Asia: Facts & Stats

CULTURE

Traditions:

The culture of Asia is the artificial aggregate of the cultural heritage of many nationalities, societies, religions, and ethnic groups in the region, traditionally called a continent from a Western-centric perspective, of Asia. The region or "continent" is more commonly divided into more natural geographic and cultural sub regions, including the Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia (the "Indian subcontinent"), North Asia, West Asia and Southeast Asia. Geographically, Asia is not a distinct continent; culturally, there has been little unity or common history for many of the cultures and peoples of Asia.

Asian art, music, and cuisine, as well as literature, are important parts of Asian culture. Eastern philosophy and religion also plays a major role, with Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam; all playing major roles. One of the most complex parts of Asian culture is the relationship between traditional cultures and the Western world.

Celebrations:

Asia has a variety of festivals and celebrations. In China, Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Moon Festival are traditional holidays, while National Day is a holiday of the People's Republic of China.

In Japan, Japanese New Year, National Foundation Day, Children's Day, O-bon, The Emperor's Birthday, and Christmas are popular. According to Japanese syncretism, most Japanese celebrate Buddhism's O-bon in midsummer, Shinto's Shichi-Go-San in November, and Christmas and Hatsumoude in winter together.

In India, Republic Day and Independence Day are important national festivals celebrated by people irrespective of faith. Major Hindu festivals of India include Diwali, Dussehra or Daserra, Holi, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Mahashivratri, Ugadi, Navratri, Ramanavami, Baisakhi, Onam, Rathayatra, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Krishna Janmastami. Islamic festivals such as Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha, Sikh festivals such as Vaisakhi, and Christian festivals such as Christmas, are also celebrated in India.

The Philippines is also tagged as the "Fiesta Country" because of its all-year-round celebrations nationwide. There is a very strong Spanish influence in their festivals, thus making the Philippines, distinctively occidental. Fiesta is the term used to refer to a festival. Most of these fiestas are celebrated in honor of a patron Saint. To summarize it all, at least every municipality has a fiesta. Some prime examples include Sinulog from Cebu and Iloilo's Dinagyang.

Alcohol:

Alcohol is prohibited in some Muslim countries because of Quranic cautions against the drink.

The Islamic prohibition on consumption of alcoholic drinks is thus the earliest and longest-lasting, reinforced by being embedded in religious teaching; still, both historically and at present, its enforcement varies considerably in different Muslim states and societies.

In some states of India alcoholic drinks are banned, for example the states of Gujarat and Mizoram. Certain national holidays such as Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti (birth date of Mahatma Gandhi) are meant to be dry nationally.

Pakistan allowed the free sale and consumption of alcohol for three decades from 1947, but restrictions were introduced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto just weeks before he was removed as prime minister in 1977. Since then, only members of non-Muslim minorities such as Hindus, Christians and Zoroastrians are allowed to apply for permits for alcohol.

In Bangladesh, foreign passport holders of non-Muslim nations can drink in some licensed restaurants and bars (and expatriate clubs) and can purchase imported alcohol from 'diplomatic bonded warehouses' at a hefty rate of sales duty.

Sports and Hobbies:

Popular sports in Asia include football, cricket, basketball and among others. Cricket is a popular game in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and United Arab Emirates and is also played in Malaysia, Nepal, and Afghanistan.

Rugby union is a growing sport in Asia and is governed by the Asian Rugby Football Union. The Japanese national team is the powerhouse of Asian rugby, the only Asian nation to have qualified for the Rugby World Cup, and the only one to have representation on the International Rugby Board's executive council. Their main rivals are South Korea and Hong Kong, the latter team no longer consisting almost entirely of Anglo-Saxon ex-pats with more than 50% of the current National squad either being born in Hong Kong or being of Chinese nationality.

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