Essay --

While living in the Bay Area, I have a valuable opportunity to experience many interesting food cultures. Doing my report on cultural traditions, I am inspired to enrich my knowledge in the culture that I have little knowledge of. Through the interview presentations, personal experiences shared by students, and several suggestions of indicative foods by the instructor, I have gained interests in different food habits and food symbolisms. After doing small research on each topic to decide what I am really interested in, I chose to learn more about the Seder plate in Passover tradition. The meanings of the celebration as well as the symbolic foods intertwine with the Jewish history of more than 210 years of slavery in Egypt. Though I have learnt about the cruelty of slavery, I have never known about any celebrated festival to commemorate on the journey to freedom from bondage. I am curious in understanding how symbolic foods that are emphasized in this festival represent the experienc es that the Israelites faced and their passage to freedom. Passover (also known as Pesach in Hebrew) is one of the most sacred festival in the Jewish calendar and the longest continuing ritual in the human history. Since 1300 B.C, Jews celebrate this tradition to commemorate the national freedom of the Children of Israel and recalls stories behind the Israelites' departure from the land of Egypt. Spring time signifies the season of Passover, which begins at the sunset marking the fifteenth day of Nisan, the first month in Jewish calendar. In modern calendar, that is between April and May. The story of Passover is written in the Book of Exodus, the second book of Hebrew Bible. Over 3000 years ago, Pharoah, the King of Egypt, enslaved Jews and tortur... ...e tradition. Hopefully, the younger generations will continue to celebrate the sacred celebration to maintain their heritage in the future. Besides the historical meaning behind this tradition, the Seder plate in Passover celebration not only teaches the younger generation to recall the past painful experiences from slavery, but also emphasizes on the positive sides of their successful journey and their joyful moments. Each of the symbolic foods of the Passover Seder Plate has an interesting meaning, and together, they created complex layered meaning of the tradition. Family and friends come together to reflect upon history, sympathize the tragedies, and celebrate the triumphs of their ancestors. It is extraordinary that all Jews around the world strongly symbolize their ancestors’ experiences and spread it as the foundation of national identity.

Nutrition Practices

Receiving proper nutrition to satisfy the physiological needs of man is a general knowledge that everyone is aware of. The food that we eat is necessary not only to fulfill the biological urge to satisfy hunger, but also to nurture the human body in order to withstand illnesses and diseases for a longer and healthier life.Although this is a common goal for nations, particularly of the United States, as manifested in health care services and policies granted to their citizens, other external factors seem to influence how individuals perceive nutrition. One major factor which affects the nutritional decisions and influences of individuals is their culture, for one’s racial or ethnic roots or backgrounds are attributed to nutrition practices.This fact may be observed in hundreds of individuals who belong to various racial and ethnic groups residing in the US. The evaluation or assessment of the nutrition practices undertaken by these individuals reveal that they are at high risk for experiencing health and nutritional deficiencies.For instance, the Prima Indians were found out to be at great risk for contracting diabetes primarily fueled by obesity. However, in this case, aside from the nutrition practices, the genetic make-up of this ethnic group also influences their health and wellbeing. Another case is the implication of the exclusion of milk, and other dairy products in the diet of Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans. (â€Å"Ethnic Traditions,† 2008)This is because studies have shown that these particular ethnic groups are more prone to lactose intolerance which leads them to remove dairy products from their nutrition practices or diet (â€Å"Ethnic Traditions,† 2008), consequently leading to Vitamin A, B12, D, and Calcium deficiencies (â€Å"Vitamins and Minerals,† 2008)Other health and nutritional deficiencies that are most common in the US for racial or ethnic groups include lack of Omega 3 fats, Copper, and dietary fiber. Fo r the male populations belonging to African American and American Indian ethnic groups, they are most at risk for Vitamin A deficiency.This is because it has been observed that they refuse to consume vegetables in their diet. Some vegetables that are essential parts of the American diet contain beta-carotene which is a valuable substance present in them from which Vitamin A is taken from. (â€Å"Ethnic Traditions,† 2008*)Aside from the minor influences of physical and genetic features or characters, one component of racial or ethnic culture also influences nutrition practices. Religion plays a major role in dictating what kind of diets individuals will be implementing. For instance, individuals who are Jewish refrain from eating the common types of meat such as beef and pork and prefer meat from sheep, goat, etc. instead.This religious belief has something to do with the distinction of the clean and unclean meats. Moslems on the other hand are not allowed to consume pork and alcohol. In addition, some Islamic festivals require that they practice fasting which refrain them from consuming food and drinks at a particular time during the day. This particular cultural and religious practice affects the health and wellbeing of Moslems. (â€Å"Ethnic Traditions,† 2008)From the various, but limited, examples provided in this text of the various cultural nutrition practices that racial and ethnic groups observe, the influence of such practices are perceived to be detrimental to their health and wellbeing.In addition, resolving the issue of ethnic disparities in terms of health care and nutrition is quite difficult to resolve since it would be far-fetched to reverse a culture that has long existed. Moreover, the influence of physical and genetic factors is unavoidable. The challenge presented within this text now is how cultural differences and the standards and guidelines of health and nutrition are to be reconciled in order to come up with a cohesive soc iety that is consciously aware of the need to promote health and nutrition for the betterment of human life.Referencesâ€Å"Ethnic Traditions.† (2008). Retrieved December 20, 2008, from The World’s Healthiest Foods. Website: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=specialneed&dbid=11 â€Å"Vitamins and Minerals.† (2008). Retrieved December 20, 2008, from The Vegetarian Society of United Kingdom. Website: http://www.vegsoc.org/info/vitmineral.html   

To Choose Or Not To Choose . You Make Around 35,000 Choices

To Choose Or Not To Choose You make around 35,000 choices a day they’re everywhere you go and in everything you do. Some so simplistic that you don t consciously think about them, while others weigh greatly on the conscious and take time to think about. However you never know how these decisions are going to affect you, nor do you know what the outcome will be until you make them. This makes us hesitate, debate, and philosophize their potential, leaving room for one to talk themselves out or to find something else to occupy their mind. In WIlliam Shakespeare s Hamlet this is exactly what our hero does over and over again until his hand is forced and he must take action. Hamlet tells the tale of a Prince from Denmark who has just lost†¦show more content†¦The End of Hamlet we are able to descend into Hamlet s madness and truly see the cause of his delay. Hamlet is struggling with who he is as a person and what he stands for. Here we have a man who used to believe in the world and all the good it had to offer, that is now broken and filled with pain. The loss of his father is a heavy burden for him to bear, along with the newfound anger he has towards his mother Gertrude for her remarriage to Claudius He states that the world he thought he knew has become â€Å"weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable†, that there is no form of justice for his father s murder, and no calling for Claudius’ head. This steals away at Hamlets drive to act, time and time again we see him become enraged and ready to kill, only for the flames to be snuffed out by some other distracting matter. A perfect example of this Act 1 Scene 5 when Hamlet states â€Å" ...I’ll wipe away all trivial fond records, / All saw of the books, all forms, all pressures past / That youth and observation copied there, / And thy commandment all alone shall live / Within the books and volume of my brain, / Unmixed with baser matters â€Å"(1.5.9-104). Here we see him hellbent on avenging his father, proclaiming that he will wipe all of his remembrances and books from his memory good and bad so that he can focus on revenge. Yet ironically the next time we see Hamlet he is reading a book and seems to have forgotten all about this.Show MoreRelatedIs College Worth The Cost?880 Words   |  4 Pagesfinancially beneficial to get a 4 year bachelor degree but these numbers can cover up some very concerning gray area. The first of which is how is it going to get paid for? Knowing you will make somewhere around $20k/year more than your non-degreed counter parts does not always tip the scale (Is College Worth it?, 2014). You have to also take into account the total cost of education, including student loan interest, as well as the 4 years of earnable income lost while going to school. 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