No Drum and Fife but Kwanza??!!

[LSUTigerDISfreak]

So at the American Pavillion last week - of course, they did away with the Drum and Fife Corps. I really hated to see that. One of the cast members said that they hear this alot. However, they had a Kwanza singer and storyteller out front. I just think that they need more American themed entertainment - or hell, any American themed entertainment for that matter. Shouldnt Kwanza be over by the African artifacts....

 

[coolbrook]

This post made me uncomfortable. You don't sound very interested in learning about different cultures. The Christmas story tellers are only there for the holiday season, then the regular entertainment should return. I believe the Kwanza storyteller is in the America Pavilion because Kwanza in a holiday that many Americans celebrate.

 

[disnut8]

So at the American Pavillion last week - of course, they did away with the Drum and Fife Corps. I really hated to see that. One of the cast members said that they hear this alot. However, they had a Kwanza singer and storyteller out front. I just think that they need more American themed entertainment - or hell, any American themed entertainment for that matter. Shouldnt Kwanza be over by the African artifacts....

I get that you are upset about the Fife and Drum Corps as am I but you are at Epcot during the holiday season and you are seeing the holiday storytellers. And Kwanzaa (I think you accidentally misspelled the word) is an American holiday. It is also celebrated in Africa and other nations. However, there are three storytellers and celebrations at the America pavilion that demonstrate how many different people in this country celebrate the holidays. These storytellers are not a permanent addition to the pavilion but there for the season.

I wouldn't say Kwanzaa is replacing anything.

 

[bumbershoot]

How is Kwanzaa NOT American? And no, it should not be over in Africa. It's a celebration of African-AMERICAN culture. It was created by "Maulana Ndabezitha Karenga (born Ronald McKinley Everett)" who is "an African-American professor of Africana Studies, activist, and author". (from wikipedia)

 

[agavegirl1]

Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1965 as the first specifically African-American holiday. According to Karenga, the name Kwanzaa derives from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning "first fruits of the harvest".[cThe choice of Swahili, an East African language, reflects its status as a symbol of Pan-Africanism.

As PP noted, it is an American Holiday.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

So at the American Pavillion last week - of course, they did away with the Drum and Fife Corps. I really hated to see that. One of the cast members said that they hear this alot. However, they had a Kwanza singer and storyteller out front. I just think that they need more American themed entertainment - or hell, any American themed entertainment for that matter. Shouldnt Kwanza be over by the African artifacts....

Holidays around the world and I *thought* Kwanza was an Americsn holiday honoring an African Heritage. (I apologize if that isn't quite right in my simple explanation.)

Drum and Fife is not a holiday celebration, so it is not equivilant.

What you saw would have likely occurred anyway as there is special entertainment in each country during the holiday season. It's kind of educational and often you can ask questions. You might learn a thing or two .

 

[Dan Murphy]

The Kwansaa story telling has been at Epcot for quite some time.

 

[djohn06]

I can see how you would think Kwanzaa is African, especially with the 7 principles all having African names. Good job by the posters providing education to the OP. I am sure he is not the only one who thought it was African.

 

[georgina]

The Voices of Liberty sang carols inside. They were not all American carols though, so I guess it doesn't count. They sang Hanukkah songs too, and have Hanukkah storytellers. The USA is a diverse country! We watched almost every country's presentation. Norway and Italy were our favorites.

 

[wilkeliza]

The Voices of Liberty sang carols inside. They were not all American carols though, so I guess it doesn't count. They sang Hanukkah songs too, and have Hanukkah storytellers. The USA is a diverse country! We watched almost every country's presentation. Norway and Italy were our favorites.

They do Hanukkah in the American Pavilion because it is where it best fits with in the permanent countries so it doesn't feel like they are trying to shoehorn it in somewhere it doesn't belong. At least here in NYC Hanukkah is as big as Christmas.

 

[georgina]

I wasn't in any way implying they shouldn't be doing Hanukkah as well, just adding to the comments that our holiday traditions are more than Christmas. ( I know sarcasm is hard to read in forums.)

 

[BeerMe]

FWIW:

Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, created Kwanzaa in 1966. After the Watts riots in Los Angeles, Dr. Karenga searched for ways to bring African-Americans together as a community. He founded US, a cultural organization, and started to research African “first fruit” (harvest) celebrations. Karenga combined aspects of several different harvest celebrations, such as those of the Ashanti and those of the Zulu, to form the basis of Kwanzaa.

 

[CinderElsa]

Hate to break it to you, OP, but drums originated in Africa.

 

[ArwenMarie]

FWIW:
Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chairman of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach, created Kwanzaa in 1966. After the Watts riots in Los Angeles, Dr. Karenga searched for ways to bring African-Americans together as a community. He founded US, a cultural organization, and started to research African “first fruit” (harvest) celebrations. Karenga combined aspects of several different harvest celebrations, such as those of the Ashanti and those of the Zulu, to form the basis of Kwanzaa.

Yep, it's as American of a holiday as they get, created right here!

The number of African-Americans who actually celebrate it is only estimated between 1-2% though.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

I went to the Fife & Drum earlier this year and they had the gall to sell pretzels. Um, hello, this is the American pavilion, shouldn't pretzels be in Germany? Obviously, Disney hates America.

 

[ghtx]

Hate to break it to you, OP, but drums originated in Africa.

Good one.

I went to the Fife & Drum earlier this year and they had the gall to sell pretzels. Um, hello, this is the American pavilion, shouldn't pretzels be in Germany? Obviously, Disney hates America.

LOL

Poor OP...

 

[delyrium]

Isn't fife and drum music from British military bands, anyway? They should put it in the United Kingdom pavilion, where it belongs.

 

[JoshuaShaw]

Isn't fife and drum music from British military bands, anyway? They should put it in the United Kingdom pavilion, where it belongs.

Are you suggesting that America would ever co-opt other cultures instead of creating its own, as if we're some kind of mongrel melting pot? Gross.

 

[bumbershoot]

Yep, it's as American of a holiday as they get, created right here!

I've been thinking about this since yesterday, and it truly seems that this is possibly the MOST American holiday celebration of all the holiday celebrations. Which is kind of neat.


And what the other poster said about the Corps being a British thing, I was thinking of that, too, last night. It's a tradition that originated when Americans were, actually, still British. And we just continued it because we were used to it, I assume.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Yep, it's as American of a holiday as they get, created right here!

The number of African-Americans who actually celebrate it is only estimated between 1-2% though.

I think of it as really "American", just not really a "holiday". Kind of like Cinco De Mayo.