coöpted culture holidays

[rone]

So St. Patrick's Day is when we pretend we care about Ireland by eating something nobody in Ireland eats, Cinco de Mayo is when we pretend we care about Mexico by drinking something nobody in Mexico drinks... what else is out there (not counting all the Pagan holidays the Christians swiped)?

Comments

[deirdremoon.livejournal.com]

Umm... Groundhog Day is notoriously spent without inviting any local groundhogs to the festivities. Racist, really, although they're so segregated at this point that I'd be hard-pressed to even say where they hang out locally.

[erikred.livejournal.com]

There's all of the revelers at Mardi Gras who mysteriously fail to show up for Ash Wednesday Mass.

Btw, your lj icon is so very appropriate today.

[matrushkaka.livejournal.com]

And green rivers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Chicago_River_dyed_green%2C_focus_on_river.jpg). What the FUCK.

if youre in chicago:

[lara7.livejournal.com]

there's kasimir pulaski day, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casimir_Pulaski_Day
(which often falls on my birthday) in which you can pretend to care about Polish people.

[mmcirvin.livejournal.com]

Every time you go out for Chinese.

[sanspoof.livejournal.com]

...Wait, what does one eat on St. Patrick's day? I thought it was an all-beverage holiday.

Bastille Day

[(Anonymous)]

Bastille Day doesn't qualify with Cinco de Mayo and St PAtrick's Day in the sense that nobody actually does or eats anything unusual, but still: everywhere in the entire world it's called Bastille Day, and nobody in France calls it Bastille Day. It's just The Fourteenth of July.

Thib ;-)

[littleamerica.livejournal.com]

Oktoberfest?
The Ides of March?

The former is when we celebrate a harvest we're no longer participating in by drinking American beer. I think the latter is just a drinking holiday for Classics nerds, where they celebrate the liberation of Rome from the man who liberated it from democracy. Or is that republicanism? Plutocracy? Whatever.

[kerri9494.livejournal.com]

Wow, I can't believe I'm the first to mention St. Joseph's Day, which is TODAY!

http://www.bulin.com/stjoe/sjfeast.html

It's an Italian/Christian holiday. The way one celebrates is to eat zeppoles (http://www.getdoms.com/scans/Zeppole%202.jpg). MMMmmmmmm. Zeppoles.

The City of CoOpted Cultural Festivals

[richtermom.livejournal.com]

We've got this huge festival park right down on our lakefront where every weekend seems to bring a huge bunch of people ready to celebrate the differences that would usually provoke marches and court fights. Here's the 2004 schedule.



Asian Moon Festival
June 11-14, 2004 at the Henry Marier Festival Park. The first ethnic festival of the season features asian foods, music, drumming, dancing, and over 1500 entertainers and martial artists.

Polish Fest
June 18-20, 2004 at Henry Maier Festival Park. Holy Peirogi! If you missed your paczki on Fat Tuesday, head down to Maier Festival Park for Polish food, culture, and entertainment.

Summerfest
June 24-July 4, 2004. The Big Gig. Each year, more than one million attendees drink beer, eat fried egg plant, and generally whoop it up at this 11-day event. Featuring both top name entertainers and unknowns on 13 stages, Summerfest also offers children's activities, amusement park rides, water shows, and shopping.

Bastille Days
July 8-11, 2004. Storm the Bastille, enjoy une crepe, visit a replica of the Eiffle Tower, or harass a mime. Just watch out for the enourmous puppets. Held in the streets near Cathedral Square; absolutely free.

The Great Circus Parade
July 3, 2004. From 1963 to 2003, this parade of 75 historic circus wagons made its way once a year from the Circus World Museum in Baraboo to Milwaukee, passing through downtown on its way to the lakefront. Not so anymore. You'll have to go to Baraboo.

Festa Italiana
July 15-18, 2004. A festival you can't refuse.


German Fest
July 23-25, 2004. Schnitzel, lederhosen, sheepshead, beer. What more do you need?

African World Festival
July 30-August 1, 2004. Celebrates African and African-American culture with a weekend of food, dancing, entertainment, and more.

Wisconsin State Fair
August 5-15, 2004. More barnyard animals than you can shake a stick at. Watch sheep get sheared, check out the cows, catch some music. Just don't forget to get your creampuff!

Arab World Fest
August 6-8, 2004. Grab some falafel and practice your belly dancing! The Arab World Fest celebrates Middle Eastern culture with food, entertainment, dancing, and more.

Irish Fest
August 19-22, 2004. The world's largest Irish cultural festival. Learn to play the tin whistle, eat hearty stew, watch the Trinity Dancers, and drink lots of Guiness. You can enter your child in the red hair contest, but look out - my niece is going to win next year. Held at Maier Park.

Freeway Flyer Service

Mexican Fiesta
August 27-29, 2004. Plenty of food, mariachi, and fiesta for all. What began as a small celebration in the Walker's Point neighborhood has grown to the midwest's largest Mexican festival. Held at Henry Maier Festival Park.

Indian Summer
September 10-12, 2004. Indian Summer comes a little early in Milwaukee. Celebrating both contemporary and traditional Native American culture, this festival showcases Native American artists and entertainers. Don't miss the competition Pow-Wow.