Cultures of the World

[bonishah88]

Guys, recently i have been visiting this site and am enjoying reading about the different cultures of the world(visit it to know what it says about your country!!).

But i would like to know more from you. This way i also get to know more about my co-members. so please if you can post anything related to your culture, religion or festivals coming up, do so.

P.S. Do not bash on others religion or culture, please. This is just to learn more.

P.P.S. I'm not posting about anything right now, but will soon about a festival which is coming up.

[hellnoire]

That site doesn't have Sealand!

Canada's rather laid back, I'd say, for the most part. My part of Canada is easy going, not very many people (less then a million in the entire province!) and is as far East as you can get by driving. From there, I'll let you figure out what one it is.

We have a mix of cultures, of North American mostly, but there are some hints and tastes of European, Asian, and African. And while I say hints, I'm understating... unlike the USA's melting pot effect that everyone speaks of, my part of Canada, we are very multicultural. I've got two friends from Germany, one from Greece, one from the UK, one from Pakistan, and the rest don't say .

We also have a mix of religions. I've got Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses, Buddhists (myself being the Buddhist), and many more.

It's kinda hard to sum up in one word... unless we use the word that was used in the first place, Kanada. It means 'community', an old Native American word. And for Canada, it's a suiting word. We are a community, a multitude, yes, but one none the less.

[bonishah88]

Thanks hellnoire, thats really good to hear. sealand is the place you stay at ?? The site lists it by countries so it wont be there.

btw you say you are a buddhist, were you born one or did you convert ?? you know buddhism comes very close to Jainism(what i follow), so its kind of good to know about it.

[kavinraja]

I was from India.
2nd most populated country in the world which believes in the concept of "unity in diversity".
Cant say whats our exact culture, because it varies from state to state. But entirely it doesn't entertain love marriages.
Girls have shyness, on contrary is boys.
A festival loving nation where we celebrate festivals atleast once a month.
Much more to say, i think other india guys will tell the rest.

[safeguy]

I'm from Singapore and we're a multi-religion and multi-cultural country that lives in peace...no self-internal wars among different races/religions (3 major ones being Malay, Indian and Chinese) ..although I can't lie and say that there have been no 'underground' racist jokes...but that's fine with most of us here....we can take the pinch and smile....at most we say F""K silently

OK, back to serious topic, Singapore's actually a "Malay country" back in the past...the real name being Singapura which means "City of the Lion"...we still sing our National Anthem in the Malay language and it's called "Majulah Singapura"...which means "Onward Singapore"

Although the national language here is Malay, we commonly use English to communicate among ourselves and with foreigners....and that is our main difference when compared to our neighboring country, Malaysia (where Raymond's located at)...

Rather than mentioning stuffs that's already available here, let me tell you something that is more interesting....do you know that quite a number of Singaporeans have this "Kiasu" behaviour/nature where we are constantly in 'fear of losing'....

If you really want to know more about our "Kiasu" nature, then I suggest you read this blog...it tells you of stories about Kiasu Singaporeans and the Singaporean lifestyle...

KiasuSingaporean

For e.g, we have this "Singaporean practice of reserving a seat by placing a packet of tissue paper on the table, known by the colloquial term ‘chope’" More details here:

The Tissue Paper Reservation – Uniquely Singaporean

Cool huh? Maybe you would want to try that back at your home country.

But of course, all these is written in the perspective of Singaporeans....wouldn't it be nicer to see what others (e.g Malaysians) think of our "Kiasu-ness"?

A Kiasu Experience

But why am I saying all this??? Reason is despite how 'ugly' some might find this "Kiasu-ness", it's still something that clearly distincts Sinapgapore from other counties in the globe....it's a "uniquely Singapore" thing...

So remember, if you were asked by a person to describe singapore, just say the word "Kiasu" and smile away

[Ranjan]

I'm from India aged 15..
Personally, i don't believe in any particular religion or culture.. According to me, all religions are equal and i believe in HUMANITY.
But as the topic demands, my religion is Hinduism having a beautiful culture..
As kavinraja said, here you'll find one or two festivals in any month...
For eg. Diwali- festival of fireworks, Holi- festival of colors etc..
Hold on.. There's one coming on this very 14th Jan- Makar Sankranti..
I've many friends belonging to different religions and cultures.. Some are Muslims, some are Sikhs, Bengalis and so on i.e. Unity in Diversity...

[bonishah88]

I was from India

@kavin : you do not stay in india anymore ?

@ safeguy : thanks for "Kiasu". Unfortunately cannot try it in india cos the population is just too much(ya, Indians are quite productive ). If i try to reserve a seat on a public transport it would definitely result in a fight. but just as Kiasu is a "uniquely Singapore" thing, I can say that Bargaining is a "uniquely Indian " thing. and not for most in a bad sense but to enjoy the challenge.

@Ranjan : nice to know there are many indians here. ya, 14th jan is "Makar Sankranti -the festival of Kites". was going to post about it.

and about unity in diversity-thats the thing about india that i like too much. India consists of many religions but you wont find biasedness on the basis of religion(true, we did have issues regarding that and casteism in the past but modern India respects all religion equally.) In fact, due to this fact you will find one or more festivals just around the corner(when i was in school, i used to thank god for that...free holidays). Festivals is one more thing we do not have dearth of after population that is.

[safeguy]

(when i was in school, i used to thank god for that...free holidays).

Same reason why I like festivals

[kavinraja]

I still stay in India bonishah.Thats a grammatical error. I should have used am instead.
Where were you from? I mean which part of india.

[bonishah88]

I'm from Mumbai - you ?