RELIGION IN SINGAPORE

Singapore or Republic of Singapore is a sovereign country and island placed in Southeast Asia. Due to its diversity, many religions are practiced in this country. The five major religions that coexist in Singapore are: Buddhism, Islam, followed by Christianity, Taoism and Hinduism. Although these are the most practiced religions, there are also others but they are practiced by a lower percentage of the population.

   Buddhism is practiced by more than three-fifths of Singapore's population in its three main strands: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. The teachings practiced by Buddhists are: Morality, Wisdom and Concentration. The art of Fengshui, which consists of evoking positive energy, is a great point of this religion.

Kong Meng San Phor Kar See Monastery
(Chinese Mahayana Buddhist temple in Singapore)

ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Every year on 17 March, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in many parts of the world but, especially, by Irish communities. This is a cultural and religious celebration that honors the death date of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.

   At the beginning of the 17^th century, St. Patrick’s Day was made an official Christian feast day. This date commemorates the arrival of Christianity in Ireland introduced by Saint Patrick. However, this is also a celebration of the heritage and culture of the Irish.

KENYA

   Hi everyone! It’s time to talk about Kenya. (I hardly recommend you its website about tourism, it’s very nice!). Kenya has two official languages: English and Swahili despite the fact that there are many languages which are talked in Kenya.  

   Here I leave you some interesting things about Kenya and its society:

  v     Kenya was known as British East Africa, but it became independent in 1963 and in 1964 it became a Republic.
  v  On 12 December, it is celebrated “Jamhuri Day” (jamhuri means “republic” in Swahili) which commemorates the day that the country got the independence.
  v  It was named Kenya, which means “white mountain”, because of the Mount Kenya which is a traditional place of the country and the second-highest mountain of Africa.
  v  The Kikuyu tribe is the one that has more population (20%) between the 70 tribes which inhabit Kenya.
  v  Kenyan’s life expectancy is of 52 years but it is thought that people use to die when they get on about 47 because of AIDS.
  v  Kenya’s athletes are known worldwide because of their good ability in middle-distance running, of which Kevin Rudisha is the current Olympic champion.

                                                                               Kevin Rudisha

  v  When a woman has a child, they are called “mum” plus the name of her first child.
  v  Coffee is an export product, they don’t consume it. They usually drink tea and beer despite coffee is the biggest income generator.                                           

       Woman collecting coffee.

  v  After coffee, as you can see in the web site of Kenya, tourism has a great influence in the economy of the country.
  v   Kenya has only two seasons. There is one dry and another completely rainy.
  v  The great majority of the population of Kenya, they are Protestants.
  v  Althoug the 90% of the population is black, there is also white population and they are Kenyans born there too.

         I end with this amazing photograph taken from the official page of tourism in Kenya. Hope you have enjoied it.

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SSources:

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/countries/kenya.html

http://buzzkenya.com/facts-about-kenya/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya

http://www.magicalkenya.com/what-to-do/

LIFE IN NIGERIA

   Hi everyone! Today I'm going to talk about Nigeria (It has no web site). You know that Nigeria is the most crowded country of Africa as well as one of the most crowded of the world. You should be amazed to know that more than 500 languages are spoken in Nigeria because of those sorts of people who belong to different tribes. Between these languages, there are four regional languages recognized as official. These are Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo and Fula. But as you already had thought, if any of them have different languages, how they could communicate with each other? Well, this is the reason why English is the official language! Here I leave you some important aspects about their customs:

   Food is very important in their culture. Whenever they have guests, they offer them food because it has a fundamental role in celebrations. It is a curious fact for occidental people that instead of using utensils for eating, Nigerians use their hands. Although it is considered a rudeness to eat with the left hand. They usually eat foods raised by themselves as manioc, yam and corn. When they have to cook it, they usually make a mush made with corn, millet and sorghum, or ragouts of meat and vegetables.

(From left to right: manioc, yam and corn.)

   Nigerian people has a society full of sexism. Man is considered superior than woman to the point that a man can hit a woman providing the injury don’t be permanent. Men, they are farmers and they also go to the market to sell their products. Women, on the other hand, should work and provide money to their family. Although they cannot have a well-paid job or work in a job considered “superior”.

(One of the hardest jobs women bear.)                             

   Almost every ethnic group allowed more than one wife to only one man. The ceremony takes place at the bride’s home and she has a price as some kind of compensation. It is usually made by money or cattle. The great majority of women get married when they are too young, and they often do it with men who are too old.

   There are some interesting facts about them which probably look strange for us. Did you know that it is very common for them that two men walk hand in hand? It is to a certain point unusual for us, but they only think about that as two friends walking and having an enjoyable conversation. Another aspect is that they haven’t the same concept of time than us. For this reason they are not punctual people, sometimes they suffer great delays.

Sources:
http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Nigeria.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigeria
http://geo-nigeria.blogspot.com.es/2010/07/costumbres.html
http://classroom.synonym.com/nigerian-traditions-6218.html
https://www.naij.com/309001-7-strange-traditions-in-nigeria-you-probably-never-knew.html

AMERICAN FILM INDUSTRY

The cinema in the United States (also referred to as Hollywood) has a huge effect on cinema all around the world. It can be divided into four periods: silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period.  The U.S. film industry is based in and around Hollywood, Los Angeles, California.

Hollywood Sign on Mount Lee, Los Angeles, California

TRADITIONAL FOODS IN ENGLAND

Traditionally, British food has consisted of beef, lamb, pork, chicken and fish. These dishes are usually served with potatoes and also a piece of vegetable. In England, traditional meals have ancient origins. Some of these meals are bread and cheese, roasted and stewed meats, meat and game pies, and freshwater and saltwater fish. In this post, we are going to see some of the most traditional dishes in England:

Fish and chips

Maybe you have heard of "Fish and Chips". This is a very well-known dish in England that consists of fish (it can be cod, haddock, huss or plaice) deep fried in flour batter with chips (fried potatoes).

Māori and Pākehā cultures in New Zealand

 The island country of New Zealand is situated in the South Pacific Ocean, in the continent of Oceania. It's mainly formed by three islands: the North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, the South Island or Te Waipounamu and the Stewart Island. This country is characterized for the coexistence of two cultures: the māori, who are the original polynesian indigenous people of the islands, and the pākehā or "new" newzealanders, settlers that came from Europe in the mid 19^th century.

 The first data known in the history of New Zealand is estimated to come from the 13^th century with the arrival of the first polynesian indigenous. The location of their original homeland is still a mistery today, but it is known that they came from the polynesian islands, since their language and culture are very similar to the ones we can find there. They established a new society in the islands, even though at the beggining they lived in separate tribes and didn't identify as a single culture. Their religion was politeistic and they had an extraordinarily rich oral culture. They were great hunters and prodigious fishermen.

People dressed with traditional māori outfits

                                            

 As for the pākehā, they are the European immigrants who came to New Zealand in the 19^th century. Pākehā culture is mainly influenced by the English one but it actually is a mixture of many European cultures and traditions. At first, the settlers did not intentd to stay permanently, but they realized it was a new land full of opportunities. They signed the Treaty of Waitangi with the indigenous, trying to enable friendly relationships, but a series of events unleashed a war. Both sides suffered big losses, but peace was established and England got the control of the country.

Treaty of Waitangi

                                                               

 Both cultures borrowed many customs from one another. Many māori converted to Christianity and the pākehā taught them to read and to write. The pākehā borrowed māori cultural practices and motifs, using them as something distinctive in artistical works, such as paintings or literature.

Māori greeting, known as Hongi

                                                    

Sources:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_New_Zealand
• http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/New-Zealand.html
• http://www.tourism.net.nz/new-zealand/about-new-zealand/maori-stories-and-legends.html
• http://www.newzealand.com/us/feature/europeans-arrive-to-aotearoa/

AUSTRALIA'S ANZAC DAY

   Today we are going to talk about Australia. In particular, about the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps). It is a celebration which takes place every April 25^th and it commemorates the landing of the Australian and New Zealand troops in Gallipoli to fight against the Ottoman Empire during World War I. They made a mistake in the landing as it was not in the place that they had expected. For this reason the battle was lost and many soldiers died.  It was first made in Gallipoli in 1990 by some militaries and veterans who have survived this battle. Since then, people go out every April 25th at sunrise for remembering those soldiers who died.

   Here I leave you a video which explains clearly why they celebrate ANZAC day:

   During the day some activities which have to do with the commemoration of the soldiers are done. Since the very beginning of the day, prayers are made in front of the casualties soldiers’ statues and a mass is hold in every church as well.   Besides it is made the ‘gunfire breakfast’ which is the breakfast that soldiers used to take prior to a morning battle. It is a cocktail made of coffee and rum but people also take another sort of breakfast: It is Turkish toasted bread with Vegemite spread over it. For going with it, they drink 'Billly tea' (it was first made by the Australian settlers who made their tea in the fire with a billy) or a strong Turkish coffee. I think it is a good form of trying to join both cultures, the Australian one and the one which those days of war was its enemy.

(A coffe with rum and two slices  

of bread with Vegemite)  
                                    

   In almost every town are held Dawn services which deal with a few minutes of silence

and in every capital city there are held marches (ANZAC Day Marches) which deal with a march-past of soldiers and veterans.

(This one is from Brisbade CBD on 2013) 

   The ANZAC day remains the bravery of those soldiers who took part in that campaign and those who gave their lives for the homeland.

Sources: 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzac_Day
http://www.gallipoli.gov.au/
http://www.weekendnotes.com/anzac-day-dawn-service-gunfire-breakfast/
http://www.actrsl.org.au/AnzacDay2015-%20InfoPack.pdf
http://www.anzac.govt.nz/significance/
https://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac-tradition/