Culture Customs – Cultural Ideas & History

🇩🇰 Denmark

Hygge (pronounced Huh-gah) is a Danish-coined idea and represents the feeling of coziness and contentment, and savoring things (as opposed to indulging). Factors generated hygge include the company you spend your time with, the environment and ambiance (candlelight – an essential, rustic decorations, Poul Henningsen pendant lamps, circular tables, line-dried laundry, wooden bowls), clothing and vintage textiles (knit caps and sweaters e.g. Sarah Lund’s Faroe Islands wool sweater, warm blankets), food (hearty e.g. bacon, porridge, muesli, smorrebrod – open faced sandwiches, fruit compote, salt cod fritters, roast lamb, fresh baked bread) and drink (that warm you up e.g. glogg, craft beer), weather (a rainy storm), and activities (walks in the park, along the beach, hanging at home or at a cafe, reading a book or watching a film, cuddling, brushing teeth while your partner brushing their teeth next to you, being naked, falling asleep before leaving the house). In its adjective form, it is hyggelig (HOO-gah-lee), for describing how hyggelig experiences will be, are, or were. It is a regular Danish conversation topic. To demonstrate the importance of candles in the hygge lifestyle, putting out the candles is very un-hyggelig, as the Danish word for party pooper is lyseslukker, meaning ‘one who put out the candles.’ Since there is not much to do in Denmark, and restaurants have high taxes, savoring things at home is part of the lifestyle, as opposed to indulging oneself with expensive luxuries and elitist experiences.
The Happiness Research Institute is located in Denmark

🇬🇷 Greece

Greece invented the medicinal system of the four humors – the idea that these four humors (substances) wax and wane in the human body, and balance equates to healthiness. The four humors were black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood. This idea for health lasted over 2,000 years, starting from the Greco-Roman culture and spreading all over, including to the world of Islam.
Nostos – a theme in ancient Greek mythology of the hero coming back home via the sea
Ancient Greece’s nine muses of ancient Greece ruled over the different fields of human creation, such as aspects of poetry and music. However, there were no muses for painting and sculpture as they were seen as lower class art forms due to the manual labor involved.
Greek Diners in USA – Most restaurants in Greece are not chains, they’re mom-and-pop owned. Greeks came to America with their great work ethic and worked their way up in restaurants, which require this work ethic, especially diners open late. Greek diners don’t focus on charging high prices to maintain high profit margins on each order, they instead socialize with the customers and build regulars.

🇩🇪 Germany

Their automobiles are better because their car magazines, instead of being full of instead of pictures of cars, they’re full of pictures of nuts/bolts

🇵🇹 Portugal

Saudade – A Portuguese feeling of longing or a beautiful sadness, part of the national character. The music that produces this feeling is fado “bad destiny” – a sort of Portuguese blues. It is both happy and sad – such as missing someone who is gone. It is sad that they are gone but it is a good thing to miss someone.

🇪🇸 Spain

In Spanish speaking countries (Mexico, much of South America, Spain), the tooth fairy is a tooth mouse – Ratoncito Perez – whom travels through pipes and takes children’s teeth and replaces them with a gift.

🇫🇷 France

Both men and women wore thick white makeup because they were equal – an effeminate nation in decay
Wealthy – Too refined digestive systems – need fluffy white bread. The poor ate the coarsest brown hard bread – had to soak it in broth to eat it. 95% of the population subsisted on bread and soup.
The court room of Versailles smelt of orange flower water – everyone utilized it as perfume, and even flavored their breakfast scrambled eggs
Nuances of the most complex court etiquette in Europe – Ladies were forbidden to link arms with a man or cross their legs in public, and elegance was the most prized quality of all.
Anglosaxon vs Normand naming of animals and meat (pig vs porc i.e. porc, cow vs boeuf i.e. beef, sheep vs veau i.e. veal, deer vs venaison i.e. venison). The masters named the meat and the slaves named the animals.
The necktie has its origins from the Romans – ancient Roman military who wore a neckerchief to prevent chafing from their armor, called the “Focale”. Later, Croatian mercenaries served in France during the Thirty Years’ War and wore neckerchiefs. The French, including 7-year-old boy-king Louis XIV and then the nobility, took this fashion up as lace cravats (name came from the “croats”)
‘Formal’ French Gardens – French gardens are more manicured and laid out logically – symmetrically and flattening the landscape, perfect arrangements of flower beds and reflecting pools. Vaux-le-vicomte is the most prime example, laid out by Andre Le Notre (son of gardener of Louis 13th). He also designed Versailles.
Mardi Gras – Means Fat Tuesday – partying before Lent (and right before Ash Wednesday).

🇬🇧 Britain

English Gardens – As compared to French gardening, British gardens are developed around the natural landscape, conveying the idea that we accept raw nature how it is and enhance it to make it look even more naturally – groves of trees, lakes, rolling lawns. Capability Brown was the central figure in English gardening – building Petworth, Chatsworth, Bowood, Blenheim Palace. This style reigned supreme for a century at least. Sissinghurst Garden borrows from both French and English gardens.

🇮🇹 Italy

For 500 years until 476 AD, the roman empire ruled most of Europe, spreading into Africa and the Middle East. Most everyone, except the top of wealth, would live in insula – Roman apartment buildings.
Religion – Vestal Virgins kept fires continuously going in celebration of Vesta, Roman goddess of the hearth. They are chosen before puberty (6-10 years old) and sworn to celibacy for 30 years.
The first beds were a millenium BC in Rome – feather stuffed. The Egyptians were the ones who first made the raised bed, although the mattress was cushions.
Bath sites (Thermae) were built around hot springs and in Roman times were equivalent to community centres – the bathing process was long and would go hand-in-hand with conversation – inviting others for dinner parties, gaining political support, and there were other amenities in the same complex – library, poetry reading room, places to buy and eat food, outdoor gym to play ball games and exercise. Romans were a clean society, bathing multiple times a week, and believed that good health came from bathing, eating, massages, and exercise. The baths, therefore, had all of these things in abundance. The baths had a caldarium – which held the hot water; a tepidarium – which had warm air for transitioning to and from the hot water, and is the most ornamentally decorated of rooms; and a frigidarium with cold water. Romans would also oil themselves (soap was more of a luxury good and rare), scrape off the excess with a strigil, and shower.
Italian Mafia controls a lot of industries – including tourism (owning the costumed gladiators who take pictures and ask you for money at the coliseum), and olive oil – they also add vegetable oil to increase profits. Greece and Spain are better places to get olive oil from, also Costco.
Passeggiata – Italians will go for a casual stroll or people-watch in the downtown (piazza) or waterfront between 5-8pm most nights, especially Sundays. On Sundays, this is especially after a long drawn out lunch. Happens in every city but most prominent in Southern Italy, including islands of Sicily and Sardinia.
La Pausa – 3 Hour window mid-day when shopkeepers close up (e.g. Spain’s Siesta)

🇦🇺 Australia

Convicts were used as slave labor from 1788 to the 1850s.
Beer – James Squire stole the beer recipe in order to make it in the colonies.
Bushwalking is another word for hiking or backpacking in Australia and NZ. Scroggin is a trailmix (dried fruits and nuts) eaten while bushwalking.

🇺🇸 United States of America

It is Native American spiritual practice to “smudge” – burning to smoke a concoction of ingredients including sage through a home – in order to cleanse it of negative energies. It is recommended to not purchase white sage unless from a responsible tribe, as it is the most over-harvested on protected lands of the smudge ingredients (especially by trespassers) and ruins the sustainability of the sage crops. Other herbs or materials could be smoked as substitute such as cedar or sweetgrass.

🇰🇷 South Korea

Doljanchi – 1st birthday celebration of a baby. Baby wears traditional clothing and the main event is the doljabi fortune telling custom – different items are placed in front of the child and depending on what he/she picks up it determines their fortune (wealth, long life, intelligence etc.) and occupation.
Superstitious – Afraid of ceiling fans
Han – A word to describe the intense resentment, pain, grief and anger that the Korean people hold within themselves due to injustices inflicted upon them (by the government, foreign governments – Japanese occupation, employers, significant other, family, wealthier neighbors), haunting them, and lack of resolution. Koreans greatly suffered from foreign invaders and unlike Western countries, do not have avenues to alleviate injustices (changing jobs, moving to another state, go back to college, sue somebody, complain to organizations such as Better Business Bureau). Koreans experience intense emotionalism due to their han – with symptoms such as wailing at funerals.

🇹🇭 Thailand / 🇱🇦 Laos

Laotians are very relaxed and easygoing. There is a saying – Vietnamese plant the rice, Cambodians watch it grow, and Laotians just listen.

🇯🇵 Japan

Wabi-sabi – The 14th century Japanese philosophy of appreciating the imperfections in life. For example, instead of only appreciating a full moon, instead glorify a half moon or moon partially covered by clouds. Wabi – the exquisite bittersweet melancholy of being on one’s own, Sabi – the positive impermanence of objects wearing down over time (imperfection).
Shokunin – Defined as mastery or “artisan” – but is deeper than that – it is your social obligation to work your best for the good of the people (very pragmatic). Endless perfection for the greater good.
Most Japanese Schools don’t have custodians. Instead, students do the cleaning themselves as a part of showing gratitude to the school. In addition, there are no trash cans. People carry their trash home with them and throw it out at home.

🇨🇳 China

When creating a new business, people pay consultants to develop the characters of the business name to bring the most fortune to the business. This is why many Chinese restaurants in USA include the words golden, fortune, luck and garden.

🇮🇳 India

Patel Motels – More than 50% of motels in the USA are owned by Indians, of which 70% have surname Patel (of Gujarati Hindu descent). The motel business comes with a home, independence of not answering to management or hotel brand, doesn’t require fluent English, and only requires the ability to work long hours.

🇷🇺 Russia

“Bear” in Russian means “the one who likes honey”
Saying – “Don’t go to someone else’s monastery with your own rulebook” – When in Rome
Saying – “He who doesn’t take risks doesn’t drink champagne” – No risk no reward
Saying – “Poverty inspires invention” – Necessity is the mother of invention
Saying – “It may be crowded but everyone is happy” – The more, the merrier
Proverb – “Trust, but verify” – Words should not be fully trusted
Proverb – “When one has power, they don’t have a need for intelligence” – Might makes right

🇧🇷 Brazil

Rio de Janeiro – Guanabara bay was discovered in January by the Portuguese thus the city was named “January River”. A mountain there is called Sugar Loaf because it is shaped like the bags of sugar in Brazil. The Christ the Reedemer statue is located on Corcovado Mountain.
Carneval is Brazil’s Mardi Gras – partying before lent. In Brazil it is called the “Greatest Show on Earth”

🇮🇷 Iran

Iran is known for its Persian carpets. Different cities and villages make different styles, for example: Kashan is a city rug (higher thread count and more fine detail), Heriz (worth more and collectible, from a village, bigger knots and less detail), Tabriz is a city rug that is finer than Kashan

🇲🇦 Morocco

Casablanca was named by the Portuguese and built by the French

🇪🇹 Ethiopia

Second most populous country in Africa followed by Nigeria
Only country never colonized in Africa – defeated the Italians twice
Coffee was invented here and largest producer of coffee in Africa
The idea of pan-Africanism (a united Africa) was started in Ethiopia – African Union HQ is located in Ethiopia

Superstitions

Russians believe not to take out the trash before going on vacation, so they take the trash out a day or two before leaving. Also before leaving for vacation, as a family, having a seat for a minute of self-reflection and then getting up and leaving. They also believe not to whistle under a roof, as it would beget whistling away your money.
Latin America and Asia regarding Heat/Cold – Superstitious about hot/cold (won’t drink cold water in hot weather), going in the rain, switching between hot and cold. At Asian spas, people go from hot tub to cold pool and back and forth, and the hot and cold water aids blood circulation, and it’s excellent for recovery of sore muscles (but you should end it cold, not hot).
Western Europeans did not bath during the Black Plague era because they thought that bathing opened the pores, enabling susceptibility to germs and illnesses.
Health – Ayurvedic medicine is a type of medicine from India. Based on your “dosha” (body type), there are different medicinal rituals (vedas) that could help you.
Cancer treatment – Russian myth to only eat Kasha in order to “starve” out the cancer so it stops growing. Kasha – buckwheat groats (usually served with bowtie noodles as kasha varnishkes).

Business Ideas by Culture

Japan – Kaizen – continuous improvement – Toyota
America – Innovation – Ford – “If I gave people what they wanted, I’d have given them a better horse.”

Miscellaneous

Topfreedom is a movement to allow women to be barechested in public places where men are allowed to be. This includes mothers being able to breastfeed in public.