‘Culture, Tradition and Religion’ Archives
The Sami
The Sami The Sami are an indigenous people living in the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia’s Kola peninsula. Originally, the Sami religion was animistic; that is, for them, nature and natural objects had a conscious life, a spirit. Therefore, one was expected to move quietly in the wilderness and avoid making a disturbance [...]
Buddha
Buddha Buddha can refer to the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, or to anyone who has attained the same depth and quality of enlightenment. From the standpoint of classical Buddhist doctrine, the word "Buddha" denotes, not just a single religious teacher who lived in a particular epoch, but a type of person of which there have been many [...]
What Do the Irish Do on St. Patrick’s Day?
What Do the Irish Do on St. Patrick's Day? Wearing shamrocks and the color green are only a few of the traditions observed on St. Patrick's Day, March 17. But not all of these traditions are traditional to the Irish! Bridget Haggerty, whose Irish family lived in England when she was a young girl, developed the Web site Irish Culture and [...]
Noah’s Ark Found?
Noah's Ark Found? Many people know the story of Noah's ark. Three major world religions—Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—believe that God told a man named Noah to fill a boat (or ark) with two animals from every species on Earth. According to the Bible, Noah was protecting the animals from a great flood. Many rumors exist about the [...]
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year The most important holiday in China is the Lunar New Year. Since it is based on the lunar calendar, it comes about a month later than the Western New Year. The Chinese New Year season traditionally lasts about a month; however, so that working life will not be interrupted for too long, the period has now been reduced to a week [...]
Santa Claus
Santa Claus The legend of jolly old Santa Claus, or St. Nick, began with a real person: St. Nicholas, who lived many centuries ago. Although he is one of the most popular saints honoured by Christians, very little is actually known about him. He lived during the 4th century in Lycia, a province on the southwest coast of Asia Minor. Tradition [...]
Culture Shock
Culture Shock Your long expectation has finally been realized: you are going to a university abroad. This new challenge and opportunity might soon collide with the reality of being in a new culture, something known as culture shock. Culture shock has been viewed as a psychological reaction or a generalized disorientation and trauma experienced [...]
Confucius
Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC) For more than 2,000 years, the Chinese people have been guided by the ideals of Confucianism. Its founder and greatest teacher was Confucius, whose humane philosophy also influenced the civilizations of all of eastern Asia, by way of many legends spread to illustrate Confucius' beliefs. According to one story, he [...]
God
God God is a religious term for the "supreme reality." In many religions, God is the creator of the universe and the ultimate source of knowledge, power, and love. God is sometimes portrayed as a humanlike male with supernatural powers. However, most religions teach that God has many different forms. Christians believe that God appears in three [...]
Religion
Religion No simple definition can describe the numerous religions in the world. For many people, religion is an organized system of beliefs, ceremonies, practices, and worship that center on one supreme God, or the Deity. For many others, religion involves a number of gods, or deities. Some people have a religion in which no specific God or [...]
