The United States is made up of many people, ethnicities, and political views. While the American people are one, there is a wide range of diversity within that whole. The great people that make up America differs vastly but come together to make up a country. The United States encompasses many cultures within itself. America itself has not actually invented a wide variety of religions and customs since its establishment as a country. The colonizers of the New World brought over their own traditions to share among the rapidly growing syncretic melting pot. These animations of cultures along with religious rituals include Halloween, a combination of the Paganistic Celtic ritual Samhain and more passive Christian beliefs. Another syncretic holiday brought to America is Christmas. Christmas originated during the Pax Romana period. With Paganism still deeply rooted within the Roman people, Christmas was not a widely celebrated holiday. Many years after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, new Christian beliefs began to take hold. While the church established by Jesus’s surviving apostles had much truth, many revelations were lost over the years. With the sudden rise of Christianity in the Roman people, Jesus Christ, the creator, and the cornerstone of Christianity became a martyr. Jesus Christ was the creator of Christianity and as many believed, was the son of God. The celebration of Jesus’s life began in the Pax Romana period and continued to develop and change over the years. As Christianity spread, each society's celebration of Christian holidays began to change. Christianity was spread to many different countries and changed a little bit each time. The beliefs of each Christian country all differed. Christianity had to be changed in each country to maintain the country's political views and ideologies.
Many of the different forms and celebrations of many different holidays were passed down through the American people. These differing celebrations of the same holiday have been morphed into national, or state, syncretic holidays. Many American holidays are mainly cultural, not religious. The American society also contains many cultures. America is a melting pot of countries. Even if many current Americans are not immigrants, almost all of current America’s ancestors are immigrants. Many early Americans came from Europe and the surrounding continents. Today, many immigrants come from the Middle Eastern area and from South America. These immigrants, no matter which time period, have brought over many new traditions and ideas. Many religions and cultural ideologies have been transferred to America from many different places. Some examples of cultural and religious ideologies given to America by immigrants include Hanukkah, Easter, Día de Los Muertos, Kwanzaa, and many others. While being celebrated all around the world, According to 1 Maccabees, the celebration of Hanukkah was instituted by Judas Maccabeus in 165 BCE to celebrate his victory over Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucid king who had invaded Judaea. Many of the current religious and cultural holidays celebrated in America did not originate there; rather in various countries around the world.
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Many religious beliefs are also contained within America that originated in different countries. Christianity originated in Ancient Rome during the Pax Romana period, thousands of years before the United States emerged from England’s womb. Christianity was transferred to America hundreds of years ago by European explorers. Over the years, hundreds of variations of Christianity have been created and spread to America. Judaism originated in the Fertile Crescent, but slowly seeped into the cracks of America over the years. Easter originated in second-century Rome. Easter was created to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Originally, Dia de Los Muertos was a syncretic combination of Spanish Catholicism and Native South American rituals. Over the years, Dia de Los Muertos became more of a cultural holiday as the emergence of more religions began in South America. Kwanzaa is celebrated from December 26 through January 1st. Established by Maulana Karenga in 1966, Kwanzaa is a holiday that honors African heritage and celebrates family, community, and culture. While not originating in America, those of African heritage living in America picked up the celebration and transferred it into their own lives. Different belief systems and ideologies have been transferred into America throughout the centuries as well. Protestantism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism, and Oriental Orthodoxy are all forms of Christianity that originated in different countries but migrated to America. These religions all originated in Europe, as well as in the Orient. The immigration of these numerous religions to America created more, syncretic religions. The Shakers, Neo-Druidism, Methodist Episcopal Church, Universalist Church of America, African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church and Connection, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, National Baptist Convention, Original Church of God or Sanctified Church, Church of Christ, Church of God in Christ, African Orthodox Church, Mount Sinai Holy Church of America, Church of Universal Triumph, Dominion of God, American Unitarian Association, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Divine Science, Science of Mind, Adventists, Millerites, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Unity Church, and thousands more. From those few churches came thousands more. Many could say that from few came many, but really, from all come one. All of these churches merge to make a whole, all these churches merge to make Christianity. The same principle goes for all people, all people, no matter what country, no matter what race, merge to make humanity. The American society is one of the most diverse societies in the world, including people from every faucet of the world. The American People, whether immigrants at their roots or new members of this society, come from all over the world. While the New World was colonized by a few key countries, such as Britain, France, The Netherlands, Spain, China, Russia, and Germany, new people from different countries have come to this great country every day. The United States of America is one of the most diverse countries in the entire world, holding thousands of religions, cultures, races, and ethnicities, which unite together to make one whole.
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