Holidays and festivals

Striving to maintain normal lives, Japanese Americans held holiday celebrations and festivals inside the concentration camps. Whether decorating mess halls during the Christmas holiday as part of a camp-wide competition or participating in parades to celebrate the harvest of crops from their own gardens, the Japanese Americans demonstrated their resourcefulness and resilience.

World War II (231)
Concentration camps (1434)
Holidays and festivals (268)

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268 items

doc Christmas card from Emma Hesse to Mr. and Mrs. Henry [Katsumi] Fujita, December 21, 1941 (ddr-csujad-23-12)

Card depicts winter scene with snow and people walking down a path. Message from Emma Hesse states: "I pray for you, and ask that all kindness and understanding surround you these days." Object includes envelope showing address in Petaluma, California. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: lp028-08-012

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-23-12/

img Xmas (ddr-csujad-38-280)

Photographed are young children incarcerated at the Jerome camp in Arkansas. It was taken during a Christmas event. The caption reads: Xmas, 1942, Denson, Arkansas. Title from caption. The handwritten note on the back side reads: Christmas day, Dec. 25, 1942. The photo was sent from Sally Sakaye Sasaki at the Jerome camp to Mitzi Masukawa …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-38-280/

img Young child in front of Christmas tree (ddr-csujad-37-15)

Photograph of a young child in front of a Christmas tree inside of the barracks building at the Heart Mountain camp, Wyoming. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: mhf_015_01

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-37-15/

doc Personality cards (ddr-csujad-26-43)

Journal entries written by high school students discussing their observations and perspectives on a variety of topics including family interactions, memories, homesickness, friendships, social interactions, school, self-reflection, juvenile delinquency, peer behaviors, death, religion, opinions, and worldviews. Each entry includes the full date and student name. The entries were part of a class assignment and collected for …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-26-43/

doc Tule Lake recreation center community affairs report for the period August 20, 1942 to September 20, 1942 (ddr-csujad-26-11)

Summary of community youth recreation activities at Tule Lake before school began including descriptions of administration, leadership and training, the "Community Activities Commission," advisory board, planning board, staff, organization, and activities. Report compiled as a portion of the Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Study (JERS). See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-26-11/

img Photograph of making mochi in a mess hall at Manzanar (ddr-csujad-47-77)

Photograph of women preparing mochi spheres in a mess hall at Manzanar incarceration camp. A group of women stand around a table separating and rolling the mochi into spheres with confectioners sugar. A child being held on the right side has streaks of the sugar on their cheek. Already prepared food can be seen on every …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-47-77/

doc Letter from Shoichi Nomura to Parslery, December 26, 1943 (ddr-csujad-45-91)

A letter from Snoichi Nomura to Parslery thanking her for the Christmas gift. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: HMRC_01-06_001

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-45-91/

img Holiday greetings (ddr-csujad-38-19)

A holiday greeting card made by George Nobuo Naohara and his friends in the Jerome camp in Arkansas. An item from "George Naohara photo album" (csudh_nao_0001), page 3. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: nao_01_03_002

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-38-19/

img Obon, Rohwer, Arkansas (ddr-csujad-5-339)

Photographed are Akiko An and Kiku Tanimoto, Ayame May Okine, and Dorothy Ai Okine. It is taken during the obon event in the Rohwer incarceration camp. The handwritten notes on the backside read: Obon, Rohwer, Arkansas. A photograph from "Dorothy Ai Aoki photo album" (csudh_oki_0300), page 11. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-5-339/

doc Amache summer carnival program (ddr-csujad-7-18)

Program listing events and showing locations for a carnival put on by the incarcerees at Amache. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: HMLSC_Amache Summer Carnival

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-7-18/

img Flag ceremony (ddr-densho-113-14)

These children are watching a flag ceremony near the elementary school in Minidoka concentration camp.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-113-14/

doc Camp Christmas card (ddr-densho-13-28)

This card was designed by a camp inmate.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-13-28/

doc Camp Christmas card (ddr-densho-13-23)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-13-23/

doc Camp Christmas card (ddr-densho-13-29)

This is the interior of a Christmas card that was designed by a camp inmate.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-13-29/

img Children caroling (ddr-densho-152-12)

Original caption: "School children caroling on Dec. 22. Miss Hirano directing."

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-152-12/

img Children's Christmas play (ddr-densho-152-1)

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-152-1/

doc Letter to two Nisei brothers from their sister (ddr-densho-153-94)

Excerpt: "I got up at 10 to 8 and I was tired enough to stay in bed all day." Sent from Manzanar concentration camp, California, to Chicago, Illinois.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-153-94/

doc Letter to two Nisei brothers from their sister (ddr-densho-153-100)

Excerpt: "I don't know what to say because I still can't get over the big shock which was occurred in the afternoon hours." Sent from Manzanar concentration camp, California, to Chicago, Illinois.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-153-100/