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 (283)
Concentration camps (2078)
Holidays and festivals (325)

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325 items

doc Poem from German internee and program for Christmas party at Crystal City Department of Justice Internment Camp (ddr-csujad-55-1385)

Scrapbook page containing a poem written by a German internee and a program for a Christmas party at Crystal City Department of Justice Internment Camp. From the Mary F. Clark scrapbook, "Before I Forget, 1942-1947," page 56. See also sac_jaac_1334 through sac_jaac_1529. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: sac_jaac_1387

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-55-1385/

img May Day (ddr-csujad-55-1475)

Scrapbook page containing three black and white photographs of the German May Day celebration at the Crystal City Department of Justice Internment Camp. Title from caption. From the Mary F. Clark scrapbook, "Before I Forget, 1942-1947," page 118. See also sac_jaac_1334 through sac_jaac_1529. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-55-1475/

doc Minutes from the Heart Mountain Block Chairmen meeting, January 20, 1944 (ddr-csujad-55-440)

Minutes from the Heart Mountain Block Chairmen meeting. Includes report from Postal Committee and a discussion on recreation items and Shinnenkai. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: sac_jaac_0442

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-55-440/

doc It Always Comes (ddr-densho-498-56)

A Christmas poem by Kimii Nagata, who is celebrating her 3rd Christmas in a relocation center.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-498-56/

img Toshio Oku photo album (ddr-csujad-3-22)

Photo album is a collection of landscape and panoramic photos of Tule Lake incarceration camp, holiday greeting cards, photos of a fire, graduation portrait of Toshio Oku, group photo of the Electrical Department, and inside the print shop of the Newell Star. See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: tos_01_001_023

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-3-22/

img Holiday greeting card (ddr-csujad-3-19)

Christmas card featuring Santa Claus presenting an aerial photo of the Tule Lake incarceration camp showing buildings, a train, and the surrounding landscape. Card reads "Season's greetings." See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: tos_01_001_020

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-3-19/

img Holiday greeting card (ddr-csujad-3-17)

Christmas card of Santa Claus presenting a landscape photo of the Tule Lake incarceration camp featuring a barbed wire fence, snow covered path to a gate leading outside camp to a railroad crossing, and a hillside. Card reads "Season's greetings." See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: tos_01_001_018

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-3-17/

img Holiday greeting card (ddr-csujad-3-16)

Christmas card of Santa Claus presenting a photo of the Tule Lake incarceration camp featuring a barbed wire fence, what appears to be a section of a guard tower, and a distant hillside. Card reads "Season's greetings." See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: tos_01_001_017

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-3-16/

img Holiday greeting card (ddr-csujad-3-15)

Christmas card of Santa Claus presenting a photo of the Tule Lake incarceration camp featuring buildings, fencing, a snowy road, and vehicles. Card reads "Season's greetings." See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: tos_01_001_016

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-3-15/

img Holiday greeting card (ddr-csujad-3-18)

Christmas card featuring Santa Claus presenting a landscape photo of the Tule Lake incarceration camp from outside a barbed wire fence looking in on buildings in camp with a hill in the distance. Card reads "Season's greetings." See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: tos_01_001_019

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-3-18/

img Holiday greeting card (ddr-csujad-3-14)

Christmas greeting card featuring Santa Claus presenting a photo of the Tule Lake incarceration camp buildings and landscape from what appears to be a guard tower. Card reads "Season's greetings." See this object in the California State Universities Japanese American Digitization project site: tos_01_001_015

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-csujad-3-14/

doc Book of 70th Anniversary of Japanese Congregational Church (ddr-densho-446-455)

The Japanese Congregational Church's 70th Anniversary coincided with the 100th Anniversary of the Japanese Christian Mission in North America. This book traces the history of JCC within the larger setting of national and local events, and some of the photos and narratives may be of interest. Ai Chih Tsai was pastor at JCC from 1948 to …

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-446-455/

doc Christmas card (ddr-manz-4-73)

Caption in album: "Greetings from friends."

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-manz-4-73/

doc Letter from Ruth Yamada to Matsuye Koike, November 21, 1942 (ddr-densho-432-10)

This letter discusses life at Rohwer concentration camp, including discussion of the social activities, Thanksgiving, and teachers. Matsuye Koike received the letter while imprisoned at Fort Lincoln, Bismark, ND. The letter was "detained alien enemy mail examined."

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-432-10/

doc Letter from Ruth Yamada to Matsuye Koike, July 12, 1943 and an Independence Program (ddr-densho-432-16)

This letter discusses life at Rohwer concentration camp. Matsuye Koike received the letter while imprisoned at Fort Missoula, MT. The letter was "detained alien enemy mail examined."

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-432-16/

doc Letter from Ruth Yamada to Matsuye Koike, January 11, 1943 (ddr-densho-432-11)

This letter discusses life at Rohwer concentration camp, including discussion of the social activities and holidays. Matsuye Koike received the letter while imprisoned at Fort Lincoln, Bismark, ND. The letter was "detained alien enemy mail examined."

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-432-11/

av Sagebrush Santa Christmas, 1942 in the Minidoka Internment Camp (ddr-densho-1024-49)

See this item in the Digital Library of the Japanese American Incarceration Films at: https://archive.org/details/ddr-densho-1024-49.

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-1024-49/

img Heart Mountain YBA Bussei Coronation Ball (ddr-densho-363-13)

The caption on the bottom of the photograph reads "Heart Mt. Wyo Bussei Coronation Ball 1943". Pictured from left to right: Sanaye Okita, Kimi Kuwahara, Ruby Ushijima, Bussei Queen Sueko Masuda, Amy Kikuchi, Sumi Kurasaki, Kimi Tamura

https://ddr.densho.org/ddr-densho-363-13/

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/

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/