Coming of Age Day needed in US
Other countries, cultures and religions have “coming of age” days and celebrations, and that includes informal traditions in the United States.
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By Sharon Cox, Art Voices | 7:00 am, Jan. 6, 2021 ×
Every country has holidays that are unique to that culture. Japan’s “Seijin-no-Hi,” or “Coming of Age” day this coming Monday is one we’d do well to endorse for ourselves.
The holiday is on the second Monday of the first month of each year. In Japan, the age of becoming an adult is 20. It’s a ritual celebrated throughout the country for 1,200 years. New “adult” attire is bought to wear at city-sponsored ceremonies where the young adults dress their best, exchange business information, meet high school classmates and are introduced to employers and other business-oriented concerns. They network and party hardy since they now are old enough to vote, drink alcohol and smoke tobacco products. Likewise
The year ends with cautious hope.
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By Sharon Cox, Art Voices | 7:00 am, Dec. 30, 2020 ×
Wow, tomorrow finishes off the calendar year of 2020. It’s hard to believe we’ve made it this far, still alive, still functioning and yet, still cautious about another year on the horizon. The big difference in 2021 however, is we have vaccines already going into arms and there is light at the end of this tunnel . of the next calendar year. No holiday has really been “celebrated” across the globe this year since Valentine’s Day or Easter. We came to a screeching halt and have been idling since. Even the last big celebration of the year, New Year’s Eve in New York Square, has been changed. It doesn’t mean it won’t happen, it just means it will be different.
Sharing them brings us all to one table.
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By Sharon Cox, Art Voices | 7:00 am, Dec. 23, 2020 ×
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Rituals and food preparation are taking place around the world. So too, are memories of this year, as we try to make a very different holiday seem normal.
Stepping back over 2020 it’s hard to find much that was good. But something good has to come from this pandemic, a tragic death in Minnesota, and the riots in Chicago. Where to look for common ground isn’t easy. But there is one commonality we all can share: It’s food. It’s the shared love of good eating brought to one table from around the world. We have to look beyond everyday fare. We usually think of cuisine as food from France, Italy, Germany, Mexico, Japan and China. But delicious foods can come from humble origins and be fine dining .
There have been bright moments during the pandemic.
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By Sharon Cox, Art Voices | 7:00 am, Dec. 16, 2020 ×
A friend emailed to say something about a Christmas card that was a cartoon version of Salvador Dali’s “Persistence of Memory.” The artist replaced the melting clocks with melting Christmas trees and a fluffy Santa cap in the design. “the Persistence of Merry” was so indicative of 2020. It was Christmassy, yet simultaneously sad. If you are alive today and have a brain that functions, it’s also pitifully realistic. Every holiday marking a normal year has melted away to something memorable, yet not the real thing. She said it gave her a laugh and that was refreshing.