Walk down any high street and you might hear different languages, smell different foods, and see different clothes. People around the world do things differently — and that is something to be curious about, not confused by.
What is culture?
A culture is a way of life shared by a group of people — their language, food, clothes, music, stories and celebrations. Nobody has just one culture either: a family might speak two languages at home, eat food from more than one country, and celebrate more than one special day each year.
Celebrations around the world
Many cultures have a special celebration during the year — a time for family, food and giving thanks. The customs look different, but the feelings underneath are often the same: joy, togetherness and gratitude.
Match each celebration to something families might do:
- Eid
- wear new clothes, share sweet treats, visit family
- Diwali
- light small lamps and share sweets with neighbours
- Chinese New Year
- decorate in red and gold and share a family feast
- Christmas
- decorate a tree and share presents with family
Same feelings, different customs
Notice that every celebration above involves family, food and sharing — just wrapped up in different traditions. That is true of languages too: whether someone says "hello", "salaam", "nī hǎo" or "bonjour", they are all doing the same friendly thing — greeting someone kindly.