Page 145 - Unforgettable Memories in Life_Neat

Lakeside Junior High School 143

circle and walk in the middle to give money to the pastors, shake hands, and throw

candies. Children scatter around picking up candy and showing their parents what

they’ve got as if they even care. Parents would give them a bag and put their candies in

so no other kids could steal them. This event is very special in my memory because

every Christmas, everyone from my church comes together. It’s basically like a reunion

from every state, and I really enjoy it.

When it is our turn to perform, they always put me second. The place would be

full because there are a lot of us in my family which gets everyone's attention. My

church is called “King’s Tontitown.” Every other state has its own name such as King’s

Springdale (mother church), King’s Enid, and King’s Maui, …their names go by King’s

first and the state they came from second. Mother church (King’s Springdale) is where

the main Marshallese pastor lives. That’s why they named his church MOTHER

CHURCH. In my family's program, we always do a dance that takes us to the front

which is called maaj. This helps the audience get a better view. After the maaj, we do

our three dances. Sometimes we do four dances, but three is better because it’s a lucky

number. During our dances, people come to the dance floor and bilake, which means to

break the floor and enjoy the fun night while it lasts. After we perform three dances, we

go to the front of the building and sing three or four songs. Afterward, we go around in

a circle and throw candies. Kids pick up every piece of candy that has been thrown.

Then we shake hands with the pastor and throw our money in the basket for them to

show appreciation for everything they've done.