LEBANESE AMERICANS

The earliest immigrants from the Eastern Mediterranean were generally lumped together under the common rubric of Syrian-Lebanese, and it is consequently difficult to separate the number of ethnic Lebanese immigrants from ethnic Syrian immigrants. Neither of these countries came into being as nation-states until the mid-twentieth century; thus records and statistics for both groups are generally combined for early immigration patterns. Such difficulties with early immigration records are further exacerbated because of religious affiliation, both Muslim as well as myriad Christian denominations, which cut across national and ethnic lines in the region.

Early Lebanese settlers in America came mostly from Beirut, Mount Hermon, and surrounding regions of present-day Lebanon, a nation located at the extreme eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. Syria forms Lebanon's northern and eastern borders. Israel lies directly south of Lebanon, with the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Lebanon's land mass is 4,015 square miles (10,400 square kilometers), and its population is estimated at between 3 and 3.5 million. The capital, Beirut, was often referred to as the "Paris of the Middle East." Beirut was also considered the commercial center of the Middle East before the Lebanese civil war of the 1970s. Lebanon is named for the major mountain range that runs north to south through the middle of the country. The Cedars of Lebanon, famous since Biblical times, are now protected in a few mountain groves. Arabic is the official language of the country, and is even spoken by the minority population of Lebanese Jews. The Armenian population speaks mostly Armenian or Turkish, while Assyrians speak Syriac. French and English are also widely spoken. A land of varied terrain, Lebanon encompasses coastline, mountain, and fertile growing regions such as the Bekáa Valley, which is a primary cereal-producing region. The population of the country is made up of ethnic groups from every Middle Eastern country, which is reflective of Lebanon's long history.

In Lebanon, there is no religious majority. Both Muslims and Christians have many sectarian subdivisions, 17 in all. Among the Muslim population, the Shi'a are the most numerous with about 35 percent, the Sunni number around 23 percent, and the Druze comprise 6 percent. Christians, who account for under two-fifths of the total Lebanese population, include the Maronites (the most numerous and the most powerful) at 22 percent, the Eastern Orthodox at 10 percent; Melkites (Greek Catholics) and Armenians, each at 6 percent, and Protestants at 2.5 percent. Through Lebanon's unwritten National Pact of 1943, political power was apportioned between Christians and Muslims. Originally, the ratio was six to five, Christian to Muslim. Since 1992, power has been shared equally by both groups. Various government offices are still reserved for specific sects: the prime minister is always a Sunni Muslim; the president is always a Maronite, and the speaker of the house is always a Shiite. Throughout its history, there have been movements within Lebanon to "deconfessionalize"—to create a one-person, one-vote system instead of apportioning representation and political offices by religious affiliation. These efforts are ongoing at the end of the twentieth century.

HISTORY

From 1516 until 1916, when the Ottoman Empire was dismembered by the victors of World War I, the area that is now Lebanon was part of the Ottoman province of Greater Syria. At the time of the first immigration wave to the West, Lebanon was not yet a sovereign nation; Because the Ottomans administered their subject peoples according to their religious affiliation, early immigrants from Greater Syria identified with their religious sect rather than any nationality. A sense of national identity did not begin to form among the Greater Syrians until the 1920s, when Lebanon became a separate French protectorate. This identity strengthened in the 1940s, when Lebanon gained independence.

As a witness to the rise and fall of the Mesopotamian, Hittite, Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, and Greek empires, Lebanon has a distinct history. In the second and early first millennium B.C., the Canaanites, who became known as Phoenicians, were the first inhabitants of Lebanon. Famous as sailors and traders, the Phoenicians lived along the Lebanese coast in the port cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Biblos. They also founded colonies in North Africa, Europe, and the Mediterranean. A succession of peoples, including Persians, Greeks, and Romans, challenged Phoenician power. With the rise of Islam in the East, the population adopted Arabic culture but also maintained its multi-religious character as the mountains of Lebanon became a haven for various religious sects. After the Ottoman Empire gained general control of the area in 1516, Lebanon continued to maintain a feudal system of rule by local chieftains. After 1860, the year many Christians were massacred by the Druze in Lebanon and Damascus, the French, who had economic and strategic interests in Lebanon since the Crusades, created a protectorate. During the next 50 years, the people of Lebanon became increasingly interested in Western culture, independence from the Ottomans, and a revival of the Arabic language.

MODERN ERA

With the fall of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, England and France divided the area into English and French protectorates. England assumed control of what became Palestine and Jordan, and France took over what became Syria and Lebanon. At this time, France divided Mount Lebanon from Syria and, adding the coastal area, created an entity called "The State of Greater Lebanon." In 1926 the Republics of Lebanon and Syria were created, but it was not until 1941 that each gained full independence, and the last French troops did not depart until 1946.

After gaining independence from the French in 1943, Lebanon became known as the "Switzerland of the Middle East." However, its delicate political and demographic equilibrium was shattered in 1975 when civil war erupted. The political inequities that had existed within Lebanon for decades were exacerbated by severe economic divisions, the resistance of those in power to addressing the needs of the poor, and the weakness of the public sector. For 16 years, Lebanon was torn apart by fighting between Christians and Muslims. Although a tentative peace agreement in 1991 ended the war, many problems remain. Several thousand Syrian troops, who entered Lebanon during the civil war, remain in the country. Relations with Israel have long been contentious and border skirmishes are fought periodically between the two nations. Israel also occupies areas of southern Lebanon. Meanwhile, Lebanon is striving to reconstruct itself physically, economically, and politically.

THE FIRST LEBANESE IN AMERICA

Immigrants from the region of the former Greater Syria account for close to two-thirds of the estimated 2.5 million people in the United States who are of Arabic descent. Christian Lebanese were the first Arabic-speaking people to come to the Americas in large numbers. Their earliest immigration to the United States began in the late 1870s, peaked in 1914 at 9,023, dropped to a few hundred a year during World War I, and rose again during the early

"W herever they went, Lebanese carried with them their derbakke, as small drum held under the arm and played with the finger tips. To the beat of the derbakke and the music from their voices, they danced traditional circle and handkerchief dances."

Saud Joseph, Where the Twain Shall Meet-Lebanese in Cortland County, (New York Folklore Quarterly, v. XX, no. 3, September, 1964).

1920s, fluctuating between 1,600 and 5,000. Later, with the passage of the Immigration Quota Act (1929–1965), it dropped to a few hundred a year. When the second wave of Arab immigration to the United States began in the late 1960s, the descendants of the early Lebanese immigrants were in their third generation and had almost completely assimilated into mainstream America. In the 1970s and 1980s, the Arabic-speaking population of the United States began to grow again, and Lebanese Americans assumed a higher ethnic profile.

Many factors spurred large-scale Lebanese immigration to America in the late nineteenth century. For instance, many emigrants were inspired by tales of American freedom and equality that were told by American missionaries (doctors and teachers). Also, the world fairs that took place in Philadelphia (1876), Chicago (1893), and St. Louis (1904) exposed participating Greater Syrians to Americans and American society. For the majority of Lebanese emigrants, the determining factors were economic ambition and family competition. For many Lebanese families, having a son or daughter in America became a visible mark of status. Young men were the first to emigrate, followed by young women and later wives and entire families. Some villages lost their most talented young people. Between the late 1870s and World War I (1914-1918), Lebanon lost over one quarter of its population to emigration. During World War I, it lost about another fifth to famine. Immigrants abroad played a major role in the country's postwar reconstruction and subsequent independence.

The 1975-1991 civil war sparked a new wave of emigration from Lebanon. Many Lebanese went to Europe. Those who came to the United States reinvigorated Lebanese American ethnic life. Most of the new immigrants were better educated and were more conscious of their Arab identity than their predecessors. Many Lebanese Americans who are Muslims devoutly maintain their Islamic traditions and are cautious about assimilating fully into American culture.

SETTLEMENT PATTERNS

Lebanese Americans have settled all over the United States. Peddlers who traveled to New England and upstate New York communities, as well as those in the Midwest and the West, often stayed on and opened general stores. Lebanese developed important communities in Utica, New York; Boston, Lawrence, Lowell, and Springfield, Massachusetts; Fall River, Rhode Island; and Danbury, Connecticut. They also settled in New Orleans, Louisiana; Jacksonville, Florida; Detroit and Dearborn, Michigan; and Toledo, Ohio. Some of the largest concentrations of Lebanese Americans are found in the Northeast and Midwest. Detroit has one of the largest Lebanese American communities in the country, and there are new communities in Los Angeles and Houston.

A CCULTURATION AND A SSIMILATION

The first Lebanese who came to America were considered exotic—their baggy pants ( shirwal ) and fezzes made them stand out even among other immigrants. Later, when enclave living and the ubiquitous peddler made immigrants from Greater Syria a visible presence, attitudes toward them darkened. During a Senate debate on immigration quotas in 1929, Senator David Reed of Pennsylvania referred to Syrian-Lebanese as the "trash of the Mediterranean." Working as peddlers allowed

Lebanese American Alixa Naff is a historian who specializes in Arab American culture. Pictured are some of the Arab American artifacts she has been collecting since 1962.

Lebanese immigrants to meet regularly with other Americans, and helped them to quickly absorb the English language and American culture. Service in the American armed forces during World Wars I and II also hastened the assimilation of Lebanese Americans. Many Lebanese American women worked in war-related industries during World War II, which hastened their assimilation into American culture. By the end of World War II, it was not uncommon for Lebanese American women to work outside the home or family business. Lebanese Americans worked hard to assimilate rapidly into mainstream American society. Many Anglicized their names, joined Western churches, and focused their energies on becoming financially successful.

In the late 1990s, Lebanese Americans faced many of the same problems as other Arab Americans. They have often been the victims of negative stereotyping, especially in films, theater, books, and cartoons. Lebanese Americans have also experienced anti-Arab sentiments in American politics. Because the United States has strong ties with Israel, Arab Americans have often felt that American politicians have little interest in understanding Arab hostility toward Israel. During the 1980s, some political candidates rejected financial support from Arab Americans in order not to appear unsympathetic toward Israel.

TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS, AND BELIEFS

Lebanese Americans are a deeply religious people. In Lebanese culture, age is greatly respected, and respect for parents is extremely valued. Family is at the core of Lebanese social identity and loyalty to family has traditionally superseded all other allegiances. Each person is expected to protect the family's honor. In Lebanese culture, roles are often defined by gender, and this social definition anchors both men and women in their respective roles. Women are to be protected by other family members. Men are the undisputed heads of families, and take the concerns of other members into consideration. In Lebanese American families, the welfare of the group is considered more important than the needs of the individual. Lebanese Americans are known for their elaborate and warm hospitality, and it is considered rude not to offer food and drink to a guest.

Americanization, with its emphasis on youth, personal achievement, individualism, and independence, has eroded some of these traditional beliefs and practices. The Arab respect for age, though still stronger in comparison to the larger society, has decreased. Though the family is highly valued among Lebanese Americans, the belief in family honor has lessened, in part because families are not longer living together in close circles. Family roles are less gender-defined in the United States. Hospitality has also changed: doors are locked, schedules are tight, and people are preoccupied with their own personal concerns. New immigrants who come expecting the kind of help from settled relatives that they themselves would have offered back in the village are often sorely disappointed; they soon discover that they are expected, like everyone else in America, to make it on their own.

CUISINE

Some common Lebanese dishes are described in this section, and it should be noted that the seasoning used in Lebanese cuisine is always subtle. Kibbee is ground lamb meat mixed with bulgur wheat and eaten either baked or raw. Yellow and green squash, called koosa, are hollowed out, stuffed with rice and ground lamb meat, and cooked in a tomato sauce. The insides of the squash are often fried in olive oil as a separate dish. The ground lamb and rice stuffing mixture ( mahshee ) is sometimes wrapped in grape leaves ( wara' 'anab ) and served with yogurt, or in cabbage leaves ( malfoof ) and served with lemon juice. Sfeeha are small, open square pies of ground lamb meat and pine nuts, sometimes made with a thin tomato sauce.

Lebanese food is widely available in gourmet food shops and health food restaurants. Pita bread, hummus (chickpea dip), baba ghanouj (eggplant dip), and tabbouleh ( a salad of parsley and bulgur or cracked wheat), have become mainstays on health food menus. Lebanese Americans also eat fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese, yogurt and yogurt cheese ( labnee ), pickles, hot peppers, olives, and pistachio nuts. One of the most popular Lebanese desserts is baqlawa , which is filo dough laced with sugar syrup and wrapped around finely chopped walnuts. The national alcoholic beverage of Lebanon is 'arak, which is a liqueur flavored with aniseed.

TRADITIONAL CLOTHING

Western dress is the norm in Lebanon and among most Lebanese Americans. Religiously observant Muslim women wear the hijab, a long-sleeved coat or dress, and a scarf (often white) that completely covers the hair. Young girls and married women can decide whether or not to wear the hijab.

Traditional Lebanese clothing is worn only by performers at ethnic dance festivals. Men wear the shirwal (baggy black pants that fit at the shin), high black boots, white blousy shirts, dark vests, and a fez. Women wear long dresses with embroidered bodices and side panels, and tall hats with long white veils.

HOLIDAYS

Different sects within Lebanon celebrate different religious holidays. Christians celebrate the feast days of saints, as well as Easter and Christmas. Easter is celebrated on the Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. The Orthodox Easter must also come after Passover, and thus Western Easter often falls on a different Sunday than Orthodox Easter. Muslims celebrate three major holidays: Ramadan (the 30-day period of daytime fasting); 'Eid al Fitr, a five-day holiday that marks the end of Ramadan; and 'Eid al-Adha, the "Feast of the Sacrifice," which commemorates Abraham's agreement with God that he would sacrifice his son Ishmael. Lebanon's National Independence Day, which is celebrated on November 22, receives little attention from Lebanese Americans.

HEALTH ISSUES

Except for higher-than-average incidences of anemia and lactose intolerance, Lebanese have no incidence of medical disease specific to them as a group. As a rule, they support the conventional medical establishment.

L ANGUAGE

Most Lebanese speak Arabic. Arabic is a poetic language, and poets are prized in Arab culture. In its first 50 years in America, the Lebanese American community enjoyed a golden age of letters, with the literature of such New York experimental poets as Khalil Gibran, Ameen Rihany, and Elia Abu-Madey casting their influence on literary circles of the Middle East. However, in their desire to embrace American culture, many Lebanese Americans did little to teach their American-born children to read Arabic. Immigration quota restrictions accelerated the problem. Without a continuous influx of new readership, once-flourishing Arab American newspapers and journals experienced a steep decline. Christian churches streamlined their Arabic services, and changed many of them to English. Newly arrived Lebanese immigrants to the United States, however, have reinvigorated Arabic language usage within the community. Many Arabic churches now have bilingual announcements, bulletins, and sermons, and the business signs in Arab commercial neighborhoods are often painted prominently in Arabic. In particular, Lebanese Muslim immigrants have contributed to the increase in Arabic usage and have developed Arabic-language classes for children.

GREETINGS AND OTHER COMMON EXPRESSIONS

Greetings in Arabic are elaborate, and there is usually a response and counter-response to every one. Ahlein —"Welcome"; or the longer Ahlan wa Sahlan —"You are with your people and in a level place"(a greeting appropriate at the door or when being introduced to someone for the first time); the more casual Marhaba —"Hello," responded to with Marhabteen —"Two hellos"; to which the response is Maraahib —"A bunch of hellos." Similarly, the response to the morning greeting, Sabaah al-kheir — "The morning is good," is Sabaah an-noor —"The morning is light." The evening greeting and response are Masa al-kheir and Masa n-noor. Leave-takings are extremely elaborate: the person leaving says Bkhatrak to a woman, Khatrik and to a group, Khatirkum, which translates as "By your leave." The response is Ma'a salaame —"With safety," or "Go in peace"; to which the counter-response is Allay salmak, or Allay salmik to a female, and Allay salimkum to a group—"May God keep you safe." The holiday greeting is 'Eid Mubarak —"Holiday blessings"; and Kull sane w'inte saalim —"Every year and you are safe." Sahteen is the Arabic toast—"May your good health be twofold." Arabic is filled with references to God. For example, the most common response to Keif haalak? —"How are you?" is Nushkar Allah —"(We) Thank God." Often heard after a statement of intention are the words In sha Allah — "If God wills it." Such phrases imply the belief in human impotence to control the affairs of the world.

F AMILY AND C OMMUNITY D YNAMICS

Traditionally, Lebanese families and extended families operate as a unit, relying on each other implicitly in social, financial, and business affairs. The father is the decision maker, and the mother his close advisor. Her domain is the daily life of the children and all that happens within the home; The man's domain is strictly outside the home. The firstborn son plays a special role in the family, for he brings his bride to live with his parents, raises his family in his parents' household, and cares for them in their old age.

As Lebanese American families have adopted the American pattern of nuclear families, the dividing line between gender roles has blurred. Fathers spend more time with their small children, and mothers frequently represent the families in public, for example, at school meetings. Independent households are now the norm, and daughters no longer become part of their marital families. Consequently, sisters share responsibility with their brothers for aging parents.

MARRIAGE AND CHILDREARING

Because marriage was traditionally an opportunity for a family to strengthen its prestige and economic situation, marriages in Lebanon were often arranged. This custom is still practiced among some conservative Lebanese Americans. To arrange a marriage, parents and other relatives seek out mates for their children. They set up a chaperoned meeting, which allows the prospective couple to get acquainted. Courtship is conducted under the watchful eye of family members and always carries with it a sense of responsibility and purpose. Casual dating is frowned upon by more conservative Lebanese Americans because it can jeopardize the reputations of the couple and families involved. Among assimilated Lebanese Americans, however, dating is the usual form of courtship.

The majority of early Lebanese American immigrants married within their ethnic and religious groups. Many men returned to Lebanon to find a bride, particularly in the years when single men outnumbered single women in the immigrant community. Most of the first American-born generation of Lebanese Americans also married within the community.

Divorce among Lebanese Americans is less common in arranged marriages than in marriages based on love. The basis of the arranged marriage is a contract of shared responsibility and self-sacrifice. There is no expectation that the needs of the individual will be satisfied in the marriage. The purpose of such marriages is to build a family. In fact, divorce on the grounds of personal unhappiness is frowned upon. Since divorce has traditionally been viewed as a source of family shame, families often become involved in solving marital problems.

Lebanese American families often indulge babies and younger children. Boys are coddled, but are expected to be strong and independent. Girls are restrained, taught to work within existing social schemes, and trained to be dependable as well as interdependent. As they mature, girls assume many household responsibilities. They often take charge of the younger siblings or, if the mother is absent, the entire household.

EDUCATION

By the time they began immigrating to the United States, the immigrants from Greater Syria had attended British, French, Russian, and American schools in their homeland for half a century or longer. These foreign schools had also stimulated the establishment of local government schools, and many of these schools encouraged the education of girls. When they arrived in the United States, the Lebanese adapted to the American school system and culture. Their attitudes paralleled the evolution of the attitudes of other Americans toward education. By the third generation, the education of girls was considered equal in importance to that of boys. The generation of Lebanese Americans born after World War II attended college at the same rate as the rest of the nation's youth, studying business, medicine, law, pharmacy, computer science, and engineering. Because the vast majority of third-generation Lebanese Americans are middle class, they enjoy a higher educational level than Americans on average.

Many Catholic Lebanese children receive their education at Catholic schools. Muslim Lebanese immigrants to the United States occasionally send their children to Catholic schools, where there is more discipline and emphasis on respect for authority. Many Muslim immigrants have set up Islamic schools, some as supplements to their children's education, and a few as full-day parochial schools that teach Arabic language, history, and culture in addition to basic subjects.

THE ROLE OF WOMEN

Women have always been the heart of the Lebanese family. Although men have the final say in family decisions, the opinions of women are also valued. Husbands depend on their wives to maintain the household and raise the children. Many Lebanese American women also work outside the home. They often play key roles in running family businesses, and often take over if their husband dies or becomes incapacitated. As Lebanese American men have become more active in public life, women have begun to follow suit. Donna Shalala, a Lebanese American woman, was the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin and president of Hunter College in New York City, before becoming President Clinton's secretary of health, education and welfare.

PHILANTHROPY

Just as each family must take care of its own, each religious community traditionally takes care of its members. Lebanese Muslims are required to give 2.5 percent of their income, a tithe called zakkat to the needy within the community. Philanthropic efforts within the Lebanese American community also cut across religious lines. One is Save Lebanon, an organization formed in 1982 to bring Lebanese children injured during Israel's 1982 invasion of Lebanon, to the United States for medical treatment. More prominent is the Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Established in 1962, it is funded by an organization called Aiding Leukemia-Stricken American Children, American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, and individual donations. Founded by entertainer Danny Thomas (1914–1991), a Lebanese American, ALSAC and St. Jude's have assumed the leading position in the field of research and treatment of childhood leukemia.

R ELIGION

For centuries, religious affiliation in Greater Syria was tantamount to membership in a small nation, or at least a political party. The millet system, which the Ottomans used to divide people into political entities according to religion, gave religion social and political meaning. The millet system also served to create a sense of boundaries among differing sects that went beyond doctrinal disputes. Because brides often converted to the faith of their husbands, all of the major religions within Lebanon competed for converts to their faith. Interfaith marriage was considered taboo.

Although Lebanese Americans include Christians and Muslims, Christians are in the majority. Many Lebanese Jews and a smaller number of Druze are also a part of the Lebanese American community. The vast majority of Lebanese Christians in America belong to one of three Eastern-rite Christian churches: the Maronite, the Eastern Orthodox, and the Melkite/Greek Catholic. Orthodox and Melkite liturgies are in Arabic and Greek; Maronite liturgy is in Arabic and Aramaic. In the United States, all three are sung partly in English.

The differences among these churches are jurisdictional rather than dogmatic. In particular, they differ on the question of the infallibility of the pope in matters of faith. Since its beginnings in the fourth century, the Maronite Church has been steadfast in its allegiance to Rome and the West, and resistant to the Arabic identity embraced by the Eastern Orthodox and Melkite/Greek Catholic churches.

All three churches administer confirmation at Baptism, and use bread soaked in wine for the Eucharist. The marriage ceremony in each rite contains similar components: the blessing of the rings, the crowning of the bride and groom as queen and king, and the sharing of bread and wine—the couple's first meal together. In the Orthodox and Melkite churches, the bride and groom walk around the altar as a symbol of their first journey together as a couple.

Orthodox priests can marry, but those who do cannot climb the clerical hierarchy. While Melkite and Maronite Catholic priests in the Middle East are encouraged by their own Eastern canon law to

Lebanese Americans from the Detroit area demonstrate near the speaker's podium in Lafayette Park across from the White House.

marry, they are forbidden to by Western canon. Unlike the Roman Catholic church, Eastern-rite churches have icons rather than statuary.

Most Lebanese American Muslims arrived after 1965. Generally, Muslims pray five times a day and attend Friday prayers. When no mosque is available, they rent rooms in commercial and business districts where they can go for midday prayers. These small prayer places are called masjids . Muslims are supposed to fast during the daylight hours for the month of Ramadan. Many, including young school-children, do keep the fast.

E MPLOYMENT AND E CONOMIC T RADITIONS

Upon their arrival in the United States, many Lebanese engaged in peddling. These peddlers carved out routes from New England through the West. Many developed a regular clientele, and eventually opened their own general stores. Some of those who stayed in the city developed their small dry goods businesses into import/export empires. By 1910, there were a handful of Lebanese American millionaires. Other early immigrants were factory workers, particularly those that settled in Detroit and Dearborn, Michigan, where many Lebanese worked in the auto industry.

The occupational profile of Lebanese Americans is very broad, although they are still disproportionately concentrated in retail occupations. Lebanese Americans tend to be self-employed and enter managerial and professional positions at a higher rate than Americans as a whole. Lebanese Americans are well represented in medicine, law, banking, engineering, and computer science.

P OLITICS AND G OVERNMENT

Lebanese American political involvement has revolved around American policies in the Middle East, particularly those relating to Israel. Through the Eastern Federation of Syrian-Lebanese Organizations, which was established in 1932, Lebanese Americans quietly protested the 1948 partitioning of Palestine. Following the 1967 war between Israel and its Arab neighbors, Lebanese Americans began to work with other Arabs to form organizations that promoted their common interests.

Members of the Association of Arab American University Graduates, which was established in 1967, focused on educating the American public about the Arab–Israeli conflict. Five years later, the National Association of Arab Americans was created to lobby the American Congress and White House administrations on Middle Eastern issues. In 1980, former senator James Abourezk established the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee to combat defamation of Arab Americans in the media. As conditions in the Middle East continued to worsen during the 1980s Lebanese Americans, along with other Arab Americans, became the targets of government surveillance and civil rights infringements. When the United States bombed Libya in 1986, for example, it was revealed that the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) had a list of thousands of Arab (including Lebanese) and Iranian students, permanent residents, and even U.S. citizens, for possible detention in internment camps in the United States.

From 1985 to 1987 it was illegal for Americans to visit Lebanon. The travel ban was allowed to expire in 1997 with assurances from the Lebanese government of cooperation on anti-terrorism measures and security. Among the Arab American organizations who lobbied was the American Task Force for Lebanon. This group of prominent Lebanese Americans meets regularly with congressmen and administration officials to advise them on American support for the reconstruction of Lebanon, and the normalization of diplomatic relations between Lebanon and the United States.

Lebanese Americans have traditionally supported the Republican party due, in part, to its support of business interests. Lebanese Americans have also been influenced by the Arab American Institute (AAI). The AAI, which was founded in 1985, is designed to foster Arab American participation in American politics, support candidates who champion Arab American causes, and encourage Arab Americans to run for public office. During the 1988 presidential election, the AAI had gathered more than 300 Arab Americans to serve as delegates to the national Democratic convention. At the 1988 Democratic Convention, Lebanese Americans successfully introduced platforms that supported Palestinian statehood and the restoration of Lebanon as a sovereign state. This convention also marked the first time that an Arab American, served as co-chairperson of the Democratic National Committee.

I NDIVIDUAL AND G ROUP C ONTRIBUTIONS

ENTERTAINMENT

Casey Kasem, (1933– ) is America's most famous disc jockey and originator of radio show American Top 40, the host of American Top 10, and the principal voice-over for NBC-TV.

FASHION

Norma Kamali (1945– ) and Joseph Abboud (1950– ) are prominent New York fashion designers. J. M. Haggar (1892–1987) founded a major manufacturer of men's slacks; and Mansour Farah (1895–1937) established Farah Brothers, a large competitive pants manufacturer.

FILM AND TELEVISION

Jamie Farr (1934– ) played Corporal Klinger for 11 years on the popular television series M*A*S*H ; actor-singer-comedian Danny Thomas (1914–1991) starred in the popular 1950s television situation comedy Make Room For Daddy ; his daughter Marlo Thomas (1943– ) is an Emmy Award–winning actress who starred in the 1960s television situation comedy That Girl ; his son Tony Thomas (1948– ) is a television and film producer who has won many Emmys for his work on Golden Girls and other television series; Tony Shalhoub starred in the television show Wings ; Vic Tayback (1930–1990) played Mel in Alice ; Kristy McNichol (1962– ) was one of the co-stars of Empty Nest ; Kathy Najimy (1957– ) was a co-star of the film Sister Act with Whoopi Goldberg; guitarist and musician Frank Zappa (1940–1993) was a legend in the rock world; and Callie Khoury (1957– ) was the first woman to receive an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, for Thelma and Louise.

GOVERNMENT SERVICE AND DIPLOMACY

Career diplomat Philip Habib (1920–1992) helped negotiate an end to the Vietnam War and the Israeli war in Lebanon in 1982; Senator James Abourezk (1931– ) from South Dakota was the first Lebanese American to serve in the U.S. Senate (1974–1980), and he founded the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee; Nick Rahal (1949– ) has served as a U.S. congressman from West Virginia since 1976; Donna Shalala (1941– ) was the president of New York City's Hunter College and serves as the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the Clinton administration; George Mitchell (1933– ), was a Senator from Maine who served as the Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995.

LITERATURE AND JOURNALISM

William Blatty (1928– ) is the author of the book and screenplay The Exorcist. Vance Bourjaily (1922– ) is the author of Confessions of a Spent Youth, and The Man Who Knew Kennedy. Khalil Gibran (1883–1931), poet and artist, is the author of The Prophet, perhaps the best-selling volume, after the Bible, of all time; Gibran's exhortation "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" in his "Letter to Syrian Youth" was quoted in John F. Kennedy's inaugural address and remains the most-quoted sentence of any inaugural address in American history. American-born poets who are descendants of the Greater Syrian diaspora include D. H. Milhelm (1926– ), Sam Hazo (1928– ), Joseph Awad (1929– ), Sam Hamod (1936– ), Lawrence Joseph (1948– ), Gregory Orfalea (1949– ), and Elmaz Abinader (1954– ). Journalist Helen Thomas (1920– ) has been the UPI White House correspondent for half a century and opens and closes every White House press conference.

MUSIC AND DANCE

Paul Anka (1941– ) wrote and recorded popular hit songs beginning in the 1950s, including "Diana," "She's a Lady,"and "My Way." Rosalind Elias (1931– ) is a soprano with the New York City Metropolitan Opera; Elie Chaib (1950– ) is a 20-year veteran dancer with the Paul Taylor Company.

PIONEERS

Ralph Nader (1934– ) is one of America's most prominent consumer advocates. He is the author of Unsafe at Any Speed and founder and head of Public Citizen, an organization that has spawned a number of other citizen action groups such as Congress Watch and the Tax Reform Research Group. Najeeb Halaby (1915– ) is the former head of the Federal Aviation Agency and was head of Pan-American Airlines. Candy Lightner (1946– ) is the founder of MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). Christa McAuliffe (1948–1986) was the teacher aboard the ill-fated space shuttle Challenger. Paul Orfalea (1946– ) founded Kinko's, the world's largest international chain of copying and business service stores.

SCIENCE AND MEDICINE

Heart surgeon Michael DeBakey (1908– ) invented the heart pump and pioneered the bypass operation in the United States. Harvard University professor Elias J. Corey, (1928– ) won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1990. The St. Jude Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, founded by Danny Thomas, is the leader in the field of research and treatment of childhood leukemia.

SPORTS

Race-car driver Bobby Rahall won the Indianapolis 500 in 1986; the late Joe Robbie (1916–1990) was owner of the Miami Dolphins.

M EDIA

PRINT

Jusoor ( Bridges ).

An Arabic/English quarterly periodical that publishes poetry and essays on politics and the arts.

Address: P.O. Box 34163, Bethesda, MD 20817.

Telephone: (301) 869-5853.

Lebanon Report .

A monthly magazine that describes political events in Lebanon in great detail.

Contact: Michael Bacos Young, Editor.

Address: Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, Box 1377, Highland Park, New Jersey 08904.

Telephone: (908) 220-0885.

News Circle.

A socially oriented magazine published in English that reports on the activities of West Coast Arabs.

Contact: Joseph Haiek, Publisher.

Address: P.O. Box 3684, Glendale, CA 91201-0684.

RADIO

Arab Network of America.

Every city with any concentration of Arabic-speaking people, including Lebanese, has at least one or two hours of radio programming a week. The Arab Network is a national Arabic-language radio network whose programs are broadcast in Washington, D.C., Detroit, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

Contact: Bruce Finland, CEO.

Address: 150 South Gordon Street, Alexandria, VA 22304.

Telephone: (703) 823-8364.

TELEVISION

Arab Network of America (ANA).

Contact: Bruce Finland, CEO.

Address: 150 South Gordon Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22304.

Telephone: (703) 823-8364.

TAC—Arabic Channel.

Contact: Jamil Tawfiq, Director.

Address: P.O. Box 936, New York, NY, 10005.

Telephone: (212) 425-8822.

O RGANIZATIONS AND A SSOCIATIONS

American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).

The largest grassroots Arab American organization; combats stereotyping and defamation in the media and in other venues of public life, including politics.

Address: 4201 Connecticut Avenue, Washington, DC 20008.

Telephone: (202) 244-2990.

American Task Force for Lebanon (ATFL).

Lobbies Congress and various administrations on issues related to Lebanon and its reconstruction.

Contact: George Cody, Executive Director.

Address: 2213 M Street, N.W., Third Floor, Washington, DC 20037.

Telephone: (202) 223-1399.

Arab American Institute (AAI).

Fosters participation of Arab Americans in the political process at all levels.

Contact: James Zogby, Executive Director.

Address: 918 16th Street, N.W., Suite 601, Washington, DC 20006.

Telephone: (202) 429-9210.

Association of Arab American University Graduates (AAUG).

Publishes monographs and books on Arab interests; holds symposia and conferences on current Middle East issues.

Contact: Ziad Asali, President.

Address: P.O. Box 408, Normal, IL, 61761-0408.

Telephone: (309) 452-6588.

National Association of Arab Americans.

Lobbies Congress and current administrations on Arab interests.

Contact: Khalil Jahshan, Executive Director.

Address: 1212 New York Avenue, N.W., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005.

Telephone: (202) 842-1840.

M USEUMS AND R ESEARCH C ENTERS

Communities and churches have begun to archive some of the memorabilia of the Arab American experience. The following two centers are of national importance.

Faris and Yamna Naff Family Arab American Collection Archives Center, National Museum of History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC Contains artifacts, books, personal documents, photographs, oral histories, and doctoral dissertations pertaining to the Arab American immigrant experience, beginning with the earliest wave of immigrants.

Contact: Alixa Naff.

Telephone: (202) 357-3270.

Near Eastern American Collection, Immigration History Research Center, University of Minnesota.

Contains the Philip Hitti archives.

Contact: Rudoph Vecoli.

Address: 826 Berry Street, St. Paul, MN 55114.

Telephone: (612) 627-4208.

S OURCES FOR A DDITIONAL S TUDY

Arab Americans: Continuity and Change, edited by Baha Abu-Laban and Michael Suleiman. Normal, IL: Association of Arab American University Graduates, Inc. 1989.

Helou, Anissa. Lebanese Cuisine. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.

Hoogland, Eric. Crossing the Water . Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1987.

Kayal, Philip, and Joseph Kayal. The Syrian Lebanese in America: A Study in Religion and Assimilation . Boston: Twayne, 1975.

The Lebanese in the World: A Century of Immigration , edited by Nadim Shehadi and Albert Hourani. London: Centre for Lebanese Studies in association with I. B. Taurus, 1992.

Naff, Alixa. Becoming American: The Early Arab Immigrant Experience. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1985.

Orfalea, Gregory. Before the Flames. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1988.

Taking Root, Bearing Fruit, Volume 1, edited by James Zogby; Volume 2, edited by Eric Hooglund. Washington, DC: ADC Research Institute, 1984; 1985.

Wakin, Edward. The Syrians and the Lebanese in America. Chicago: Claretian Publishers, 1974.

Walbridge, Linda S. Without Forgetting the Imam: Lebanese Shi'ism in an American Community. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1997.

Zogby, John. Arab America Today: A Demographic Profile of Arab Americans. Washington, DC: Arab American Institute, 1990.

LUXEMBOURGER AMERICANS

The small country of Luxembourg, also known as the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is contained within some 998 square miles, or 2,586 square kilometers of land in western Europe. Luxembourg is surrounded by Belgium to its north and west, France to its south and Germany to its east. The history and culture of Luxembourg have been significantly affected by this geographical location. Since Luxembourg has fused the traditions of the surrounding countries and is the product of various immigration movements throughout its history, the population of Luxembourg (some 410,000) is ethnically diverse. Because of its location and history, it is referred to as one of Europe's most important crossroads. Along its border with Belgium are the Ardennes Mountains, forming a plateau between 1,300 and 1,600 feet (400 to 490 meters). This area is known as the Oesling. To the south of the Ardennes is an area known as Gutland or Bon Pays (literally "good land"), which contains various contours of fertile farmland.

HISTORY

In early ancient times the land of Luxembourg was inhabited by two Belgic tribes named the Medioatrici and the Teveri. In the fifth century A.D. the Franks began to occupy the area. In the following centuries, the people began to convert to Christianity. Under the domination of the Holy Roman Empire of Charlemagne, the area was first a section of the Kingdom of Austrasia and then the Kingdom of Lotharinga. From an exchange of land in 963 by Siegfried, the Count of Ardennes, the Kingdom of Luxembourg became an independent land. Involved in this exchange was Siegfried's acquisition of a Roman castle on the Alzette River. The present name of Luxembourg was derived from the name of the castle "Lucilinburhuc," or "Little Fortress." After the death of Siegfried, he was succeeded by a long line of his descendants. Near the year 1060 one of these descendants, Conrad, became the first Luxembourger ruler to take the title of the "Count of Luxembourg." In 1354, Luxembourg was made a duchy by Holy Roman emperor Charles IV.

Perhaps the greatest point in the history of Luxembourg in this era came in 1443, when the then Duchess of Luxembourg, Elizabeth of Görlitz, gave up the throne to the duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good (Philip III). When all of Burgundy and its lands passed into the hands of the Hapsburg rulers in 1477, so did the Duchy of Luxembourg. In 1556, through a series of changes brought about by the abdication of Hapsburg emperor Charles V, Luxembourg became a property of Spain and part of what were known as "The Spanish Netherlands." Through the two turbulent centuries that followed, Luxembourg often found itself at the geographic and political center of wars and disputes; when these conflicts ended, Luxembourg, along with Belgium, passed from the Spanish into the hands of the Austrian Hapsburgs.

MODERN ERA

Austrian rule continued until 1795 when the French took over the duchy. Following this occupation by French revolutionary forces, a modern state bureaucracy was installed in Luxembourg resembling the French system at the time. In their zeal to institute these reforms, along with their disempowerment of the clergy and the call for mandatory military service by the Luxmebourgers, the French created dissent. This dissent eventually led to a rebellion against French rule in 1798, which in turn was brutally put down.

With the fall of Napoleon in 1814 and the end of French rule came the decision of the Allied Powers in 1815 to cede parts of the duchy to Prussia and to give the rest to William I, King of the Netherlands, and to elevate it to the status of a grand duchy. This resulted in confusion over Luxembourg's identity. While owned by William I of the Netherlands, it was also a member of the German Confederation and had close ties with Prussia. In addition, it was, technically, an independent state as well. What ensued in the decades immediately following the possession of Luxembourg by the Netherlands was a struggle against this rule, which was undertaken in cooperation with the Belgians. In a revolution against Dutch rule, the Belgians also declared Luxembourg to be a part of Belgium against the claim of the Netherlands. The series of international reactions that followed led in 1831 to a decision by the "Great Powers" of France, Prussia, Russia, and Britain. Despite Belgium's claim, Luxembourg was to remain the possession, albeit in altered form, of William I and was also to remain a part of the German Confederation. Dividing Luxembourg once again, the French-speaking part of Luxembourg was given to Belgium while the Netherlands retained the parts that spoke the native Luxembourger language. After a series of disputes on this decision between the Netherlands and Belgium, it eventually came to be accepted, and the Netherlands ruled this area alone from 1839 until 1867.

While William I and his successor William II made several moves on behalf of the Luxembourg-Netherlands union, including making Luxembourg a part of the Customs Union directed by Prussia, dissent against this and other decisions continued to grow among the Luxembourgers. The constitution of 1841 given by the Netherlands was met with hostility, which led to a series of constitutional changes thought to be more just. When the German Confederation was dissolved in 1866, Luxembourg became a sovereign nation. In the years that followed, however, a series of disputes between the Great Powers regarding the status of Luxembougian independence led to the decision in 1867 that Luxembourg be deemed an independent nation with perpetual neutrality. While still a part of the Dutch house of Nassau, which had been ruled by the royal family of the Netherlands for generations, Luxembourg at that time was controlled by William III , who remained ruler until his death in 1890. At that time the grand duchy passed into the hands of Adolf, Duke of Nassau

Following the death of Adolf in 1905, his son William ruled for seven years before dying in 1912. Led by William's daughter, the Grand Duchess Marie Adélaïde, the grand duchy cooperated with the Germans in their unlawful violation of Luxembourg's neutrality during World War I (1914-1918). Disliked by her people and severely criticized by the victorious Allied Powers in 1919, Marie Adélaïde was forced to abdicate in favor of her sister Charlotte. Shortly afterward the people of Luxembourg voted to retain Charlotte as grand duchess and not to turn Luxembourg into a republic.

In the following decades, Luxembourg established and pursued an economic union with Belgium with mixed results. When the German army invaded and occupied Luxembourg again in May 1940, Grand Duchess Charlotte went into exile with her family. When Luxembourg was liberated in the late summer of 1944, Charlotte returned and the country formed an economic union with both Belgium and the Netherlands. In 1948 Luxembourg abandoned its perpetual neutrality by taking part in forming the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Upon the death of Grand Duchess Charlotte in 1964, her son Prince Jean assumed the throne as the Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

THE FIRST IN AMERICA

The earliest Luxembourgers to emigrate to America came in 1630 with the Dutch to New York City (then New Amsterdam). The first Luxembourger is thought to be Philip de la Noye (or de Lannoy), who arrived on the ship Fortune, the sister-ship of the Mayflower. Another notable figure from the early years in of Luxembourgers in North America was Father Raphael de Luxembourg who arrived in Louisiana in 1723. Chosen by the King of France to represent the King's interests in the then French colony of Louisiana, Father Raphael also became a leading figure in the Christianization of Native Americans. Noted for his work to provide just pay for Native Americans and blacks, he founded a seminary for Native Americans and the first primary school in the colony.

The greatest influx of Luxembourgers into the United States, however, was during the mid- and late nineteenth century. Between 1841 and 1891, an estimated 45,000 Luxembourgers emigrated to the United States. In the 1830s and 1840s the Luxembourgers arrived in such areas as Maryland, New York and Louisiana. The greatest attraction of the Midwest, where most of them eventually settled, was the availability of fertile and inexpensive farmland. By the 1880s community networks among the settled Luxembourger Americans made further Luxemburger immigration easier and less costly. During this time many came on board ships of the Red Star Line, which sailed from Antwerp, Belgium.

SIGNIFICANT IMMIGRATION WAVES AND SETTLEMENT PATTERNS

The first significant wave of immigration took place between 1830 and the mid-1840s. These immigrants settled in western New York state, in towns such as Sheldon, in Wyoming County, and New Oregon, in Erie County. Significant numbers of settlers also settled in Ohio in such places as Alvada, in Seneca County and New Riegel and Kirby, in Wyandot County.

The second important wave between 1846 and 1860 led to a great expansion in the population of Luxembourger Americans. Moving westward, they settled in Illinois. A large number settled in Chicago while smaller, yet significant, numbers settled in Rogers Park, Rosehill, Evanston, Aurora, and what is now Skokie. Further settlements were in eastern Wisconsin's Ozaukee County, including such towns as Port Washington, Belgium, Lake Church, Holy Cross, and Dacada. In the Mississippi Valley there were settlements in Winona County, Minnesota, in the towns of Elba, Rollingstone, and Oak Ridge. There were also settlements in Wabasha County, Minnesota, in such towns as Wabasha and Minnieska. In western Wisconsin settlements were made in La Crosse County in places like St. Joseph and La Crosse. In Eastern Iowa's Jackson County there were settlements in St. Donatus, Springbrook, Bellevue, and St. Catherine, and in Dubuque County settlements were made in Dubuque, Luxemburg, Holy Cross, Cascade, and Worthington.

The third major wave of immigration took place between 1860 and 1900. During the American Civil War (1861-1865) this movement slowed but slowly rose to an all-time high in the 1880s. Following the general trend of earlier settlement patterns, many of these people made their homes in the midwestern states. Those who settled in northern and southeastern Minnesota concentrated in towns like Hastings and Vermillion in Dakota County; Belchester and Luxemburg in Stearns County; and Caledonia in Houston County. Moving into South Dakota, settlers in this wave chose places like Alexandria, Hanson County, and White Lake. In western Iowa the towns of St. Joseph and Algona in Kossuth County were settled, as well as the town of Gilbertville. Moving further south and west, the settlers established the towns of Bellwood, David City, Juniata and Roseland, Nebraska. A smaller influx of Luxembourgers took place between 1937 and 1940, when 200 to 300 Luxembourger Jews fleeing Nazi persecution settled in the United States.

A CCULTURATION AND A SSIMILATION

TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS, AND BELIEFS

Like many long-settled groups in the United States, very few Luxembourger Americans can speak the language of their ancestors. Despite this, however, a considerable number still practice traditions handed down through the generations. Even though they have been interacting for over a century with German Americans, many of these people continue to identify themselves as being Luxembourger.

PROVERBS

Luxembourgers are fond of sayings that mark important moments in their history and the formation of national identity. One such saying is Et get fir de glaf! or "Here goes for faith," a saying that was used in the Kloppelkrieg rebellion against the French during the reign of Napoleon. This motto was used by peasants when they rose up and by their captured leaders before they were executed.

CUISINE

Among the indigenous Luxembourger foods found in Luxembourger American settlement areas, two stand out. The first is traïpen ( moustraipen ), a sausage consisting of hog's head, pork blood, cabbage, and spices. It is similar to black pudding. Included in a tradition in which a large meal with traïpen would be served after midnight mass on Christmas day, traïpen was a winter food, produced at a time when pigs would be butchered to be made into smoked ham and other foods. A second popular food is known as stärzelen ( sterchelen ), buckwheat dumplings with lard greaves.

MUSIC, DANCES, AND SONGS

A number of traditional forms of music and dance were a part of holiday celebrations. In Luxembourg, people would travel to towns such as Echternach, to take part in well-known national festivals. Although there is little information on the exact forms of dance and music carried through the generations of Luxembourger-Americans, bands with horns and tubas were likely included. In places like New York and Chicago, military bands were made up of Luxembourger-Americans whose repertoire included tunes from the homeland. Among the variety of songs brought to the United States by Luxembourgers, perhaps the most well known would have been the national song called the "Wilhelmus." Other well known Luxembourger songs included " De Feierwon, D' Fëscher an d' Jëer, " " De Kueb an de Fuuss, " " Den Éim Steffen, " " De Schmatt, " " D' Pierle vum Da, " " Léiwer Härgottsblieschen, " " Marsch vun der Iechternacher Sprangprëssessioun, " " Ons Hemecht " (the national hymn), " Rommelpott, " " Schuebermëss, " "' Tass Fréijor, " and " Wéi meng Mamm nach huet gesponnen. " For more information on the dance of Echternach one can check the website http://www.restena.lu/primaire/consdorf/luxmidi/luxmidi.html . Songs and audio can be found at http://www.restena.lu/primaire/consdorf/luxmidi/luxmidi.html .

HOLIDAYS

In Luxembourg, around sunset on the first Sunday of Lent, fires are lit in every community. This tradition, called Burgbrennen, is one of the four times of the year when such fires are lit. The other times are Easter, the summer solstice, and in the late fall. According to the popular "solar theory" of such festivals found throughout Europe and elsewhere, it is thought that the fires are in some sense a magical imitation of the sun. These fires are lit in the hopes that its imitation might make the sun cooperate in the coming months. Besides the desire for practical results, a strong element of revelry and excess is also displayed at such festivals. A great sacrifice to the spirits of the dead, ancestors, and nature is symbolized in the massive destruction of such bonfires. Often accompanied by feasting and carnivalesque behavior, these bonfires are important elements in communal sentiment and the preservation of tradition.

Burgbrennen began with a form of trick-or-treat. Village youngsters go from house to house begging for wood and kindling for the fire. Carrying these materials up the hill to the site of the fire, the boys hold the stack of wood and kindling while a large pole with a wooden cross is hoisted and planted into the ground. As the cross is secured, the youngsters heap the combustible material around the pole, and it is set ablaze by the man to last marry in the village. Other variations of this ritual involved affixing a large wheel and streamers to the top of the pole, which would in turn be set ablaze and spun.

Burgbrennen has not remained a strong custom among Luxembourger Americans. While many communities in the United States have retained bonfire-like festivals, usually in the late fall, the tradition of fires at Lent seems to have greatly faded. In Vermillion, Minnesota, however, memories remain of its existence earlier in this century. One account was told by a village elder: " Bjork Sonntag was the First Sunday of Lent and the last day of drinking alcohol during Lent. They had a very unusual custom in this area during the evening of Bjork Sonntag. Many of the farmers would erect a pole on the highest point of the farm, put rags on top of the pole or put a wheel on top of the pole and cover that with old rags, pour oil on the rags and start the rags/wheel and pole on fire. As to the reason for the fire on Bjork Sonntag, at this time I cannot find out. The people who remember these fires, just remember that this was a custom from the old county that their grandfathers and fathers took part in."

In late August and early September of every year there is a festival called the Schueberfouer, or "Shepherd's Fair." This festival was founded by then ruler John the Blind in 1340. Lasting 18 days (except every fifth year when it lasts 25 days), the Schueberfouer began as a livestock fair. In addition to livestock and pottery, cloth and woolen articles were also displayed and sold. Craftsmen and weavers were originally the organizers and directors of the fair, giving way to a broader sponsorship and direction in the late eighteenth century. Traditionally, each Schueberfouer began with the marching of a flock of sheep called the Hämmelsmarsch. A shepherd and his sheep were followed by a band playing the Hämmelsmarsch tune. During this procession a door to door collection was made. The origin of the tune for the Hämmelsmarsch is unknown. It is known, however, that the carillon of the cathedral was said to have played it in the eighteenth century. The Schueberfouer was brought to the United States by Luxembourgers in the nineteenth century.

There is a noted observance of the Schueberfouer near the end of the Civil War. An immigrant publication named the Luxemburger Gazette, published on September 20, 1917, reported that there had been a northern army military unit founded in 1865 in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, New York, which was referred to as the Lëtzebörger Gard. When the 80 members of this unit met for a reunion after the war, they decided to organize a yearly gathering on the first Monday of September and to organize this event as a Schueberfouer as they had known it in Luxembourg. This event, like the festival in the old country, included a parade, games, dance, and target shooting.

As a result of this reunion and annual Schueberfouers, a united group of Luxembourger-Americans was formed. By 1871 this veterans' group had grown and changed into a new organization called the "Luxembourger Mutual Aid Society." The growth of this organization was not, however, unique among Luxembourger Americans across the country. Several organizations grew out of organized Schueberfouers, in this way, including Chicago's "Luxembourger Brotherhood of America," which was founded on the occasion of its annual Schueberfouer in 1904. Despite the growth of Schueberfouers and similar organizations, the twentieth century has seen a gradual decline in their presence in traditionally Luxembourger communities, including Chicago, Rollingstone, Minnesota, and Remsen, Iowa.

Among Luxembourger-Americans Santa Claus is not a Christmas figure. Rather, a special day was marked early in December to celebrate a "St. Nicholas Day." It is the custom one week before this day for children to put their slippers in front of their bedroom doors so that they might be filled with a small gift by St. Nicholas while they slept. On the eve of December 6 it is also a tradition for children to place plates on dining room or kitchen tables to be filled overnight with sweets and gifts from St. Nicholas.

Many Luxembourger-Americans continue to follow Christmas traditions handed down from the old country. Many celebrate Christmas Eve with family and friends after attending midnight mass. It is not uncommon for local clubs and association to organize nativity plays with children as actors and to arrange concerts to be given later on Christmas day. Many families of Luxembourger descent today also include traditions from the more mainstream Anglo- and German-American cultures.

L ANGUAGE

The native language of the majority of Luxembourgers is Letzebuergesch or Luxembourgisch. This language descends from a Frankish dialect spoken by people who moved into this area between the fourth and sixth centuries A.D. The closest relatives to this language are Flemish, Dutch, and the Plattdeutsch dialects still spoken Germany's Rhineland. Only a few words derive from Celtic tongues exist in Letzebuergesch today. Perhaps the most important retention of Celtic influences are those in the very name of the country and language itself. The presence of French words and phrases is evident in the modern usage of Letzebuergesch, yet French has not had the influence on this language that might have been expected over so many years. Since the year 1830 the two legal languages of Luxembourg have been German and French. It was not until 1984 that Letzebuergesch was actually named the official language of the country. Very little Letzebuergesch has ever been taught in schools, as the language has been mainly learned at home. Although German has been a more popular language within the media, a great many Luxembourgers are wholly conversant in French as well.

GREETINGS AND POPULAR EXPRESSIONS

In Luxembourgisch the following are equivalent expressions used in daily life: "Good morning/hello" is Moien; "Goodbye" is Äddi or a'voir; "Thank you (very much)" is Merci ( villmols ); "Sorry" is "Pardon;" "Excuse me" is Entschëllegt; and "Please" is Wannechglift. The national motto, found everywhere in Luxembourg, is Mir Wöelle Bleiwe Wat Mir Sin, or "We want to remain what we are."

F AMILY AND C OMMUNITY D YNAMICS

In Luxembourger communities of the Midwest, people interacted with one another in several ways. The first was the sharing of farm work. Luxembourger immigrants who were farmers often came to possess land in America ten times or more in size than that of their forebears in the old country. So much land created a great need to organize labor at crucial times of the planting, growing and harvesting seasons. In these crucial times farmers of an area would band together to share in each others' labor. It was thought of as one's responsibility not only to one's neighbor, but to one's family, to offer aid and participate in such communal work. These times of year would provide opportunities for people to come together and share their lives, often holding feasts, dances and other events when the seasonal work was finished. The second important factor in family and community dynamics was the church. Whether providing a time for meeting or providing religious services, the local parish was the focus of community pride. The third major factor was the everyday socializing that took place in towns and farm communities. Among these activities were card playing and quilt making. In town during the summer, people would also go for walks and visit neighbors, often inspecting each other's gardens and discussing their growth, variety, and arrangements.

EDUCATION

In many settlement towns, Luxembourger American education went hand-in-hand with religion. Many of the schools were Catholic and largely staffed by priests, nuns, and lay persons of the Catholic faith. Thus religious and academic instruction were given together, with moral education having great priority. Lessons related to the Catholic rite of catechism were always a part of the school curricula. In the country far from towns, Luxembourger American immigrants often had a one-room schoolhouse education not affiliated with the Catholic church. Despite their isolation from Catholic school instruction in towns, many children were sent to towns to receive weeks of religious education to prepare them for the rite of confirmation or to receive first communion. In some towns there also were literary societies that aided in the advancement of education within their communities by raising funds and establishing libraries.

THE ROLE OF WOMEN

The role of women among Luxembourger immigrants was varied. In towns, women worked in shops and other businesses, raised families, and did the great share of domestic chores. They also took part in church activities involving education, community awareness, and minor fundraising for projects. In the country, women were responsible for much of the overall work of the business of the farms, often relying on one another for mutual support in the tasks of child-raising, health care, education, and household economizing.

COURTSHIP AND WEDDINGS

In Luxembourger American communities, there were many opportunities for courtship between persons of all ages. Going to church, dances, and school and community events provided a means for socializing. Most persons were allowed to choose whom they wished to court or be courted by, although issues of class, ethnicity and faith often acted as barriers to courting outside of one's own group as defined by parents or other family members.

Marriages are traditionally performed along with a Catholic mass. After the marriage a great feast is held, sometimes lasting days, during which gifts are given, traditional dishes are served, songs are sung, and games are played.

FUNERALS

The rites of funerals in Luxembourger American communities are detailed and depend upon many circumstances, including family choice. Luxembourger Americans have changed many of the nineteenth-century customs that followed them from the old country. All funerals, however did share and continue to share common symbolic meanings of the Catholic faith. The funeral is a time for the affirmation of one's own faith and a time to pray for the Christian salvation of the deceased.

INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER ETHNIC GROUPS

In Luxembourger-American communities, there has traditionally been a close alliance and kinship of custom with German-Americans. Many Luxembourgers spoke German and shared many customs, songs, cuisine and morals with Germans. Although this helped forge a bond between the two groups, religious differences between many Protestant Germans and Catholic Luxembourgers could still result in friction. Politics from the homeland also came to influence relations between older Luxembourgers and Germans as seen in the many anti-Prussian sentiments expressed by this group around the turn of the twentieth century, in places like Chicago, Milwaukee, and New York City. In time, however, German and Luxembougian-Americans overcame most of their differences in opinion and have since assimilated to a much greater degree. In relation to other groups Luxembourgers living in towns were often taken for Germans and were sometimes embroiled in anti-German sentiments that arose during World War I.

R ELIGION

Throughout their history, the vast majority of Luxembourgers and Luxembourger-Americans have been Catholic. The country of Luxembourg is covered by one diocese that contains 13 deaneries and 265 parishes in total. Luxembourg has also traditionally been the home of a great number of convents and religious orders, a number that has dwindled since the last century. A small number of Protestants and Jews have also been active for centuries in Luxembourg.

Among Luxembourger-Americans, Catholic churches have served important roles in preserving their heritage. As is common with many immigrant groups, religious practices maintain certain continuities and ties to the homeland. In the beginning of their settlement in the midwestern states there were very few, if any, established churches or assigned priests to minister to the settlers. The building of a church or the establishment of membership to one nearby was often a top priority. Often many of the community's resources went into the establishment of such local religious institutions. In the year 1877, 92 priests of Luxembourg extraction were ministering to these communities.

A great of number of saints popularly venerated in Luxembourg also serve as patron saints of churches in those areas settled by Luxembourger immigrants. In Jackson County, Iowa, for example, one finds a parish dedicated to St. Donatas, the martyr who is thought to protect against storms and lightning, two threats to farmers. Another example is St. Henry's parish, founded in the Luxembourger settlement area north of Chicago and named after a saint who was closely related to Siegfried, the first count of Luxembourg. Symbols of Luxembourg, including the Luxembourg crest, are often found in such shrines dedicated to Luxembourger saints.

Among the many traditions that center on the church, perhaps the most prominent is the one called the Kiirmes. This term, which is a contraction of the words kirch (church) and messe (mass) signifies the mass that is performed when a church is consecrated This celebration traditionally took place on the Sunday following the feast day of the patron saint of the consecrated church. The more secular aspects of this event and celebration in Luxembourger culture involved the gathering of families during the anniversaries of such church consecration masses. At such times, usually between April and November, and most in late fall, very special meals were prepared, and the celebration would last for days.

In America Kiirmes took a different form. It was not the consecration of their own churches that was celebrated, but rather the day in which Kiirmes had been celebrated in the village in Luxembourg from which they came. Kiirmes was, then, an occasion for reunions of families and old country family friends. As those born in Luxembourg grew older and died, this tradition faded, along with the memories of ancestral villages and parishes from where they came.

P OLITICS AND G OVERNMENT

Luxembourger-Americans did not shy away from politics or government in their new home. Many were active proponents of political causes and a several held elected and non-elected positions in public service. Among their group's notable political sentiments was anti-Prussianism, a position that reflected both concerns with the government of the Luxembourg and Luxembourgers' place in relation to German-Americans in many parts of the United States. Another notable moment in Luxembourger-American political history occurred when the United Staes entered the war against Germany in 1914. At this time Luxembourger-Americans came out in numbers strongly for the United States effort and against Germany.

MILITARY

One example of a Luxembourger who found success through the military was Dominik Welter. At the age of 11, Welter came from Luxembourg to settle with his family in Ohio. As a young man Welter struck out and traveled west to seek a fortune in the Gold Rush but eventually returned to his family in Ohio without having had success. In 1861, at the advent of the Civil War, Welter joined the Fourth Ohio Cavalry and worked his way up the ranks to become a captain. Captured at the battle of Chickamunga, he was detained in a prisoner of war camp until the war's end in 1865. After the war in 1877, still a member of the army he traveled to Chicago were he was given the command of a cavalry unit. After resigning from the army Welter was hired as Secretary of Police for Chicago and given the rank of inspector. In the following years he, along with a fellow Luxembourger named Michael Schaack, were the leaders of a political and social organization named the Luxembourg Independent Club of Chicago.

RELATIONS WITH LUXEMBOURG

Throughout the nineteenth century contacts between the Luxembourgers in the United States and in Luxembourg were maintained in various ways. It was not uncommon for visitors from either land to stay awhile and work, often to return with news from either side of the Atlantic. These visitors, some from one's extended family, were not the only conduits on information, however. The Catholic church itself provided many forms of exchange between the two countries as well. It was not uncommon for Luxembourg bishops to keep contact with their emigrated countrymen. One bishop named Koppes made two trips from Luxembourg to America, one in 1901 and one in 1910. Much later, in 1965, another bishop named Lommel is noted for having made a trip to America to invite Luxembourger-Americans to the bicentennial of the Marial festivities in Luxembourg. Another bishop, Jean Hengen, made a trip to Carey, Ohio, in 1975 to participate in the centennial celebration in honor of the founding of the pilgrimage to that community's Our Lady of Consolation shrine.

The importation and circulation of religious objects and figures have also helped to maintain contacts. For example, a church in St. Donatus, Iowa, received a pieta sculpture of Luxembourg artist Victor Thibeau for its pietal chapel. Another of Thibeau's creations was also donated to a church in Schewebsange, Luxembourg.

In addition to these religious and artistic realms, several organizations are dedicated to issues concerning Luxembourger-Americans, including the Luxembourg Jewish Society, begun in 1958 in New York, the Luxembourg-American Social Club established in Chicago in 1960, and the American Luxembourg Society, founded in 1963.

I NDIVIDUAL AND G ROUP C ONTRIBUTIONS

While Luxembourger Americans have been a relatively small group in population with only some 50,000 total immigrants, they have made a great many contributions to American society.

ACADEMIA

Eduard Conzemius gained acclaim in the earlier part of this century as one of the foremost ethnographers of Central American peoples. Emigrating from Luxembourg to the United States to join his brother, Conzemius moved to Chicago and was first employed by the Sherman House Hotel. In the following years he studied English and Spanish while making money as an accountant in Chicago and New Orleans. In 1916 he decided to pursue his dream to study Central American Indians. Leaving the US, he spent time in Honduras and Nicaragua living with the Miskito, Sumu and Rama Indians. In 1932 the Smithsonian Institution published the results of his work on the native languages of these people in a monograph entitled Ethnological Survey of the Miskito and Sumu Indians of Honduras and Nicaragua.

ART

Jean Noerdinger, a prominent modernist artist and proponent of modernism emigrated from Diekirch, Luxembourg to the Chicago area in 1925. While in Luxembourg, Noerdinger had been an outspoken critic of the Luxemburg Artists Union, whose power in support of conservative art he opposed, along with a group of artists he led. While in America he continued to exhibit his art and paint portraits.

FILM, TELEVISION, AND THEATER

Perhaps the greatest star of Luxembourger-American descent was the actress Loretta Young. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in January 1913, Young received her first part when she was four through her uncle, who was working as an assistant director in Hollywood. In 1927 she had another small part in the film Naughty, But Nice. From this point into the early thirties, Young was acting in six to nine films each year. In the mid-1930s Young joined the Fox studios and by then had become one of Hollywood's most prominent leading ladies. In 1947 she was awarded the Academy Award for best actress in The Farmer's Daughter, a film about a girl from a rural area who works her way into the U.S. House of Representatives as a congresswoman. In 1949 she was nominated again for an Academy Award. In 1953 Young began her television career with her series The Loretta Young Show. This show gained Young Emmy Awards in 1954, 1956, and 1958. After 1962 Young did not appear before the camera until 1986, when she starred in a made-for-television film called Lady in the Corner. In 1996 she was retired and living happily in Palm Springs, California.

JOURNALISM

Nicholas Gonner is chiefly known as the author of an authoritative study of the emigration of Luxembourgers into the New World entitled Die Luxemburger in der neuen Welt: Beiträge zur Geschichte der Luxemburger (Luxembourgers in the New World: Contributions to the History of the Luxembourgers). This work was written for and published by the Luxembourger Gazette, published in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1889 and was meant to be not only a chronicle of Luxembourger success in the New World, but also to be read in Europe as a testament to the success in "the land of opportunity," as the United States imagined itself.

LITERATURE AND MUSIC

Although Luxembourg itself has been home to a great many writers in French, Luxembourgisch and German, Luxembourger-Americans have yet to make conspicuous inroads into American literature.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Among prominent scientists of Luxembourger descent are Johann and Joseph Druecker, two brothers from Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. In 1884, the Drueckers invented a gas lime-kiln that greatly improved their own business and the lime industry overall. Also notable is biologist Francois Mergen.

SOCIAL ISSUES

The first Luxembourger-American to serve in the United States Congress was Nicholas Muller. Born in Luxembourg on November 15, 1836, he attended common schools in the city of Metz and thereafter attended the Luxembourg Athenaeum. Upon immigrating to the United States, the family settled in New York City. Muller was employed as a railroad ticket agent for over 20 years, during which time he was one of the promoters and directors of the Germania Bank in New York. From 1875 to 1876 Muller served as a member of the State Assembly of New York and was also a member of the State Central Committee. In 1876 Muller was elected as a Democrat to the Forty-fifth and then re-elected to the Forty-sixth Congress, serving from March 4, 1877, to March 3, 1881. Losing his seat after an unsuccessful re-election bid in late 1880, Muller regained it in 1882, serving another five years until 1887. In 1888, Muller was appointed president of the New York City Police Board and to one other minor office until he was again elected to the U.S. Congress, where he served until his resignation on December 1, 1902. After holding and attempting to hold other minor offices, Muller died in New York City, December 12, 1917.

Another addition to the history of Luxembourger-Americans was the thirty-second President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt is said to be descendant of Philip de la Noye (or de Lannoy), who arrived on the ship Fortune. De la Noye is thought to be the first Luxembourger to emigrate to North America. Roosevelt was born on January 30, 1882, in Hyde Park, New York, and served as President from 1933 until his death on April 12, 1945.

SPORTS

Perhaps the most famous athlete of Luxembourger-American descent is tennis star Chris Evert. Born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 21, 1954, Evert came to dominate the sport of tennis throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s and continued to win many important matches into the late 1980s. In 1970, at the age of 15, Evert made her first mark in an important match, beating top-ranked Margaret Court in a small tournament. Having become a professional on her eighteenth birthday in 1972, by the time of her retirement in the late 1980s she had earned nearly $9,000,000. Evert won the U.S. Open women's singles title from 1975-1978, as well in the years 1980 and 1982. She won the Wimbledon singles title in 1974, 1976, and 1981, the French Open singles title in 1974, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, and 1986, and the Australian Open singles title in 1982 and 1984. Her World Tennis Association singles titles number 157. In 1995 Evert was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. In 1985, she was named Greatest Woman Athlete of the last 25 years by the Women's Sports Foundation.

VISUAL ARTS

Edward Steichen, one of the most prominent American figures in the art of photography, was born in Luxembourg on March 27, 1879. In 1882 his parents moved from Luxembourg to settle in Hancock, Michigan. By the age of 21, Steichen had achieved a moderate degree of success as a photographer, having had his pictures shown in Chicago and Philadelphia. His photographs portrayed a distinctive soft and fuzzy quality. In his day these photographs were considered highly innovative. In the following decades, Steichen became one of the most sought after and lauded photographers in the United States, showing his photos in many of the major shows of this era. During his service in the First World War Steichen's artistic philosophy and direction changed profoundly. Returning home after the war, he loudly proclaimed his rejection of impressionism and the other elements of style he had made famous and strongly supported a stark form of realism. Steichen then burned all his paintings in a bonfire and took up commercial photography in a studio that he operated from 1923 to 1938. During this time he photographed literary and artistic personalities as well as members of the elite of New York City, and he became the chief photographer for Vanity Fair and Vogue magazines. With the outbreak of World War II, Steichen, then 62 years of age, was commissioned by the U.S. Navy to photograph the war at sea. During and after the war Steichen continued to have major shows and became the director of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in 1947, a post that he held until 1962. He worked until his death on March 25, 1973.

M EDIA

PRINT

Luxembourg News of America.

This monthly publication is meant to serve as a medium of communication for Luxembourgers living in the United States and also for their descendants and friends. It contains news of Luxembourg societies and anything of interest in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Address: 496 North Northwest Highway, Park Ridge, Illinois 60629.

Telephone: (312) 394-8253.

Although there are no other well known papers, or radio or television programs that address Luxembourger-American cultural issues today, the various organizations and associations that concern themselves with Luxembourger-American issues have a wealth of printed and printable, audio and visual materials, accessible by phone, fax or the internet.

INTERNET

Both of the following sites contain many helpful links to more information about Luxembourger American culture and heritage.

Michaelus Luxembourg Links.

Online: http://artmichaelis.com/links/luxlinks.html .

Luxembourg Connections.

Shelby County, Iowa, Genealogy.

Online: http://www.rootsweb.com/~iashelby/lux.htm .

M USEUMS AND R ESEARCH C ENTERS

Stearns History Museum.

Address: 235 33rd Avenue South, St. Cloud, Minnesota 56301.

Telephone: (320) 253-8424.

Fax: (320) 253-2172.

E-mail: info@stearns-museum.org.

Online: http://www.stearns-museum.org .

S OURCES FOR A DDITIONAL S TUDY

American Luxembourg Society 1882-1982. Luxembourg: Imprimerie Saint-Paul, 1991.

Klein, Frank W., and Suzanne L. Bunkers Good Earth, Black Soil. Winona, MN: Saint Mary's College Press, 1981.

Lies, Joseph J. Luxemburger Immigrants to Aurora. Aurora, IL: Aurora Historical Society, 1976.

Nilles, Mary E. Dann. Singen Wir' Victoria! Luxemburger Immigration to America. 1848-1872: A Selective Bibliography. Brussels: Center for American Studies, 1979.

——. Rollingstone. A Luxembourgisch Village in Minnesota. Luxembourg: Editions Guy Binsfeld, 1983.