Traditions at Sea
Today, we will learn about the USS Intrepid and traditions sailors celebrated on board.
Before we start, let’s think about these questions:
What is a Tradition?
A continuing pattern of:
in a community.
The USS Intrepid is an aircraft carrier that served from 1943-1974
What traditions do you celebrate?
The USS Intrepid is an aircraft carrier that served from 1943-1974
National Traditions
Religious Traditions
Family Traditions
Familiar Traditions!
The USS Intrepid is an aircraft carrier that served from 1943-1974
Press play on the next slide to learn some ways sailors on Intrepid celebrated holiday traditions at sea.
Familiar Traditions!
The USS Intrepid is an aircraft carrier that served from 1943-1974
Were any ways that sailors celebrated traditions on Intrepid similar to how you celebrate?
What differences did you notice?
Navy Traditions
The USS Intrepid is an aircraft carrier that served from 1943-1974
The Navy has its own special traditions.
Navy Traditions: Commissioning
The USS Intrepid is an aircraft carrier that served from 1943-1974
A COMMISSIONING is a Navy tradition.
It marks the first day a ship officially becomes a part of the Navy. It is a bit like a birthday! Intrepid’s first commissioning was on August 16, 1943.
Navy Traditions: Commissioning
An important part of the commissioning ceremony was breaking a bottle across the bow of the ship.
Navy Traditions: Commissioning
The Navy celebrates a ship’s commissioning with:
Cake
Dancing
Music
Is this similar to how you celebrate any traditions?
Navy Traditions: Crossing the Line
Have you ever received an award for accomplishing something special?
On the right is a certificate many sailors received while on board Intrepid and other Navy ships. What symbols do you see?
Navy Traditions: Crossing the Line
A tradition the Navy celebrate is “crossing the line.” As the Intrepid sailed, it would sometimes cross the EQUATOR, or the imaginary line that separates the northern part of the world and the southern part of the world.
North
South
Equator
Navy Traditions: Crossing the Line
When the Intrepid crossed the equator, the ship would celebrate with different sporting events and foods.
If a sailor had crossed the equator before they were called a shellback.
If a sailor had not crossed the equator before they were called a polliwog.
Navy Traditions: Crossing the Line
During Crossing the Line, pollywogs had a special menu of food to eat. This menu combined very different foods together or items that were not meant to be food at all!
Items on the polliwog menu included Flying Fish Wings, Boiled Sea Worms, and Fish Eye Pudding.
Sailors did not truly eat these foods! Cooks combined different foods on board to create silly looking dishes.
Navy Traditions: Menu
Food was very important to sailors on board Intrepid. During the holidays, the sailors working in the kitchen did their best to bring some of home to each man on board. They made recipes from all over the United States, incorporating different cultures and traditions.
Using the tray on the next slide, build a menu for the sailors on board Intrepid based on your family traditions! What foods are important to your family or community? Are there any foods that you eat on special occasions? What foods would be important for you to have after being at sea for many months?
Navy Traditions: Menu
Reflection