This year’s Midwinter Revels show is inspired by a real labor strike that took place on the East Coast in the early 1900s. The strike and its outcome sent ripples across not only the country, but also around the world!

Info sourced from zinnedprokect.org and history.com

You may have heard the phrase “Bread and Roses,” but do you know how it originated or what it means? Learn how this famous saying came about, and how it might relate to our Midwinter Revels show this year!

Info sourced from zinnedprokect.org and joshhallmusic.com

We mentioned that participants in the Bread and Roses Strike represented dozens. of different nationalities, but how did they all get here? Read a little bit about immigration to the US in the early 1900s both on the East Coast, where the strike took place, and here in Oregon!

Just link in our Revels shows, overcoming adversity in real life often requires us to come together as a community. This was exemplified not only during the Bread and Roses Strike in the early 1900s, but also in many other strikes around the world! Read about just a few others that were driven by community spirit as well!

Info sourced from history.com, history.ox.ac.uk, and ireland.ie

Today we’re traveling to the Southern Hemisphere, where the Winter Solstice is celebrated in June! Inti Raymi, a Peruvian solstice festival, was first celebrated by the Incans in the early 1400s, and is still celebrated today! Modern day celebrations preserve authentic Quechua rituals, while also adapting to host the nearly 50,000 people who visit the festival every year- much like the Revels, as we maintain important traditions, while adapting others to keep them fresh and relevant! What’s your favorite Revels tradition that we still celebrate today?

Info sourced from https://www.perurail.com/peruvian-holidays/all-you-need-to-know-about-inti-raymi/

Bread & Roses features the work of several different American composers from the early 1900s, and we’re highlighting just a few of them! Amy Beach was a composer and performer extraordinaire! Learn more about her and her many contributions to American classical and large scale music!

Read about another featured composer in Bread & Roses! Learn about Scott Joplin and his role in creating and defining both the genre of Ragtime, and some of the most recognizable and quintessentially American music!

Info sourced from scottjoplin.org, classicals.de, and aaregistry.org

We know that Scott Joplin is credited as the “King of Ragtime,” but what exactly is Ragtime beyond the Tony award winning musical? Swipe to learn more about this unique and iconic genre of music that developed right here in the US!

Info sourced from loc.gov

Our third featured composer is Dame Ethel Smyth! Swipe to learn more about her life and the incredible legacy she left in music and women’s rights. 

Info sourced from cyso.org

Last but not least is one of the most recently developed festivals of light: Kwanzaa! Although Kwanzaa was created in the 1960s, its roots and origins can be found in ancient cultures across Africa. Additionally, you may recognize some of the objects used to celebrate Kwanzaa from other festivals of light we’ve dived into! Do any of your traditions come from a conglomeration of different holidays?

Info sourced from https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/moments/kwanzaa

Meet our third featured Revels ancestor, Julieta Viray Boado, known by her loved ones as Lola! Read about her life and journey, and don’t forget to swipe all the way to the end to find out whose ancestor she is!

For this festival of light, we’re traveling to Japan, where they celebrate Toji! We all know that winter is cold and flu season, and as such, many of the traditions practiced during Toji are in an effort to ward off sickness and promote health in the coming year. Do you have any holiday traditions that help your health and well being? 

Info sourced from https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/b09723/