November 6th, 2007
There are many people who have a very traditional idea about Christmas, however few of these really realize that most of the Christmas traditions that we have come not from Bethlehem, but from Northern Europe. Everything from the snow in the manger scene to the Christmas tree actually starts in European countries, and not in the holy land. With this in mind, why should we not change Christmas when it suits us to fit our cultures and our individual styles.
This is why I have begun to collect African American Christmas Decorations. There is definitely a unique African American style which has penetrated the American mainstream as much as any other style that there is, and it seems like a shame not to celebrate it. African American Christmas Decoration not only celebrates authentic African traditions, but also the styles and contributions of generations of African Americans.
Getting or making your own African American Christmas Decoration is the best way to celebrate your own heritage if you are an African American, or to celebrate tolerance and cultural diversity in America if you are not. I am not saying that you should go all out and discard all of those blown glass Christmas ornaments that you have stocked up to put all over your tree. But what I am saying is that that same tree will look all that much better with African American Christmas Decoration strung up alongside the more traditional Christmas decor.
Of course, what exactly constitutes African American decorations really varies depending who you are asking about it. Some people take African American Christmas Decoration to mean African Christmas decoration, and like to adorn their trees with charms shaped like giraffes, gazelle, and stylized masks. I do think that this has a place in African American Christmas Decoration, but I do not think that it is enough by itself.
In reality, African American Christmas Decoration has so much more to offer. When I think of African American Christmas Decoration, I think of Christmas ornaments that celebrate and remember African American history. That means celebrating literature, music, education, farming, and all of the other areas in which African Americans have made a contribution to our culture, and doing it with a distinctly African American style. Of course, that is just me. The beauty about African American Christmas Decoration is that you can do it in whatever way is the most meaningful to you.
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November 6th, 2007
If you are looking for a good African American Christmas Ornament, you might have to look a long way to find something that satisfies your tastes. Yes, there are a lot of African American Christmas Decorations out there, but most of them are really not all that nice. Basically, they are just normal Christmas tree ornaments repackaged as being African American Christmas Ornaments for some cheesy, lame reason. I have even seen plain old glass baubles sold as an African American Christmas Ornament set because they were in red, yellow, and green. Have you ever heard of something quite that silly? I know that I have not.
A lot of the time, a so-called African American Christmas Ornament is actually an African Christmas ornament repackaged to appeal to people who are trying to recapture a sense of their black heritage. For example, many times people will sell a silly little wooden sculpture of some safari animal as an African American Christmas Ornament just because that animal comes from Africa. Even more insulting, sometimes I have seen silly stylized African masks and figurines sold as an African American Christmas Ornament. Talk about perpetuating stereotypes. It is quite a silly state of affairs, if you ask me!
In my opinion, the best way to get an African American Christmas Ornament is to make one yourself, and that is that. You should think of what it means to be a person of color in the United States, and put that into your craft. Use everything about it to make the best African American Christmas Ornament that you can, and I am quite sure that you will not fail in what you are doing. On the contrary, Christmas tree decorations are always that much better if you make them yourself. An African American Christmas Ornament is no different. If it comes from the heart, it is a sure thing that people will see that it is not just another commercial Christmas decoration.
Of course, if you are going to go out and make yourself an African American Christmas Ornament, you probably need to know a few things about how to do arts and crafts. One of the easiest ways to make an African American Christmas Ornament, or any other Christmas decoration for that matter, is to shape it out of clay. Be sure to put a place where it tapers so that you can hang a string from it, bake it in the oven, and you are done!
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