[Music]
cultures of the world for kids hey kids
when you look around at the people in
your neighborhood or town who do you see
how would you describe the people that
live nearby are they friends part of
your family strangers some of them might
be boys or girls some adults and some
kids some people might be tall others
short some might go to your school while
others might go to a different school
some may have brown or black hair the
same skin color as you or maybe a
different skin color perhaps they wear
formal clothing or t-shirts and jeans or
maybe even something more unusual
depending on where you live the people
in your neighborhood or town might look
a lot like you or they might look
different maybe you live somewhere where
there is a mix of people of all colors
shapes sizes and behaviors the bottom
line is that everyone is different we
are all unique individuals and just as
there are things that you enjoy doing
foods you and your family like to eat
holidays that you celebrate and a
religion that you may be part of people
all around you have their own set of
things that they like to do as well all
of those things the way people live
their lives and the things that they
enjoy doing are part of their culture a
culture is a special and unique way of
living all the things that people do and
believe in the activities that are
important to them make up the culture
that they belong to many people build
their life and their identity around
their culture can you think of a friend
or someone you know that belongs to a
different culture than you what do they
do with their family that's different
from what you do there are many many
cultures in the world and no culture is
better than any other while many of your
neighbors might belong to a different
culture than you or your friends all of
us can live side-by-side and respect
each other
different cultures make up communities
and communities make up society society
is a collection of
different people from different cultures
all living together and following the
same rules different societies make up
different countries and ultimately those
countries make up the entire world so
now you know that there are different
cultures all around you even in your own
school or community for example in
December some people you know might
celebrate Christmas
others Hanukah still others might take
part in Kwanzaa st. Nicholas Day or st.
Lucia Day again
others might celebrate holidays you've
never even heard of or none at all all
year round there are holidays parades
shows and events that different cultures
celebrate or attend that others do not
every culture has its own unique manners
styles of dress language religions
celebrations ethics and other things
that are special to them so how can you
tell what culture someone belongs to
well it's important to remember that the
color of their skin or the way they look
does not define their culture the best
way to find out what culture someone
belongs to is simply to ask them have a
conversation find out more about them
maybe you have some things in common
perhaps their culture and yours have
some of the same likes and dislikes or
hobbies or foods maybe not either way
it's good to share these things so you
can learn more about the people around
you so what are some of the cultures of
the world like
let's start with America some of the
foods that are part of the American
culture include pie banana splits
hamburgers hot dogs and fried chicken
other American populations have
different preferences for example in the
southwest there is a mixture of Spanish
and Mexican foods religions in American
culture include Christianity Judaism
Islam Buddhism Hinduism and others
Americans celebrate Christmas
Thanksgiving Halloween Easter st.
Patrick's Day and others American sports
include football baseball basketball
soccer and hockey we have lots of
different ways of dressing but American
culture is most known for our jeans
t-shirts shorts and sweats all of those
things helped define American culture
here are some other cultures and things
that helped define them this is Africa
the food across Africa is usually spicy
with intense flavors and the food can be
very exotic as well
they eat many different things that
Americans don't religions in Africa
include Christianity and Islam but many
of the people in more remote parts of
Africa practice their own local
religions celebrations include Kwanzaa
Yama day Cassy said and Osiris there's
music like Samba and reggae believe it
or not there are 11 official languages
in South Africa which is a real rainbow
nation where many cultures all coexist
in fact one-third of the world's
languages are spoken in Africa their art
consists of colorful paintings and
beautiful ceramics and the main themes
are marriage mother and child unlike
American culture 41% of children aged 5
to 14 work in Africa
what about the French culture maybe you
know someone French some of the elements
of their culture include complex foods
with heavy sauces elegant and
professional clothing like scarves and
long coats and dresses in French culture
religions include Christianity Islam
Judaism Buddhism and Hindu art and
history can be seen in many churches and
public buildings the Chinese culture has
its own unique characteristics one of
the most prominent being its exceptional
food which includes lots of sauces
unique spices rice fish red meat and
even scorpions and snakes the
established religion of Chinese culture
is Buddhism and there is a lot of
Buddhist art there they drink a lot of
tea which is often used as medicine the
Chinese New Year happens every spring
and is marked by a bright and colorful
15 day festival with a dancing dragon
and fireworks parades and more the
Chinese culture has six different
languages but Mandarin is the most
widely spoken
you can thank Chinese culture for
martial arts like kung fu silk the
animals of the zodiac philosophers like
Confucius and other things that have
spread around the world finally let's
talk about the Spanish culture their
food often includes olive oil garlic and
onions they usually serve wine during
dinner and bread with nearly every meal
fruit is the main dessert about 80
percent of the Spanish are Roman
Catholic which is a form of Christianity
an important week in the Spanish culture
is Holy Week which comes before Easter
in which there are large parades and
religious events Spanish culture has
colorful architecture grand churches and
even the Running of the Bulls
now that you know some of the elements
of various cultures it's important to
note that cultures are complex and that
no single aspect of a culture defines it
they can be so
local that different people in different
parts of a country can have vastly
different things that they cherish and
celebrate in America you have Native
American culture African American
culture Cajun Creole and others in
Greece a child throws a lost tooth onto
a roof for good luck Japanese children
cover their belly buttons when they hear
thunder in Indonesia people point with
their thumbs in Russia father frost
brings children presents on New Year's
Day in the Brazilian culture New Year's
Day is usually celebrated with a bowl of
lentil soup now that's a tasty new year
during the Italian carnival people throw
oranges all of those things are unique
to the cultures that do them and are a
part of what makes those cultures
special respecting other people's
cultures trying to learn about them
never stereotyping or mocking them and
living in harmony with them is the first
step in becoming friends having greater
humanity and creating a peaceful world
for us all to share thanks for following
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