Experiencing Awesome Cultures in South America, China and India
Traveling overseas is always an breathtaking and wonderful adventure. One of the valuable lessons travelling overseas is learning that each country and culture has its own quirks and eccentricities, but is of equal importance to all other threads in the quilt of humanity. The mix of each regions’ culture creates a magnificent cultural story of the world. Each culture is different in their traditions, celebrations and most interestingly, their holidays. Looking at the 3 prominent regions, we can visualize how South Americans, Chinese and Indians celebrate holidays.
South America holidays are normally Catholic in nature. Some of the most celebrated holidays in South America are Saints carnivals; Dia de Todos Los Santos for instance celebrates all Catholic saints, but each day of the year celebrates a specific saint. South Americans usually get their names based on the saint whose day they were born on. One of the most renowned festivals in South America is Carnaval, the equivalent of Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday. Carnaval celebrates the day before the forty-day Catholic festival of Lent and involves huge celebrations of excess, samba music, and parades.
Holidays in China can be very diverse for the locals and are very dissimilar to other regions. China is a nation where the sacred and orthodox meets the modern-day and the eccentric. The chinese celebrate their holidays with great spiritual importance. The spring festival, or Chinese New Year, is the largest holiday celebrated in China. Nearly all of the diverse ethnic groups in China hold the day sacred, partaking in many rituals and ceremonials to make sure luck in the coming year. Modern holidays like Women’s Day are also adopted where all women in China are permitted to take time off.
Holidays in India are very much different from the aforementioned countries. These holidays range from those related to Hinduism to Christian holidays, to Muslim celebrations. For people in India, 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 declared as a day of non-violence, and no booze is sold on this day in his honor.
Traveling is made more interesting when you learn more about the diverse cultures. These holidays are a short list of the many marvelous and exciting holidays seen abroad.