Cultures of the World A fun overview of the world cultures for kids

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 different school some may have brown or black hair the same skin color as you or maybe 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 lot like you or they might look different maybe you live somewhere where there is 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 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 culture is 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 friend or someone you know that belongs to 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 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 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 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 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 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 lot of Buddhist art there they drink lot of tea which is often used as medicine the Chinese New Year happens every spring and is marked by bright and colorful 15 day festival with 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 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 culture defines it they can be so local that different people in different parts of 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 child throws lost tooth onto 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 bowl of lentil soup now that's tasty new year during the Italian carnival people throw oranges all of those things are unique to the cultures that do them and are 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 peaceful world for us all to share thanks for following clarendon learning be sure to subscribe for more free resources check us out at Clarendon learning dot org