Posts Tagged ‘culture’
As a tourist you have several places to visit in Cambodia, starting from the country’s second biggest city, Battambang, located in the north-western province of Battambang. The city’s architecture, especially the Buddhist temples have a unique French touch, while you will also find some rare and worthwhile items in some nearby French stores. The city gives an overall feeling of peace and tranquility as the soothing lush green countryside gives you a much deserved break from your routine urban life.
The one major attraction for every Cambodia-going tourist is the Royal Palace in the capital city of Phnom Penh. The city holds special significance in the country’s geography as it is located on the convergence of three rivers. Located by the side of river Tonle Sap is the famous Royal Palace which is house to many wonderful treasures and architectural masterpieces. ‘The Throne Room’ gives a flashback to onlookers of the highly formal rituals and coronations that took place in the days of the Kings, while the ‘The Napoleon Pavilion’ reminds us of the French influence on the country. However, ‘Silver Pagoda’ is the place which attracts the maximum number of visitors mainly due to the breathtaking life-size Buddhist statue placed there which is carved out of solid gold and decorated by diamonds and other precious jewels. The large Buddha statue is a true work of art and makes a visit to Silver Pagoda a must for every tourist. Apart from this masterpiece the whole Palace contains several much smaller Buddha sculptures made of gold.
Living in the mountainous region of southwestern China, the Miao ethnic group includes lots of different tribes featuring unique costumes. Some tribes are noted for their extraordinary silver jewelry. The Magpie Miao, with a population of 8600, reside in six villages on the mountain. Their name “magpie” comes from their interesting costume which is like the plume of a magpie.
Women’s clothes are distinguished by two contrasting main colors: white and black. Their pleated skirt from the waist to the bottom have three parts. The top blue part represents the sea and the sky. The batik middle part displays lovely designs of rivers, lakes, and fields in their hometown. And lowest embroidered part has patterns of pathways, mountains, and rivers their forefathers ever crossed.
Little girls wear a black-and-white cloth band attached to their shirt. When they reach 16, they will have their long hair shaped into a hair bun and adorn it with a comb on the top.
Men’s shirts sport two funny tails at the back, which look like the tail of a magpie.
The local people love magpies and they forbid the hunting of this bird.
Residing in the mountainous areas of southwestern China, the Miao minority group still keeps some of their ancient customs today. One is their unique tradition of crafting amazing silver jewelry. But another lesser-known aspect of their culture, the ceremony of getting new kindling, is held on the last day of each year.
The Miao have a long tradition of worshiping fire, as they think fire gives people warmth, light, and happiness. If you visit a Miao village, you will see a fire burning in almost every family.
But the fire can only be used for one year. After one year, it turns to be old fire. Using old fire will bring people bad luck. So they need to use new wood to make a new fire before the new year comes.
In the afternoon of the last day before the new year, people are divided into a few groups to prepare the ceremony. One group stands at the gate of the village, and prohibits anyone from entering or getting out of the village. Another group is responsible for extinguishing the fire in every family.
The celebratory nights out for the bride and groom are tradition dating back so far that we can only speculate as to its origins. Generally speaking, the groom enlists the help of a best man (obviously primarily to perform the best man customs at the wedding) who then traditionally organises a stag party for him. Different cultures however have different takes on the stag/bachelor party.
United Kingdom: In the UK, stag weekends are becoming almost commonplace. The expected night-time-knees-up is of course still there, but the day is usually filled with activities of some description as well. With cheap airlines on the rise, its becoming more and more common for stag parties to be seen wandering around the streets of Majorca or Ibiza, although the most popular destinations are Dublin, Riga and Krakow, closely followed by Amsterdam.
USA: The term stag party is rarely used in the US, it is known as a bachelor party, and these bachelor parties usually consist of the same kind of activities that the British ones do, however their bachelor parties are more to symbolise the grooms last days of freedom from the bonds of wedlock rather than celebrating the fact that hes getting married. Popular destinations include Chicago, Miami Beach and who could forget, Las Vegas.