Dr Deborah Swallow - Global Cultural Diversity
Celebrations for Chinese New Year are over but this month, once again, there will be fireworks in countries across the globe. Twelve countries are celebrating their Independence Days: Sri Lanka (Feb 4th), New Zealand (Feb 6th), Grenada (Feb 7th), Iran (Feb 11th), Lithuania (Feb 16th), The Gambia (Feb 18th), Saint Lucia (Feb 22nd), Estonia (Feb [...]
The three Chinese New Year I spent in Hangzhou (three hours’ drive from Shanghai) have now muddled into one big celebratory memory: into one giant steamed bun, baozi: into one enormous good luck lantern. Chinese New Year, for me, was always a kind of alien Christmas with its red and gold, music and food, cards [...]
Happy Chinese New Year! This January will be the start of the Year of the Dragon, as the world welcomes the Chinese New Year. The New Year falls in January due to the track of the new moon, as the Chinese calendar is a mixture of the Gregorian and lunar-solar calendars. Did you know that [...]
When you are out and about over the next fifteen days, if you meet up with a Chinese friend, remember to wish them a Happy New Year. The most common auspicious greetings and sayings consist of four Chinese characters, such as the following: Jinyu mangtang - “May your wealth [gold and jade] come to fill a [...]
Today is Chinese New Year; but unlike many people who celebrate the occasion just over one night the Chinese honour the New Year by welcoming it over fifteen days. First day- This is the day for welcoming the deities of heaven and earth. Cleaning is considered bad luck today and meat is not consumed for [...]
This January, as well as the New Year, many countries around the world will be celebrating their independence. Happy Independence day to you all! Cameroon, Western Samoa, Haiti, Sudan (January 1st), Burma (January 4th), Chad (January 11th), Australia (January 26th) and Nauru (January 31st).
Tuesday, 29th November marks the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. It is the anniversary of the adoption of the UN resolution for the partition of Palestine. The observance of this day encourages Member States to continue to give the widest support and publicity to the observance of the International Day of Solidarity and to [...]
“Hello” has got to be one of the most important words we use and learning a few “hello“s in a different language will helps us build trust in our relationships with those from other cultural backgrounds. Nowadays, more than ever, our everyday encounters find us engaging with people who are different from ourselves; whether speaking [...]
It’s World Hello Day, so reach out and greet just ten people in the name of peace. That is the simple message behind World Hello Day. Started in 1973, in response to the conflict between Egypt and Israel, this day is now commemorated in over 180 countries. Taking part couldn’t be easier, but rather than [...]
Have you ever thought about how television and cultural diversity are closely related? It’s time to think -Today is World Television Day Television is one of the most powerful communications media in today’s world and brings into people’s living rooms the everyday reality of other’s lives: be it major issues facing mankind, new fashion trends of American [...]