ABSTRACT
The rituals are highly formalized. A family member takes control of the microphone and orchestrates the evening, but the guests essentially know what to do. Reading Palestinian history, one finds that Palestinians have had little to celebrate since the turn of the past century. At a time when most former European colonies were struggling for or had achieved their independence, Palestinians were struggling to stay put. The word nakba foreshadowed the mood of Palestinians for decades to come, as 750,000 Palestinians became refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. Most of these refugees eventually ended up in camps and received rations from the international community. Even the wedding became a field of struggle. Post-1948 Palestinian poetry largely emerged from Israel, where censors were vigilant. In response, poets transformed the weddings between the man and woman to that between man and land/Palestine.
