The South America, China and India Travelogue
Saturday, July 31st, 2010It does not matter where you are travelling to, going overseas is always a terrific adventure. One of the invaluable lessons someone can learn by traveling abroad is that each 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 an amazing cultural story of the world. Different cultures celebrate their holidays very differently depending on where they are from. Looking at the three spectacular regions, we can visualize how South Americans, Chinese and Indians celebrate holidays.
South America holidays are mainly Catholic in nature. South American holidays such as Saints festivals are very popular; holidays such as 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. Festivals such as Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday are very popular, South America has a similar called Carnaval. This festival celebrates the day before the forty-day Catholic festival of Lent and involves massive celebrations of excess, samba music, and parades.
Holidays in China can be very different for the locals and are very different to other nations. China is known for its unique culture where the sacred and orthodox meets the modern and the eccentric. In the traditional culture of China, holidays are of great spiritual importance. Chinese New Year also known as the spring festival is the biggest holiday celebrated in China. Almost all of the various ethnic groups in China hold the day sacred, partaking in many rituals and ceremonials to make sure luck in the coming year. A more modern holiday is Woman’s Day, a day that all women in China are allowed to take off work.
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 Indian people, holidays come every day of the year. A civic holiday celebrated by most is the birthday of celebrated civil rights leader, Mohandas K. Gandhi. Gandhi’s natal day has been designated as a day of non-violence, and no booze is traded on this day in his honour.
Traveling is made more interesting when you learn more about the various cultures. These holidays are a short list of the many marvellous and exhilarating holidays seen abroad.