Chicken Dance and the Cotton Eye Joe.

Usual activities vary by occasion. If it’s a birthday then breaking open pinatas, pinning the tail on a donkey, and jumping in bouncy castles is quite typical. National holidays usually consist of watching parades, whether in person or on tv, barbecues with family and fireworks. Weddings have a lot of dancing and food.

Music is usually played electronically via a streaming service, like Spotify. Some events have actual live instruments though like parades; they usually have marching bands from multiple schools. During the Christmas season, people sing carols and play in string quartets. Some youth symphonies still exist and people attend their concerts although many people use the internet for music now.

Then

They have the same gatherings that we do now except they are usually attended by the people that live in their village and usually their events have more extended family in attendance as well. This is because there were no fast methods of transportation that were affordable for everyone. You may see the occasional car zoom by but it was not as common as it is today.

Cooking was usually done all by hand and at home. They had gas stoves and would often make ingredients from scratch like cheese. They would still have barbecues but they would make completely different food like kibbeh, kofta, and hummus.

They mostly danced and talked throughout the celebration. The most popular and traditional dance being the dabke where everyone would dance in a circle while a drum was played. Drums are a large part of the celebrations. There are many different kinds of drums for all sorts of occasions. Some are even larger than people and quite heavy too.