Monday, June 24, 2019

Religious Literacy Final Post


Image result for dare greatly

The Religious Literacy and Cultural bus tour was absolutely amazing!  Prior to the start of this course if I had to give myself a score from 1-10 on my religious literacy, I would probably have given myself a 6.  By the end of Day 1 though I would have probably changed my pretest score to a 2.  Wow!  You don't know what you don't know until you know it, right?
What I had hoped to gain by taking this course is that I would become more knowledgeable about various religions, their history, traditions, etc. so that when people engage in hate or discriminate because someone has a different religion, I can use that knowledge to stop it. I think people often fear what they don't know which results in hatred and discrimination.  In my opinion, knowledge is the key to stopping that.  I feel like I have a much better understanding of Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Islam than I did prior to taking this course.  Of course, I could spend years learning about each and still not know it all but I certainly have a better idea than I did.  The opportunities to listen to students of the various faiths, going to the various places of worship and of course meeting with those of different faiths were probably the most powerful and helpful to me.   

                                     Image result for dare greatly

One of my favorite phrases taken from Brene Brown is to "dare greatly".  While I can only speak for myself, I think all of this on this bus tour probably had multiple opportunities to "dare greatly".  I know I had to allow myself to be vulnerable in order to ask some of the questions of those of other faiths.  At the mosque, I was particularly worried that my question asking for an explanation on "why the women and men are separated during prayer service?" would be misunderstood.   I also dared greatly by trying many different foods, accepting the flame in one of the Hindu temples, accepting that I along with the other women were asked to sit in the back while the men were invited to the front, at one of the Hindu temples, attempting to meditate at the Buddhist meditation center,  going barefoot in many of these places of worship...what can I say, I'm a germaphobe, lol.  There were times that it may have been easier to just allow myself to be fearful and decline these experiences.  But declining these experiences would have allowed me to stay in the fear rather than to be vulnerable and to learn.  Fear often leads to ignorance, intolerance, hatred, etc.  I'm pretty proud of myself for "daring greatly" throughout this week so that I could let go of the fear. 

So did I answer my essential question?  Yes and no. I think now that when negative comments are made about people of different cultures or religions, I will be much more likely to know how to respond in order to educate them about their ignorance. The next time I overhear someone making fun of a Sikh wearing a turban, a Muslim woman wearing a hi jab, someone making false claims about Islam or Jewish beliefs, etc. I will have more knowledge to correct their false statements.   As I've said, I firmly believe that many of our differences shouldn't be feared but rather understood. If I want to stop hate and the discrimination, I will need to continue to "dare greatly".  But... I am only one. While one is certainly better than none, we need more people to stand up to hatred and discrimination.  In order to do that more people need to be educated on various religions.  If fear is what breeds hate and discrimination than learning about other religions should be a requirement of all of our citizens.  
                                 Image result for religious literacy

It's exciting to hear that more high schools are offering comparative religions courses as electives but I'm hopeful that some day this will be a requirement.  In the meantime, I will continue on this religious literacy journey.  I will accept invitations from others to attend their churches, not necessarily to practice a new religion but to continue to understand others and their beliefs, behaviors, and their community.  If the Religious Literacy Bus Tour 2.0 is offered next year, I will certainly take that as well.

As an educator, I now have a much better understanding of the various religious holidays and will certainly be more understanding when my students miss or come to school tired.  I can support students in finding a space to pray or "just be" during their lunch period when fasting.  I will certainly look for more literature that involves characters of different faiths as an avenue to educate students about various religions and their customs.  One additional thought I've had is to find ways to integrate religious and cultural literacy into our SEL curriculum as this could be easily integrated into understanding others differences, empathy, respect, etc.

Thank you Seth Brady for offering such an amazing opportunity to us!  While I'm pretty sure my family and friends may want me to stop talking about it, I just can't.  This experience changed me in a wonderful way.  Thank you!

Becky

Day 6: Christianity

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1J3DcwfMDawYGjsn_YArUGD7j1Eb4IG6F
Day 6's assignment was to attend a Christian house of worship that I was unfamiliar with.  As I had never attended an Orthodox church service, I was curious to what this might look like.  I did a quick google church and found an Orthodox church in my hometown of New Lenox.  I have driven past Saint John of Chicago many times and marveled at the church with the beautiful stained glass windows but didn't know that it was an Orthodox church.  I emailed the church and received a quick response from Father Andrew welcoming me to a service and offered to meet with me after to answer any of my questions.



Upon entering the small church, I found myself among less than a dozen people who certainly noticed me as someone new to the church.  They offered smiles and then one of the members brought me a book so that I could follow along with the service.  Shortly after opening the book, the churchgoers stood and then service began with chanting in prayers immediately followed by the ringing of church bells.  Father Andrew began releasing incense across the altar, the clergy, the congregation and then around the entire church.  He then went back to the altar but facing away from the parishioners.  Almost all of the service was conducted through chanting but the tones of the chants changed at different points.  Father Andrew then began releasing incense throughout the church and then began reading from the Gospel in the center of the church while facing the parishioners.  We remained standing until he began his homily. At this time, Father Andrew brought out a stool to sit at the very front of the parishioners and began discussing the holiday being celebrated, "All Saints Day" which in the Orthodox church happens after Pentecost.  I really appreciated his homily about All Day saints, modern day saints, and what it means to be a "witness" to one's faith.  While he certainly shared a message, he also used his homily as a time to interact with his parishioners to better understand their needs and questions.  After the homily, we returned to standing and the churchgoers began chanting the various prayers including the Nicene Creed.  They then began to prepare for Communion.  As the members went to the altar to receive communion, I noted that they went up to the altar with their arms crossed across their chest with their hands resting on their shoulders.  After one of the churchgoers took communion, she offered me a piece of bread that wasn't communion as a gift.  Father Andrew then joined his congregation to share upcoming events and news.  He then led them through a prayer "to go in peace".  What I found interesting was that Father Andrew even though the service was over, none of the parishioners left.  Instead they sat down on their pews and then Father Andrew joined them on a stool to offer a lesson to anyone who wanted to stay.  He then turned to me and thanked me for coming to the service.  In turn, all of the church goers verbally welcomed me as well.  Father Andrew then asked what questions I might want to ask.  I asked why the prayer was done through chanting and if he could explain the different tones.  He explained that the Orthodox church used Byzantine chanting and that it was initially done because many people were unable to read.  Chanting was used as a technique to help them memorize the various prayers.  I also asked why they took communion with their arms crossed and he explained that this is so no one accidentally spills the communion.  As I didn't want to monopolize the informal time with his congregation, I asked if he could explain why the Nicene creed that they recited continued to have the line "one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic church".  Father Andrew explained that the Orthodox church could actually be titled "Orthodox Catholic" church.   The Nicene creed was written prior to the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Christian churches splitting up but is continued to their belief.






Throughout the church service, I couldn't help but stare at all of the stained glass windows.  The images of Jesus were just beautiful.  At one point, Father Andrew referred to them as "windows into the Kingdom of Heaven" during his homily.  I've included some of them for you to appreciate as well. 

I found my experience at Saint John of Chicago to be a very positive one.  The church building and service were beautiful.  Father Andrew and his parishioners were extremely welcoming and open to any and all of my questions.  While I love my current church, I certainly wouldn't hesitate to attend another service at Saint John's. 

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1d2aT3TeoAsxXlJys7AE9jMIrElwLTIpj

Becky

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Day 5: Islam




Truly grateful for today's experiences...Our agenda today included a talk with Wali Khan, a
panel of students, attending a prayer service at a mosque, a talk with two Muslim women
educators, and a Turkish meal.  Wow! As I have everyday so far, I left inspired, educated, and
exhausted.

Wali Khan's talk was not only educational but also inspiring.  He shared his experience of
growing up Muslim. Wali shared that while he understood the Islam faith, attended a mosque
with his family, and completed obligatory prayers five times daily, it wasn't until the summer
before leaving for college that he began to embrace being a Muslim.  Wali shared his personal
awakening to his faith that led to him following the 5 pillars of Muslim faith: Shada, Sala,
Sawm, Zakah, and Hajj. He broke the 5 pillars down in this way:
  • Shada: God +belief that Muhammad is the last prophet
  • Salah (Prayer): pray 5 times a day
  • Sawm (Fasting): required to fast in the month of Ramadan from dawn to sunset; not
drinking/eating/sex with spouse

  • Zakah (Charity/Alms): 2.5% of savings, give to those in your family, then community,
then world

  • Hajj (Pilgrimage) This is a major pilgrimage to Mecca, the place of Muhammad's birth,
which every Muslim must do it once in a lifetime assuming you have the financial means,
have a sane mind (can’t understand), aren't imprisoned, and are mature.  
As Wali shared the story of his life, it was clear how his work as a trauma nurse was intertwined with his faith.  He shared his belief that he doesn'’t control life but is rather doing the work of God. Wali shared “prayer is soul food” which allows him to have honest conversations with God. During these conversations he talks with God about the things he can’t control, expresses his gratitude, and also allows himself to escape the monotony of this world.  Wali shared that Sawm allows Muslims to give something up for God which allows them a closer proximity to him.  Muslims belief that wealth is not ours to begin with so one shouldn't be stingy.  Zakah is believed to actually be a test from God.

After listening to Wali's inspirational speech, a panel of students from Naperville Central
shared their experiences on growing up Muslim in Naperville.   Some of their insightful
statements included being Muslim means: "one who submits to the will of God", "a man can’t
have two hearts in his chest", and that actions are based on intentions, "whatever he intends
is, he will be rewarded as such".  They shared that being a Muslim is both religious/cultural,
part of their identify, and means representing themselves as a good person. When asked to
expand upon what being a good person/Muslim meant, the students shared that to them it
meant having a moral compass by contributing to the community by serving.  When asked
"what do you want teachers to know?", they shared a better understanding/awareness of
Muslim hoilidays, particularly Ramadan and the behavior of fasting which occurs from
predawn to after the sun sets and includes no water or food for students mature enough
(ie. puberty). They also shared that it's important to know that Islam follows a lunar calendar.
One of the students shared how she wore a hijab during her elementary and junior high years
but that once entering highschool, felt like didn't want to come to school any more because
of being singled out because of her wearing a hijab. This same student also shared that
wearing a hijab doesn't necessarily mean one is more religious or devout. For this student,
she became more religious later in her high school years during a time she was no longer
wearing her hijab. The students shared experiencing negative comments in both middle and
high school by other students. Fortunately, it never escalated beyond comments.



After the student panel shared their experiences, we headed to the Turkish American Center
of Chicago in Mount Prospect. We were immediately welcomed by member of their
community with Turkish delights, Turkish coffee, and a beautiful demonstration of water
marbling.





Shortly after that, we were invited to observe the prayer service in the mosque. We took off
our shoes and covered our heads in respect and then were led through the womans section
into the main prayer hall where we were given seats. The prayer service was captivating to
watch. Men crowded into the prayer hall and quick welcomes to one another, they began to
pray engaging in various postures. Prayer moved from standing with bowed heads to kneeling
with hands on knees to placing their forheads to the floor. What I found most impressive was
that as the men engaged in their prayers, some of the young children climbed on their father's
back and over their heads. These men were so focused on prayer that they never visibly
acknowledged it. In between the prayers, passages of the Qur'an were recited. Throughout
the entire service, the men worshipped in the main prayer hall and the women worshipped in a screened off area in the back of the prayer hall.


After the prayer service, the members of the community offered us an an amazing meal to share with them. After the meal, two Muslim women who are also educators shared how we as fellow educators could help some of our Muslim students. They suggested identifying a space for the student to pray if requested as well as the impact of fasting and the change to the sleep cycle that we might notice during Ramadan.





After their presentation, we were offered an opportunity to ask questions about the Mosque and the Muslim faith. As a woman, I was particularly curious about hi jab and the reason for the separation of the women from the men. One of the Muslim women who was wearing a hi jab explained that the reason for the hi jab was of modesty so as not to distract one from worshipping God. She stated that it was generally up to the woman to decide if she wanted to wear a hi jab and if so to what level. When I asked about the separation from the men, she explained that during prayer some of the postures put women into compromising positions. Being in the back and/or screened off from the men provided one another more modesty and allowed one to be focused solely on worshiping God.





I left the Turkish American Center with a much better understanding of the Muslim faith and practices. I am so appreciative for the opportunity to have learned more. It is difficult to determine whether it's the Muslim faith, their behavior, or their sense of belonging is most prominent as they are clearly so intertwined. I guess I'd say their behavior stood out to me as being the most prominent as well as appeared to have the largest impact on their identity.
I can only imagine the amount of will power and dedication, it must take to fast during Ramadan, say their prayers five times daily, and well as to wear a hi jab.

Thank you to all who helped me to become more literate on what being a Muslim means.

Becky




Thursday, June 13, 2019

Day 4: Buddhism








As I've said each day, I am really enjoying all that I am learning about!  Today was no different.  We spent the day learning about Buddhism through some readings, a lecture from a professor from Aurora University, a visit from Cindy, a practicing Buddhist,who graduated from Naperville Central High School last month, and two different visits to Buddhist temples.  The first temple we visited was at Wat Buddha-Dhamma Meditation Center where we led through sitting meditation, standing meditation, and walking meditation by Tan-Ajahn Thapakorn. Additionally, he explained meditation, mindfulness, and awareness with some real world examples that we could easily relate to.  After that amazing practice, we headed to I.B.P.S Chicago (International Buddhist Progress Society of Chicago) to learn from Venerable Youheng about Humanistic Buddhism. 

Seth has asked us to really think about the religious identities of Cindy, Tan-Ajahn Thapakorn, and Venerable Youheng and compare the three B's: beliefs, behavior and belonging.  He would also like us to think about which "B" was most prominent and which one was the most powerful in shaping their identities.  This should be easy...not, lol. 

Cindy shared that she practices Shinnyo Buddhism.  Shinnyo Buddhism comes from Mahayana Buddhism which utilizes symbols and chanting to achieve a sense of spirituality. She shared that she believes  Buddhism is about bettering others and controlling one's anger, greed, and selfishness.  Cindy shared a lot about her behavior as a Buddhist.  She shared that she her practice includes giving "happy donations" to benefit the community, giving service to others, and bringing others to the faith. With regard to belonging, Cindy talked about how important the community is to her parents and family but shared that there weren't a lot of young adults within her temple to engage with. She shared that as she has gotten older and matured she has begun to connect much more with those at her temple. Cindy also shared that she was the only Buddhist that she's aware of during school years so didn't have that connection at school either.






Tan-Ajahn Thapakorn practices Theravada Buddhism.  From my google research, Theravada is the closest Buddhism to the one taught by The Buddha himself.  Theravada Buddhism focuses on self-liberation through practice of "letting go" and "not clinging" to things as they aren't permanent.  Meditation, mindfulness, and awareness are critical toward obtaining enlightenment.  Thapakorn demonstrated and then discussed his practice of meditation and mindfulness throughout his day.  He didn't share much about "belonging"; however did share that all are welcome at his temple.




Venerable Youheng practices Humanistic Buddhism which originates from Chinese Buddhism.  According to the literature she shared, Humanistic Buddhism's focus is on integrating Buddhism practices into all aspects of everyday life by creating a Pure Land on earth.  Venerable Youheng shared that Humanistic Buddhists socially engage and apply Buddhism into their daily lives, promote their cultural activities, promote their education to sustain moral guidance to teach people to purify their minds and to be good people, and try to better society through charity. She also shared that meditation is an important daily practice. Venerable Youheng provided some information about her community but I didn't get a sense that belonging was as much of a focus.

All three of them have very strong beliefs. While they all believe in Buddhism, their specific beliefs are diverse based on the type of Buddhism they practice.  What I found to be the most prominent was their behavior.  I was able to observe this behavior through their dress as well as what each of these individuals shared (and my google research :).  They all discussed their practice and importance of meditation and mindfulness. Belonging, while it sounded like it would be something they might all appreciate, appeared to less of a focus for each of them.  


Becky

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Day 3: Judaism


I'm not going to lie, I really LOVE my summer, particularly sleeping in until 8 or 9 when I can. While I was excited to get into this class, I was worried that after a couple of days, I might begin to be less than enthused when my alarm went off at 5am. Nope...not yet! I'm in awe of this experience. I've learned so much in the last three days that I might need to sleep for a week, lol.

Today we learned about Judaism through some readings, attending Congregation Beth Shalom in Naperville, and listening to a student panel. The information presented today was excellent and plentiful. By the end of today's class, I was exhausted and had to come to take a quick nap before writing this blog. 





Mr. Bernie Newman gave our group an extremely interesting presentation on Judaism. Bernie shared that Judaism isn't so much a religion but rather a family. Jews are united because being Jewish makes all Jews family. They may not necessarily have the same beliefs but regardless are still family. If a Jew is in trouble, all Jews step in to help each other. What is most important is to be moral and ethical and to follow the ten Commandments taken from the Torah. (There are 613 commandments in total).

According to Bernie, there are 14 millions Jews worldwide. Judaism has no creed or dogma. He shared that all Jews believe they have a responsibility for all humanity and that they believe you can find God in anything you do. One additional constant is that if you believe in Jesus, you aren’t Jewish. Jews don’t consider Jesus to be a prophet, Messiah, or the son of God but do believe that Jesus was a Jew.

Judaism has clearly evolved overtime. Commandments that are no longer relevant have morphed over time. For example animal sacrifice have long ago been replaced with prayers. Ancient rabbis added conditions to make commandments that are problematic unable to be carried out without a majority consensus. 









For me, the highlight of my experience at Beth Shalom was when Bernie showed our group the 100 year old Torah that had been saved from Germany by being hidden in a cave during the Holocaust. It was beautiful to see and to recognize it's history as well as reflection on the resiliency and strength of Judaism. I also truly appreciated just listening to the Torah being read even though I don't understand Hebrew.





Immediately upon returning from Beth Shalom, a student panel of three Jewish students past and present from Naperville Central shared their experiences growing up as a Jew in Naperville. What a beautiful, strong group of young women! I won't lie, I teared up at points listening to some of the hardships they have faced but also loved their resiliency and their sense of humor in the face of it all.

The three young women began by stating what being Jewish meant to each of them. They individually stated that being Jewish is an extremely important part of their identity. The three girls continuously referred to being a family and community. Additionally, they shared that those in their community go beyond themselves in supporting each other. It was clear by watching their interactions and listening to their stories that this was their truth.

While the girls had many positives to say about growing up in Naperville and felt that for the most part they were supported by strong and understanding teachers and community, they shared many difficulties. Listening to their retell of their experiences to anti Semitic comments and bullying while hard to hear was extremely helpful. Due to the Sabbath, Friday at sundown until Saturday and sundown are sacred which means that this impacts their ability to attend birthday parties, football games, sports activities, etc. While two of the three girls mentioned being in sports, they shared how difficult it was to have to talk to their coaches about missing various events as they were concerned they would be excluded from the team. Each of the girls mentioned the difficulty of missing multiple school days in September/October for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. When asked what we as teacher's could to help, they shared providing understanding as well as extensions beyond a few days to complete missed work would be extremely helpful. They shared they are often spending their missed school time in synagogue praying/fasting/sitting all day. Additionally, they shared that they didn't particularly feel valued or as if they belonged in the schools during the month of December due to the emphasis on Christmas. but have noticed that this is beginning to improve in recent year. What was most difficult for them to share and us to hare was what type of anti-semitism they've experiences. The remarks and actions from their peers and even perceived "friends" was heartbreaking to hear. I'm so grateful that they shared these experiences with us so that we can do a better job of preventing them from happening at all. How do other students feel it's okay to throw pennies at another student???? How in the world do they feel it's okay to share Holocaust jokes???!!! We MUST do a better job of educating our youth on various religions so that they have an understanding of what they are saying.

This brings me back to trying to answer my essential question of why people fear, hate, or discriminate others because they are different? and the even bigger question, how do we stop it?  I think what I'm learning or more accurately affirming is through education.  We need to be educating our students/families/community NOW or even better as early as we can in a students educational career so that differences remain just that, differences NOT inequalities, discrimination, etc.  


Becky



6.13.19  This morning while drinking my morning coffee, I read Joe Nikel's blog @ https://joenikkelblog.weebly.com/ .  I really enjoyed reading's Joe's perspective.   Throughout his post, Joe acknowledged his "aha" moments and while my experience is different than his, I found myself agreeing along with many of the connections he's made.  One thing I also appreciated about Joe's post was how he set it up to comment on the 6 principles.  I attempted to do do that in the same way but found it challenging to make my post also readable so I wrote mine as a narrative while still remarking on the six principles.  Joe did a way better job than me on that. 

Day 2: Hinduism

Today we learned about Hinduism's beliefs, behaviors and belonging to the community by listening to a couple of lectures, one from our instructor Seth Brady, as well as from Shereen Bhalla, from the Hindu American Foundation.  Additionally, we had the great pleasure of learning from current and past students of District 203 who discussed the traditions, values, and norms from their personal experiences.  Our group also had an opportunity to visit two different Hindu temples today, the Venkateswara Sami (Balaji) Temple of Greater Chicago and BAPS Swaminarayan Temple.  Today, I was once again blown away by how much I did not know or misunderstood about Hinduism and am grateful for this opportunity to be on this religious literacy journey.  I'll be honest as I write this post, I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it as it's so diverse, dynamic, changing, and situated in such long, rich culture.








https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1pvqJ_umGWcO-qIJWeB2IACBstRAf8FAT

Core beliefs
Hinduism is one of the oldest major faith traditions and is the world's third largest religion.  The majority of Hindus believe that that "Brahman" or "the Absolute" is pervasive in the universe.  Essentially, it is believed that Brahman is "the one" and "God".  Hindu's believe that "Brahaman" is present in all living beings.  "God" spread out as the universe in to all living beings and elements and is understood as the cause of creation.  Additionally, in Hindu lore, there is a Hindu trinity of Bhrama (creation), Vishnu (sustenance), and Shiva (dissolution/reincarnation).  Hindu's believe that the soul is eternal and when a physical body dies, the soul is reborn in another living thing which is governed by the Law of Karma.  People are believed to strive for: Dharma (i.e. foundation of moral life, small acts that you do to get the good karma), Artha (i.e. pursuit of material prosperity), Kama (i.e. enjoyment of the material world), and Moksha (i.e. the ultimate goal of reincarnation).  In order to achieve Moksha, one must follow three paths: Karma Yoga (i.e. performing one's duty selflessly), Jnana Yoga (i.e. studying and contemplating the scriptures), and Bhakti Yoga (i.e. devotion and service)








Religions are always internally diverse.

It became clear as I began my readings on Hinduism that the religion was quite diverse but became even more clear upon visiting these two very different Hindu temples and listening to the students panel.  Outside of the core beliefs, there is a broad spectrum  of understanding and practices.   Throughout the reading, the words "some, many, most" were used frequently when describing what Hindu's believe, how they behave, and how they belong.  As one of the Hindu students from the panel stated there are  "no hard or fast rules for Hinduism.  Another student shared that "it wouldn't be possible to compare two Hindu households as no two Hindu household is the same".  They shared that their rituals and practices can even vary between family members of the same household.  As we visited the two different Hindu temples, it became very clear that they also come in different forms.  While Indian geography certainly can account for some of the diversity, the evolution of time may also play a role.   For example, the first temple we visited was humble and welcoming.  Hindu worshippers took time after worshipping to ask why we were there and then offered to explain various aspects of their temple to our group.  The other temple was extremely ornate, with amazing wood and marble carvings but appeared to be more focused on customs and traditions.  Both beautiful temples but were notably different in their beliefs and behavior.







Religions are always situated in culture.

Hinduism is a collection of traditions or as the Hindu student from today's panel described, a way of life.  Each of the students on the student panel shared that Hinduism is more than a religion but rather a part of their lives.  They also shared that Indian culture and Hinduism are so intertwined that it is difficult to separate.  Shereen Bhalla, from the Hindu American Foundation, also stated that there isn't a specific founder, doctrine, or creed, but rather that Hinduism is a way of life.


Religions are dynamic and changing.

In early Hinduism, many Hindus focused on rituals but over time it moved away from rituals and began to share stories across generations and continents that became guides for how to lead a moral and righteous life.  As Buddhism and Jainism gained prominence in India, Hinduism moved away from ritual and text and into personal devotion.  Later as British rule and colonization happened, some Hinduism practices became more rigid and other Hindu practices reformed.  

There is SO much more I learned today but I am just too exhausted after trying to wrap my brain around it all! Another busy, exhausting, but enlightening day. Tomorrow Judaism and Christianity. :)

Good night!!

Becky

6.12.19  I had an opportunity to read Melanie Pace's blog post about her review of our day @https://setthepaceblog.wordpress.com/2019/06/11/reflection-of-day-2/   I appreciated reading about so many facts that I didn't think to add to my post.  I feel like she had a better understanding of some of the traditions then I was able to put to paper.