Do you think the holiday seasons are different for deaf individuals? If yes, in what ways are they different and how do deaf individuals celebrate holidays and other cultural traditions? There is no doubt that a lot of holiday celebrations come with sounds (in the form of music, joyous shouting, and dancing). Given that, how does a deaf individual cope during such times and events? These questions form the focus of this article as we will be examining certain things put in place for deaf individuals to enjoy their holidays and celebrate cultural traditions.
Why Go on Holidays Anyway?
Do we really need holidays or is it simply an excuse from work? Whether as an excuse from work, holidays are very important. For the young and old as well as for the hearing and deaf. Some of the reasons for holidays include:
- To maintain one’s sanity. No matter how long or short the holiday might be, they help to create mental balance to enable general continuity of work and life.
- To prolong one’s life by reducing blood pressure.
- For increased productivity. Holidays have a way of relaxing the mind and body to prepare for future tasks.
- To regain lost time not spent on family and friends. This happens to be the main reason for holidays for a lot of people. It is only during these holiday times that they meet up with family and friends they have not met in a long time.
Meaning and Examples of Cultural Activities
Activities that basically promote the history of a people and their social well-being are called cultural activities. Depending on the society, cultural activities are custom-made according to that society. Some examples of these activities include:
- Sports and Games
- Songs
- Stories, drama, and folklore
- Photography and
- Other forms of literature
Importance of Celebrating Cultural Activities
- Helps one understand the uniqueness of the culture they are in
- Gives people the opportunity to share their culture among themselves
- It acts as a kind of tool to help one to remember their roots and history.
- It can be a coping mechanism especially when people are currently separated from their culture.
Deaf Individuals: Holidays and Cultural Activities
In understanding the meaning and importance of celebrating holidays and cultural activities, there is no reason why deaf individuals can not and should not partake in these like every hearing person. But to enjoy these activities, ASL will continue to be a great communicative tool for deaf individuals to participate in any human activity, physical as well as social. It is a language that is very visual.
Before hearing individuals decide to include deaf individuals in any modern-day celebration, they should make the effort to meet these deaf individuals at their level. Either from learning ASL or any other communicative tool used particularly by them.
Let us take a look at the steps that deaf individuals sometimes take to celebrate holidays and cultural activities.
Image by Kevin Dooley on Openverse
Step 1: They Make a Decision to Be Alone or With Family
Like every adult human being, deaf individuals have the right to choose where they want to spend their holidays. They decide to either be alone or spend time with family.
Although people are advised not to be alone during celebrations, sometimes the reason it might not be that easy for deaf individuals to make this decision could be them not wanting to inconvenience others (especially hearing individuals) with their presence and have them deal with their hearing loss.
Step 1b: Deaf Individuals Celebrating With Families
As much as it relies on deaf individuals to enjoy themselves during the holidays, their family members and friends whom they spend time with have roles to play in ensuring that the deaf individuals have a good time. Some of these roles include them:
- Having the lights in the room constantly turned on
- Reducing background noises during conversations
- Ensuring that deaf individuals are not left out of any discussion except they personally indicate otherwise.
- Asking the deaf individuals questions with a normal voice and tone at intervals to avoid any sort of misunderstanding.
- Playing games (deaf-compatible games) so that deaf individuals can participate.
- Learning ASL to provide a comfortable line of communication with deaf individuals.
Step 2: They Make Conscious Preparations for Entertainment
While hearing individuals might stumble on any form of entertainment as they please, deaf individuals have to ensure that they take the necessary steps to enjoy themselves during holidays. This is especially important when they find themselves spending their holidays alone.
- In watching movies, they must ensure that the movies have subtitles or they might limit themselves to watching ASL holiday videos.
Step 3: They Express Themselves Via Arts
Another easy way deaf individuals celebrate holidays is by saturating themselves in the pleasure of arts (books, folklore, drawings, etc).
Step 4: They Also Share
Especially within deaf communities, deaf individuals celebrate cultural events by sharing among themselves.
Important Dates on the Calendar for Deaf Individuals
IWD (International Week of the Deaf)
This cultural week for the deaf began in 1958 as a way to amplify the awareness of deafness and the importance of sign language in society. The celebration consists of deaf awareness day, world deaf day as well as the international day of sign language.
Deaf History Month
Surprisingly, in this month, which happens to be April, the achievement of numerous deaf individuals in society is celebrated. It first began in 1997.
Conclusion
As earlier mentioned most holiday periods are marked with joyous noises from different angles. It might be painful to watch deaf individuals miss out on the fun of it all, but at the same time, they can have maximum enjoyment if they can secure a steady line of communication/navigation between themselves and those around them. This is where ASL comes in.
Learning ASL helps deaf and hearing individuals in the everyday grind as well as in holiday seasons and during cultural events. Therefore, get prepared for the next holiday with deaf family members and friends by learning ASL with the ASL learning resources provided by SignBee Academy.
Thumbnail Photo Credit to: Image by Sean MacEntee on Openverse
