Hawaii's a very unique
place in the world. It is known for tourism, luaus and
hula, but we have more than that. We have love, "aloha"
and kindness in our hearts for one another. Here, we give
leis, hugs, and respect.
Aloha (love) is
spread throughout Hawaii.
Although people come from different backgrounds in Hawaii, they still get along together in peace. To me, that's amazing. My own experience of Hawaii's diversity is in school. I have friends of all different colors and cultures from Chinese, Japanese, Hawaiian, and Portuguese to Caucasian. Even though we're all different, we treat one another with respect.
If the cultures of Hawaii
didn't get along, we wouldn't have the celebrations
together, like we have today. For example, many
cultures share the celebration of the Chinese New Year.
Along with this celebration we eat Gau (a Chinese mochi),
and have lion dances. We also celebrate Tet or
Chinese New Year.
During Tet, people fill red envelopes with money to
celebrate the New Year.
Here are some examples of various items and foods that we share with other cultures. The Japanese culture gave us mochi crunch (rice crakers) and sushi (a rice dish). One custom for Samoans is that they are supposed to get mattresses for their wedding. The Filipinos have a custom of having money pass through their teeth at their wedding. A Vietnamese and Chinese custom for the celebration of Tet or the New Year they give little red pouches, usually with money inside of it. The little red envelope represents best wishes.
Hawaii's a great place to live, we get a "taste" of each culture. We are all one big ohana (family), with the sharing and caring for one another, we are a mixing pot of colors.
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Elementary |