OUTLINE:

Topic: Birth, Marriage and Death

 Customs

-Understanding is difficult b/c customs are ingrained

-Reasons  historical

-Many ethnic groups practice customs and traditions brought by their ancestors

+ general culture with traditions are accepted

-Some widely accepted customs and traditions of Americans concerning three or life’s most
important: birth, marriage and death  general and society in US

+ pp adapt and modify these customs to fit changing societal conditions and own situations

 The birth of a baby is a momentous occasion

- There are traditions  baby shower  nonreligious tradition
+ a shower is given by close friend or relative
+Past, showers were arranged in secret to be a complete surprise to the mother to be
+ mother to be was invited to home  make surprised by her female friends and relatives
+ Recent years, tradition has been modified  shower is not a surprise occasion ><
expectant mother knows about ahead of time
+ mother is showered with gifts for new baby by her friends and relatives
+ Gift may be small or expensive
+ The gifts are opened at the party
+ A lot of advice from experienced mothers , and expressions of envy from those woman
who do not have children
+ a few years ago, unheard of for men to participated in baby showers but now is
becoming more common
+ Past, when births mainly took place at home, men banished from the room where the
baby was born
+ women going to hospitals to have babies, men never went into the delivery room and
were expected to wait nervously in waiting room .
+ Now, couples- they attend classes together to prepare them for the birth of the baby
- After a baby is born
+ Friends and family will attend the service, which will held in a church or a synagogue
 Marriage
+ necessary for young man to ask permission of a girl’s father for her hand
 Young people want their parents’ approval of the person they hope to marry
 + young man give diamond ring at engagement period

+ wedding ceremony , traditionally, bride’s family who pays for these expenses

+ wedding ceremony can be simple with few family and close friends

- Shower given before the wedding, bride to be receives gifts to help her set up her new
household
+ shower gifts, wedding gifts are expected form pp who receive wedding invitation
- It is said every bride at her wedding should be wearing something old, something new,
soothing borrowed, something blue

+ The bride will be checked at the last minutes

- Superstitious in nature
+ pp believe that it is bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her wedding dress before
ceremony
+ some churches and other place banned the throwing of rice as being hazardous to
guests
 Death
+ have a funeral held in a church or in a funeral home
+ have the body cremated  a memorial service is held rather than a funeral. If body is
not cremated, display body at the funeral
+ a religious leader to speak some words of comfort for the bereaved
+ pp speak about good deeds of the person who has died
+ body taken to a cemetery