Cultures are what making the country unique and interesting. Each country has different cultural activities and cultural rituals. Culture includes material goods, the things the people use and produce. Culture is also the beliefs and values of the people and the ways they think about and understand the world and their own lives.
Different countries have different cultures. For example, some older Japanese people wear kimonos, arrange flowers in vases, and have tea ceremonies. Some countries oppose some things in their culture, like discrimination or religion.
Culture can also vary within a region, society or sub group. A workplace may have a specific culture that sets it apart from similar workplaces. A region of a country may have a different culture than the rest of the country. For example, in a large country like China or Canada a region may have a distinctive way of talking, different types of music, and different types of dances.
A group who acts or speaks differently may be said to be, or have, a subculture.
Ethnic groups such as the Romani people in Europe have a distinct culture.
Companies or other organizations (groups of people) can have a separate culture. Japanese manufacturing companies often have a different culture to Western companies; the workday starts with exercise, and the workers are very loyal to the company.
Companies in the high-technology sector often have a different culture than other companies. Software and computer companies sometimes allow employees to play games during the workday, or take time off work to relax, because these companies believe that this will help the workers to think better.
"Anthropology" is studying human beings and how they relate to each other. An "anthropologist" is a person who studies anthropology. Anthropologists study how culture shapes people and their lives. Cultures constantly change as people move and communicate with new groups of people.
For example, immigrants (people who move from one country to another) may keep some of their customs and traditions from their old country. By keeping their culture in this way, they bring pieces of their culture to a new place where others begin to experience it.
Houseplant
A houseplant is any kind of decorative plant. People grow them indoors, usually in a house, where these plants gets their name.
Waxed paper
Waxed paper (or wax paper) is a type of paper which has been coated on both sides with wax. This gives it a translucent look. It is used for wrapping food because grease, oil, and water cannot pass through it. It is also used to line food containers because many kinds of food which would stick to normal paper will not stick to wax paper. Many kinds of dry foods were once stored in wax paper because of its resistance to water. Wax paper has been replaced by plastic wrap for most purposes.
Safety razor blades are traditionally wrapped in wax paper to make holding them less dangerous. Wax paper can also be used to make paper boats that can be used for a long time without getting wet because of its high resistance to water.
Wax paper is also used to stick pieces of pattern to fabric while cutting it.
In photography, wax paper can be used as a light diffuser.
Wax paper is commonly used in cooking because it does not sticky foods cannot stick to it. It is also used in wrapping food. It is also used in arts and crafts.
Japanese tea ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony (called cha-no-yu, chado, or sado) is a special way of making green tea (matcha 抹茶). It is called the Way of Tea. It is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha, powdered tea. People who study the tea ceremony have to learn about different kinds of tea. They also have to learn about kimono (Japanese clothes), flowers, and many other things. It takes much practice to learn the tea ceremony.
Tea came to Japan from China in about 900 CE. Tea became very popular in Japan, and Japanese people started to grow tea in Japan.
In the 12th century, "matcha" (green tea powder), became popular. This tea comes from the same plant as black tea.
By the 16th century, all people in Japan, rich people and poor people, liked drinking tea. A man called Sen no Rikyu started teaching the ceremony. Many years have passed, but people still make tea the same way that Sen no Rikyu taught. Many schools of Japanese tea ceremony exist now (omote-senke, ura-senke, etc.), and each school teaches in a slightly different way.
People need many different things for a tea ceremony:
People do the tea ceremony in a special tea room or a special building called a "cha-shitsu". Most people wear kimonos.
When people go into the tea room they take off their shoes and sit on special floor mat called a tatami.
Cha-shitsu often are very small. The guests (the people who go to the tea ceremony) sometimes eat food and drink special Japanese wine called sake. Before they drink the matcha (green tea) they eat something sweet.
The host (the person who does the tea ceremony) symbolically purifies the tea bowl and the other tea things. Then he or she puts some green tea powder into the tea bowl. The host mixes the tea with hot water. He or she mixes it with a whisk. The guests drink tea from the bowl.
When everyone has finished drinking tea, the host cleans everything and puts them away. Then the guests leave.
A tea ceremony can take from about twenty minutes to about four hours.
Sideboard
A sideboard is a piece of furniture. It is often placed in a dining room with a long table and cupboard below to hold dishes, glasses, and other things.
Movie
A movie, or film, is a type of visual communication which uses moving pictures and sound to tell stories or teach people something. Most people watch (view) movies as a type of entertainment or a way to have fun. For some people, fun movies can mean movies that make them laugh, while for others it can mean movies that make them cry, or feel afraid.
Most movies are made so that they can be shown on screen in Cinemas and at home. Movies are shown in Cinemas for a period of a few weeks or months, they may be marketed through several other medias. They are shown on pay television or cable television, and sold or rented on DVD disks or videocassette tapes, so that people can watch the movies at home. You can also download or stream movies. Older movies are shown on television broadcasting stations.
A movie camera or video camera takes pictures very quickly, usually at 24 or 25 pictures (frames) every second. When a movie projector, a computer, or a television shows the pictures at that rate, it looks like the things shown in the set of pictures are really moving. Sound is either recorded at the same time, or added later. The sounds in a movie usually include the sounds of people talking (which is called dialogue), music (which is called the "soundtrack"), and sound effects, the sounds of activities that are happening in the movie (such as doors opening or guns being fired). In the 20th century the camera used photographic film. The product is still often called a "film" even though there usually is no film.
A screenwriter writes a script, which is the story of the movie with dialogue and things that the actors will say and do. A producer hires people to work on the movie and gets all of the money that will be needed to pay for the actors and the equipment. Producers usually get the money by borrowing it from a bank or by getting investors to lend money to the movie production. Some producers work for a movie studio; other producers are independent (they do not work for a movie studio).
Actors and directors read scripts to find out what to say and what to do. The actors memorize the words from the script that they will say in the movie, and learn the actions that the script tells them to do. Then, the director tells the actors what to do and a cameraman takes motion pictures of them with a motion picture camera.