The Indian Culture and United States Culture

There are one hundred and ninety five countries in our world today, every one of those countries have several different cultures, traditions, languages, foods, and even clothing. Indian culture really stands out to me because of all of the interesting facts they have about their diverse culture and country such as, their Indian religions, dance, music, wedding rituals, clothing, and so many more. The Indian culture and United states culture are completely different and it is very interesting to look into another countries culture and traditions.

India is the birthplace of four major religions Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Hindus believe that there is one true God, but God can be seen in several forms. In the early twenty-first century, Hinduism had nearly one billion followers worldwide and was the religion of about eighty percent of India's population Buddhism is a religion that focuses on personal spiritual development. Buddhists work and pray for a deep insight into the true nature of life and do not worship gods. Meditation is a very important practice in the lives of Buddhists, because it provides a peaceful and quietness of mind, and they believe that it helps you on the path of wisdom or enlightenment. They also believe in rebirth. They all hope to come back as something once they die that was significantly important to them in their lives. Jainism is the religion in which they believe in a perfect world of nonviolence. Jains do not believe in a God, but they do believe in perfect beings who are worthy of devotion. Lastly, we have Sikhism God and the cycle of life. Sikhs believe that human beings spend their time in a cycle of birth, life, and rebirth. All four religions Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, and Sikhism share many of the same qualities but some different. They all believe in a mindset of nonviolence, and they all have this mindset because of the man who they look up to named Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi is known as the Father of the Nation, Gandhi led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and free will all over the world. He believed in nonviolence just as many of the religions follow and look up to. Many indian religions and beliefs look up to him everyday especially when praying for nonviolence or help with something they are dealing with. India is one of the most religiously and ethnically diverse nations in the world, with some of the most deeply religious societies and cultures. Religion plays a really big role in the life of many of its people.

In India they have so many rituals such as wedding rituals and family structure. Usually the head of the family is the oldest male role, he makes all of the families rules and decisions. Which some families in the United States but normally you are able to have your free will and make all of your own decisions on your own, in India everything is decided upon the oldest male even if it is the simplest decision to be made. India's wedding rituals are extravagant with so many things such as decorations, music, food, colors, and even costumes. Some wedding rituals include, signing a contract between husband and wife about their life and financial assignments. Other rituals include walking around their holy book 4 times then they are considered married. Normal weddings in the United States normally just include saying of the vows and sealing it with a kiss. Some rituals performed in India are so different and are considered odd to others. The nation celebrates about 10 million weddings per year. Also, weddings are not how they are in the United States. Normally weddings are celebrated between two people who are in love with each other and want to be together through everything. In India they have arranged marriages, an arranged marriage is when your parents and other loved ones basically assign you someone to marry, whoever is in their best wishes for your life, you have no say in it. It is very sad because some women around the age of 18 are getting married to men that they do not even know, let alone love. You would expect the divorce rate to be very high because you can't choose who you marry but in fact, it is very low. In the United States the divorce rate is 40 perfect and in India it is only 1 percent, but everyday in India the divorce rate increasingly continues to rise, especially in the Urban areas. Today, they are up to 80 percent. They are increasing so high because several women are realizing that the husbands they are being matched with to marry are not a match after all and they treat them with disrespect and they want the free will that many other females recieve especially when choosing a husband to spend the rest of their life and start a family with.

Indian culture is very different to American culture through the clothing aspect as well. Clothing is very important to the culture, they use it as a way to express themselves in their everyday life through color and flashiness. Traditional clothing in India greatly varies across different parts of the country and is influenced by culture, climate and rural/urban settings. Popular styles of dress include draped garments for men and women, different types of clothing are popular like stitch clothing with a long scarf to through over the shoulder to complete the outfit. They like to express themselves through tight and loose fitting garments. They also wear several head pieces depending on the climate. Just as American culture is, we like to express ourselves through our clothing, makeup, and especially jewerly. Indian women perfect their look with the makeup and jewerly they wear. Just like women in the United States, earrings, necklaces, and makeup such as mascara, blush, eyeliner, are important in our fashion sense.

The Indian culture like to go out and have a fun time just like people in America do, Indians have several festivals and parties everyday. Diwali is known as the largest and most important holiday to India, according to National Geographic. It is a five-day festival known as the festival of lights because of the lights lit during the celebration to symbolize the inner light that protects them from spiritual darkness. Holi, the festival of colors, also called the festival of love, is popular in the spring. They love to dance and listen to music and have a good time. Indian and American culture are so different but many things are the same, it is so interesting learning about other countries cultures and the difficulties they have. Several people in their own culture believe in many stereotypes and differences about other cultures, when in the end they do not realize that so many cultures in the world are so much alike, and follow and believe in many of the same beliefs.

Indian culture especially religion is so important to them because they believe in many different things and they practice rituals very intensely they have many different religions to believe and practice from and that is very important to them because they believe in the end it will save and free them, or else it will put them in hell. Everyone has different beliefs and cultures based on where they came from, we should treat and respect everyone for their culture and not bring them down because they are different from us. Culture in the long run should bring us all together.

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