June 20, 2010
The Various Festivals in South America, China and India
No matter which destination is chosen, going abroad is a wonderful adventure. Every culture has its own quirks and eccentricities, but is of level importance to all other threads in the quilt of humanity. The mix of each regions’ culture creates an amazing cultural story of the world. Each culture is different in their customs, festivities and most interestingly, their holidays. Looking at the 3 spectacular regions, we can picture how South Americans, Chinese and Indians celebrate holidays.
South America holidays are mainly Catholic in nature. Saints carnivals are some of the most celebrated holidays in South America; holidays like Dia de Todos Los Santos celebrate 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. Carnaval is one of the most known festivals in South America, 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 different for the locals and are very unusual to other regions. China has a unique blend of cultures where the sacred and conventional meets the modern-day and the eccentric. Holidays observed in China are of great spiritual importance in the conventional culture. Chinese New Year also known as the spring festival is the biggest holiday celebrated in China. Everyone in China take Chinese New Year really seriously and hold the day sacred, partaking in rituals and customs to ensure a smooth year ahead. Modern holidays like Women’s Day are also adopted where all women in China are allowed to take time off.
Holidays in India have a different tone than either of the aforementioned nations. These holidays range from those associated to Hinduism to Christian holidays, to Muslim festivities. 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 natal day has been declared as a day of non-violence, and no booze is traded on this day in his honour.
Half of the experience when traveling is knowing about the culture of the country that you will be visiting. These holidays are a short list of the many marvellous and exhilarating holidays seen abroad.
Filed at 2:33 am under Consumers' Mart, Traveling
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