All Together Now: American Holiday Symbolism Among Children and Adults (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781978801974)

In a hard driving society like the United States, holidays are islands of softness. Holidays are times for creating memories and for celebrating cultural values, emotions, and social ties. All Together Now considers holidays that are celebrated by American families: Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Halloween, and the December holidays of Christmas or Chanukah. This book shows how entire families bond at holidays, in ways that allow both children and adults to be influential within their shared interaction.

The decorations, songs, special ways of dressing, and rituals carry deep significance that is viscerally felt by even young tots. Ritual has the capacity to condense a plethora of meaning into a unified metaphor such as a Christmas tree, a menorah, or the American flag. These symbols allow children and adults to co-opt the meaning of symbols in flexible and age-relevant ways, all while the symbols are still treasured and shared in common.

Author: Cindy Dell Clark
ISBN-10: 1978801971
ISBN-13: 9781978801974
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Language: English
Published: 06/14/2019
Pages: 220
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.60d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 11/01/2019