Cultural heritage is the idea of forms of expression and different ideas from a specific group of people being passed down from generation to generation. For example, I have both German and Middle Eastern heritage. My family on my Mom’s side is from Poland and Germany, and my family on my Dad’s side is from Jerusalem.
One specific example of how my cultural heritage has influenced my life is how it impacted my life growing up and our family traditions. My family has celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah for my whole life. One of my favorite traditions is when my Mom makes our family matzo ball soup on the first night of Hanukkah. My grandma also used to make this traditional Jewish meal for us when I was younger. I would consider foods to be an important part of cultural heritage. Where you’re from can be defined by the types of food found in that area.
According to the article, there are two types of cultural heritage: tangible and intangible. The celebration of the Jewish holiday Passover is a great example of both forms of heritage coming together into one. On Passover you eat traditional foods, which could be a form of tangible heritage. However, you also read the story of Passover from the Haggadah, which is intangible heritage through oral history.
I agree with the article’s argument that protecting cultural heritage is important. I feel that learning about my family’s heritage and traditions, both verbally and visually, helped me become more open to learning about different cultures and has made me a more well-rounded person and student overall.
