CIE celebrates international holidays

By Sarah Daponde

Asst. Arts & Features Editor

The Center for Inclusive Excellence hosted “Winter Holidays Around the World” on Dec. 9.

The event, originally scheduled for Dec. 2, was postponed due to snow.

“Winter Holidays Around the World” included live performances and different cultural elements to introduce FSU to global winter traditions.

Jerome Burke, director of the CIE, said this event was about "curiosity, community, and connection.

“It’s about moving our hearts and minds with traditions that may look different from our own,” he added.

“While our customs may differ, the human desire to gather, to celebrate, to reflect, and to find joy is universal,” Burke said.

He added the CIE continues to make attempts toward exposing the campus community to more culture and identity.

The event also featured food from around the world, including jelly filled donuts, Jamaican sorrel drink, Puerto Rican arroz con gandules, quipes, and Greek Yogurt Waldorf Salad.

The first presentation was given by Ruirui Zhang, professor of the Fashion Design & Retailing department, on the Chinese Lunar New Year.

There are many variations of the holiday celebrated throughout China, but Zhang said her presentation was based on Beijing’s version.

She said this holiday, also known as Spring Festival in Beijing, is “the most important traditional holiday in China,” and represents the approach of spring.

The date of Lunar New Year is decided based on the system of the moon and varies every year, said Zhang.

Each year is assigned a Zodiac animal, said Zhang - 2024 was the year of the dragon, 2025 is the year of the snake, and 2026 is the year of the horse.

She said Lunar New Year is also a time of human migration, as many people living and working in the cities go home to their families living in more rural areas.

Every generation has different traditions, Zhang said. The younger generations do a thorough cleaning of their homes to represent cleansing and renewal.

Vanessa Joga, co-founder and executive director of the Guardians of Tradition, introduced the next performer, Cassie Santana.

Santana, a dancer from Ritmos Dance Academy, performed Perico Ripiao, the oldest, most traditional form of Merengue dance to Tipico music from the Dominican Republic.

The next presentation was given by Burke on the tradition Junkanoo, which is celebrated during the Christmas season in Jamaica and the Bahamas.

He said Junkanoo began during slavery in the Caribbean and the tradition is still kept alive.

“It’s a hopeful expression of African survival. It’s a form of resistance, while at the same time, a form of celebration.”

There are 11 main characters used to represent and symbolize different parts of the community, said Burke.

Burke said the character of Pitchy-Patchy, someone dressed in a costume made of different colored patches, was used to poke fun at the slave masters.

“This was something that we grew up seeing and this is very popular in our communities,” added Burke.

The next performance was given by Adael Mejia, Worcester’s Youth Poet Laureate from January 2022 through December 2023.

Mejia said, “I grew up around here mainly, and I celebrate good old Christmas with Santa Claus.”

He performed a spoken word piece he wrote about Christmas.

The next presentation was titled “Hanukkah: A Festival of Lights.” It was presented by Yair Rachmany, a junior at Framingham State and president of the Outing Club.

“I am really excited about this presentation because I am Jewish and Hanukkah is a holiday I grew up celebrating, and it is such a special time for me,” said Rachmany.

He said Hanukkah, a holiday that takes place in December, celebrates religious freedom and is about standing for what you believe in. The word “Hanakkuh” means dedication.

The lighting of the Menorah and spinning the Dreidel are two important traditions in celebrating Hanukkah. Rachmany passed around three Dreidels for attendees to see.

“It is a spinning top with Hebrew letters that stand for ‘a great miracle happened there,” he added.

Rachmany said there was a special oil found by the Maccabees that burned for eight ddays, which is why Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days. A new candle is added to the Menorah and lighted every night to represent the miracle.

Rachmany said food is also an important part of Hanukkah. Two traditional plates are Latkes, which are crispy potato pancakes, and Sufganiyot, which are jelly-filled donuts. “Both are fried in oil to connect back to the Hanukkah miracle of the oil.”

“It’s a holiday that reminds us that even something small - like a tiny jar of oil - can make a huge impact,” said Rachmany. “Learning about different traditions, like Hanukkah, helps us appreciate the cultures around us and build a stronger, more inclusive community.”

A Haitian tradition was showcased next. Jean Sebastien Duvilaire performed on the drums and was accompanied by a singer and dancer. They performed the Petwo and Kongo dances.

Duvilaire said the Christmas season is celebrated in Haiti with baths.

“Good luck baths, baths to get rid of the negative energy of the year, so we can start the new year with positive energy,” he said.

Duvilaire said the Petwo is sung for nature and for the leaves and the leaves they use to cleanse themselves of negative energy.

“We celebrate that power that we have in collaboration with nature,” he added.

Joga said the performance reminded her of her own home country.

Joga said in every presentation and performance at the Winter Holidays event there are elements of tradition that repeat themselves in other cultures.

In the Dominican Republic, Joga said it is a tradition to go to the beach and walk backwards into the ocean with the sunrise of the New Year.

“We believe that it cleans our soul and we leave everything bad that happened behind and we welcome the new year,” she added.

“Our traditions are what make us who we are. All of these you have seen today - it’s because of immigration. It’s because of intersectionality. Culture is not static,” she added. “Everything we bring with us - that culture is what stays with us. Diversity, culture, heritage is what makes us.”