Learning about Diverse Cultures through Traveling
July 30th, 2010It does not matter which destination is selected, going overseas is a fantastic adventure. Every culture has its own oddities and eccentricities, but is of level importance to all other threads in the quilt of humanity. The cultural story of the world is all weaved together by each regional color. Cultures differ in their dances, customs, and perhaps most interestingly, their holidays. Looking at the three spectacular countries, we can visualize how South Americans, Chinese and Indians celebrate holidays.
South America holidays are normally Catholic in nature. South American holidays such as Saints carnivals are very popular; Dia de Todos Los Santos for instance celebrates all Catholic saints, but each day of the year celebrates a specific saint. People are often named for the saint whose day they were born on. Festivals such as Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday are very popular, South America has a similar called Carnaval. Carnaval celebrates the day before the forty-day Catholic festival of Lent and involves massive celebrations of excess, samba music, and parades.
Holidays in China are very distinct in comparison to other nations. China is a nation where the religious and orthodox meets the modern and the eccentric. The chinese celebrate their holidays with great spiritual importance. Chinese New Year also known as the spring festival is the largest holiday celebrated in China. Virtually everyone in China hold the day sacred, partaking in rituals and ceremonies to ensure a lucky and healthy year ahead. More modern holidays such as Women’s Day is also celebrated, this is where all women in China are allowed to take time off work.
Holidays in India have a different tone than either of the aforementioned regions. These holidays range from those associated to Hinduism to Christian holidays, to Muslim celebrations. For the Indian population, holidays come every day of the year. The most famous civic holiday celebrated is the birthday of celebrated civil rights leader, Mohandas Gandhi. Gandhi’s birthday has been designated as a day of non-violence, and no liquor is sold on this day in his respect.
World travel is made more interesting when you learn a little bit about the culture in which you’ll be visiting. These are just a handful of the many wonderful and exhilarating holidays seen abroad.