Chapter 114 Christmas in East Africa
While Europe and the United States were immersed in the festive atmosphere of Christmas, the East African colonial government was also planning Christmas celebrations in the East African colonies.
As part of the Germanization of East Africa, all residents were required to participate compulsorily. Of course, in this era of lack of entertainment activities, people still liked to join in the fun.
For immigrants from Europe, this Christmas is very novel. After all, there is no winter in East Africa, and the overall climate is very similar to the summer in Europe, giving them a feeling of celebrating Christmas in summer.
Not to mention Chinese immigrants, I have never seen them. On the contrary, I feel very good about Paraguayan immigrants, because the latitude of Paraguay is close to that of East Africa. The temperature in Paraguay is above 10 degrees all year round, and the altitude is about 300 to 600 meters. The north is an extension of the Brazilian Plateau, and the south is the La Plata Plain.
Especially the northern part of Paraguay, which also has a tropical savannah climate, so Paraguayan immigrants to East Africa are very adaptable to the local climate. This also results in the fact that although Paraguayan immigrants are mainly women and children, the losses in East Africa are the least.
European and Paraguayan immigrants know very well how to celebrate Christmas, but Chinese people have less knowledge.
Those who came early participated last year, but have not seen anyone who came this year. Therefore, in order to encourage Chinese people to participate voluntarily and avoid conflicts (after all, Christmas is a religious holiday with many rules and taboos).
The East African government has sent a large number of propagandists, mainly teachers, to explain the details and taboos to Chinese immigrants. Otherwise, if a joke is made, it will be a difficult situation to deal with.
This Christmas in East Africa was definitely an unforgettable day for the Chinese immigrants. In addition to the hands-on teaching by the East African colonial government, it was also the first time they felt the religious fanaticism of some Westerners.
The East African colonial government required the Chinese to participate. In addition to the Chinese, some Serbs actually had different ideas about Christmas.
It’s not that they don’t celebrate Christmas themselves, but the calendar used by the Orthodox Church is different from that used by the Catholic Church, so there is a date difference.
However, now that it came to the East African colonies, there was no church supervision, and the right to interpret Christmas fell into the hands of the East African colonial government.
Anyway, ordinary people's understanding of religion cannot be as systematic and strict as that of priests. In addition, the power of the Roman Catholic Church has been declining in recent years, and its voice has gradually fallen into the hands of various countries.
As long as East Africa does not force these immigrants to change their beliefs (Catholicism and Orthodoxy) and only makes minor changes, these European immigrants will still be acceptable.
A typical example is Chinese immigrants. The East African government only requires them to participate in celebrations, but does not require them to believe in religion.
This is the East African version of freedom of religion. As for why it is necessary to participate in Christmas, it is simply because it is a legal holiday in the East African colonies.
In order to achieve the Germanization of the East African colonies, it is natural to manipulate festivals, which are activities that can promote German culture.
In the morning, the East African colony organized a festival parade and performances...
Although Christmas is not a holiday unique to Germany, it is celebrated throughout the West.
But it was also an important way for Chinese immigrants to experience and learn Western culture. Just like the immigration program, this forced participation in Western festivals such as Christmas would continue until 1880.
By then, out of inertia, many Chinese people will naturally continue to celebrate Christmas and other Western festivals, especially those children who have received German cultural education.
In this way, immigrants are basically unified during festivals, which can also be considered a kind of cultural integration.
Of course, in addition to festivals, language, clothing, architecture, living habits... these forced immigrants to be consistent with German culture can change the cultural traditions of immigrants.
It is not just the Chinese immigrants who have changed, but all East African residents. For example, their living habits are not entirely based on German traditions.
Instead, it has been improved by combining modern lifestyles, such as hygiene, civility, and politeness...
Ernst added many excellent cultural contents to "German culture", which are actually healthy lifestyles, while eliminating many dross from German traditional culture.
Therefore, the German culture in the East African colonies was a modified German culture, which was very different from that in Europe.
These are the most basic cultural contents and are closely related to the lives of ordinary people. More advanced ones include poetry, books, and music in the German region...
It is simply not something that a large number of illiterate people in the East African colonies can access. In the future, when East Africa develops and there are more educated people, it can be dealt with.
…
No matter how much you say, it cannot compare to the real material enjoyment. In order to celebrate the festival, the East African colonial government distributed many supplies that are rarely seen in normal times.
In addition to various meats, and double the amount of flour and rice, there were also a lot of sugar and fruits, and every household could get some.
As for the bachelors who eat in the cafeteria, the cafeteria also prepares corresponding food.
In short, everyone gets a share. For these immigrants, eating well and being full are more real and make them happy than those activities.
At night, after dinner, it was already dark and Christmas in East Africa was over.
Christmas Eve was not like what I imagined, with the Christmas tree, candlelight, gifts... those Christmas elements.
This is Christmas in East Africa, where material supplies are scarce, facilities are simple, and even candles are only available in government agencies.
It's pitch dark, what's the point of celebrating Christmas Eve? It's better to go to bed early. Besides, East Africa is so far away from Europe, so European immigrants feel less burdened.
This is a normal psychological state. In an unfamiliar environment, people will always be affected by the environment.
For example, before coming to East Africa, European immigrants were still influenced by tradition and religion was deeply rooted in their lives (as we all know, churches in Europe are grassroots organizations), but they ended up in East Africa.
These people saw all kinds of people, all kinds of skin colors, all kinds of beliefs, and even no beliefs, but when they compared them, they found that they all lived the same way, all living by scratching for a living.
In this way, unintentionally, everyone's respect for the traditional culture they have accepted has weakened. This is the difference after seeing the world.
There is no need to worry about whether this influence is good or bad, because it is a two-way thing anyway. After European immigrants come into contact with Chinese people, their religious beliefs will weaken. After Chinese immigrants come into contact with European immigrants, they will also be infected by Europeans with different mental outlooks.
Therefore, ethnic integration is ongoing all the time, but the premise of ethnic integration is that there is a priority issue and it can be recognized by both parties.
The hierarchy of East African culture is very clear, and the Germans naturally believe that German culture is the best, while other immigrants are inferior in their hearts.
Especially the Serbs, who currently don’t even have a homeland and have always lived under the German nobility.
Now the East African colonial government has given everyone the opportunity to become Germans, so we should seize it. (Black:?)
After all, admiration for the strong is human nature, and the German immigrants had the support of top powers like the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the military power of Prussia as a facade. Even the East African colonies were the territory of the Germans (Ernst). With such strength, other immigrants naturally admired them in their hearts.
But if we put the status of German immigrants first, I guess others will not agree. So why not just let everyone join Germany and become Germans, and the problem will be solved.
Therefore, the assimilation method of the East African colonies was an open conspiracy, making everyone willing to be assimilated.
(Black man: (▼皿▼#), you should give me a chance!)
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
