Did You Know ?

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  Did you know that there are 3 main groups of Plautdietsch (Low German) Mennonites in Belize? The Old Colony, Old Order and Kleine Gemeinde and then there's the smaller groups that have been formed as more and more people leave these traditional churches and start their own churches or join existing non-conservative ones.
  Did you know that there are 3 other conservative Mennonite groups that are made up of Mestizo (mixed Hispanic-Maya), Maya, Creole and coolies (mixed Creole-East Indian) and are not related to neither were they started by any Plautdietsch Mennonites? That's right, the Holdemans, Beachy Amish and various churches of Conservatives were all started as entirely different and separate from the "German" Mennonites. The Beachy Amish and Conservative Mennonites are often confused with each other due to nearly identical long cape dresses  and white head-coverings on the women, except the Conservative are a little more liberal in both dressing and style of living than the Beachy Amish. Most Conservative men do not have a beard while many of the Beachy Amish do grow one.
  Did you know that of all the conservative and traditional Mennonites, the Holdeman ladies wear the "fanciest" dresses? Fancy in that it is shorter, tighter and sewn with more style than other Mennonite dresses.
  Did you know that Belize has the third largest population of Mennonites in the English-speaking countries on the Western Hemisphere?
  Did you know that the Mennonites of Shipyard are the only group that has been the most widely publicized of all the Mennos in this country? They have been featured in leading newspapers from around the world, in Youtube videos, in media platforms such as  Facebook, in documentary channels, in recipes and cookbooks. They are also the only group that is 100% white-skinned and do not mingle with other cultures.
  Did you know that in 1966 an amendment was made to some immigration policies in Belize which prevented other new groups of Mennonites from coming in large crowds to live in isolated communities such as Shipyard and Spanish Lookout? A good example is the Old Order Mennonites of Barton Creek who for awhile had some Maya farmers living among them.
  Did you know that the Holdeman church, also known as Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, is the only one with written doctrines, "central government", and the belief that theirs is only "true" church?
  Did you know that in Belmopan is a small group of non-conservative Mennonites who left Spanish Lookout many years ago after experiencing a charismatic revival? They were nicknamed "Locals" and "Hallelujas". They built businesses in Belmopan and have now mingled back with Spanish Lookout due to religious and racial barriers being crumbled.
  Did you know that the Old Order Mennonites of Lower and Upper Barton Creek and surrounding communities are the most easily confused with Amish? Just so you know, Old Order Amish men do not grow mustaches, but the Old Order Mennonites do. Also, the Amish have the tradition of letting their youth run wild for a certain time before joining the church which is not something that is practiced by these Mennonites.
  Did you know that Upper Barton Creek is practically empty? Due to internal matters, people moved out and started new communities. A new group of Old Order Mennonites from Ontario, Canada is settling in this area. They are a little bit more liberal than the ones already here in that they use some farm machinery that does not require horse power and in their style of dressing.
 Some nicknames that Mestizos have applied to the Mennonites are: menonas, which usually refers to Spanish Lookout and Blue Creek Mennonites; shipiareño (shipyard people) which refers to the Old Colony Mennonites of northern Belize; barbudos (longbeard guys) which refers to the Old Order Mennonites.

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Mennonite Foods

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         The Old Colony, Kleine Gemeinde, and Old Order have a diet which mainly consists of homemade bread, cottage cheese, noodles, pork, potatoes, and stewed beans. Milk is used in many of their meals, such as casseroles and faspa foods. Some dishes from the Plautdietsch groups are:   nuddelsuppe:  noodle soup made with home-made noodles    werenaki:  (perogies see picture above ) made of pockets of flour with  glums  (cottage cheese) filling,  schmaunfat  (white gravy made of flour, milk and black pepper), and  formavorscht  (pork sausage). The perogies are then boiled and served. I recommend it to anyone who wants to try out Plautdietsch foods although I prefer the fried ones.  Cheesy or creamy casseroles: often it will contain meat and cream with potatoes or macaroni   borscht:  a vegetable soup with bits of meat sometimes added to it    Clops: patties from either ground m...
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Mennonites and Music

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Mennonite Houses

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