Whenever I personally think of religion in Mexico I think Catholic, well that is the most common there so it makes sense but I didn't realize some things about Mexico like how the government actually had restrictions place on religion which strikes me as weird because I had always thought Mexico to be a pretty religious place, especially because of all of their religious holidays and churches that seem to be everywhere. There are actually quite a bit of other religions that people practice in Mexico which I have neither seen nor heard of being there.
Mexico really doesn't have an official religion however around 83% of it's people are Roman Catholic, which being that I live in the U.S. seems crazy to me because of how many different religions there are and how many more people seem to be Lutheran. Their constitution of 1917 made limitations on the church. The government does not give money to the church, nor does the church participate in public education. Christmas is still a national holiday and every year during Easter and Christmas all schools in Mexico, public and private, give their students a break. In 1992, Mexico lifted almost all restrictions on the religions, conceding them limited property, and lifting restrictions on the number of priests in the country. I found it odd that they would limit the number of priests in the country it never occured to me that that could even be a problem it makes me wonder if there is some kind of limit in the U.S. (honestly I doubt it though). Until recently, priests did not have the right to vote! This is crazy, it seems to me that they are discriminating against their own religious leaders, it really makes no sense to me but I guess they really didn't want to give them power.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Definitely scary
Anywhere in the world a volcano erupting would be terrifying but if what if one has been active for 5 million years and still went off recently would you live near it? Me neither, the Colima volcano in Mexico is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. Personally I wouldn't want to live anywhere near it, earthquakes are common in that are also! Seems to me a horrible place to live but I suppose if it has some kind of historical meaning to your family than it really doesn't seem like a big deal.
The people of the are believe that more than 3,000 years ago the God of fire looked down from the volcano, Nevado de Colima, to advise the inhabitants of this region. Then his younger hot tempered brother wanted to instill fear into the people and severely punish those who didn't please him. The "Nevado de Colima" is a non-active mountain about 14,000 feet high right next to the "Volcan de Colima" which has been active for 5 million years and went off in 1991 and again in 1994 which may seem like awhile ago but it has been going off seemingly constantly for a LONG time. In 1998 people were evacuted all around the are due to over 20 explosions that year alone! I don't think it is just me when I say, whats the point in living in a place like that if you don't have to? Yeah a volcano is definitely something I don't want to live near ESPECIALLY an active one!
Site: http://www.gomanzanillo.com/old_articles/volcano/
The people of the are believe that more than 3,000 years ago the God of fire looked down from the volcano, Nevado de Colima, to advise the inhabitants of this region. Then his younger hot tempered brother wanted to instill fear into the people and severely punish those who didn't please him. The "Nevado de Colima" is a non-active mountain about 14,000 feet high right next to the "Volcan de Colima" which has been active for 5 million years and went off in 1991 and again in 1994 which may seem like awhile ago but it has been going off seemingly constantly for a LONG time. In 1998 people were evacuted all around the are due to over 20 explosions that year alone! I don't think it is just me when I say, whats the point in living in a place like that if you don't have to? Yeah a volcano is definitely something I don't want to live near ESPECIALLY an active one!
Site: http://www.gomanzanillo.com/old_articles/volcano/
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
La Tomatina.
I know i'm wouldn't be alone in saying that a massive tomato food fight would be AWESOME! This is probably one celebration above all the others that I wished we celebrated it in the U.S. or at least a smaller version! This kind of thing is like the food fight that people - as kids - always talk about and joke about but it never seemed to happen no matter how tempting it was to just toss a unwanted piece of food in the other direction.This tradition isn't new by any means but it isn't that old either, however it has the attention of the whole world and thousands of foreigners come to participate along with the traditional spanish people.
"La Tomatina" a tomato fight in Buñol near Valencia happens every year on the last Wednesday in August but the clebration starts a few days earlier. The most famous part of the festival is the tomato fight which takes place between 11am and 1pm on that day.The event has become one of the most famous of Spain's summer festivals with thousands of people flocking to this little town for this rather crazy event. The origins of it aren't clear with several theories explaining how it came to be. However, the most likely theory says that the explanation dates back to 1945 when a parade of enormous figures with big heads was passing through the streets of Buñol. Apparently some kids tried to join in the parade and knocked over one of the giants who got to his feet and started swinging out at everyone around him. The kids fought back by grabbing tomatoes and throwing them at him until police stopped them. This is one of the coolest traditions of Spain if not the world, I really hope that some time in my life I can make it there during these days and that I get to participate in this awesomely hectic event that really just seems like a lot of messy fun! It really just seems like a good time to me.
Site: http://www.spanish-fiestas.com/spanish-festivals/la-tomatina-tomato-battle-bunyol.htm
"La Tomatina" a tomato fight in Buñol near Valencia happens every year on the last Wednesday in August but the clebration starts a few days earlier. The most famous part of the festival is the tomato fight which takes place between 11am and 1pm on that day.The event has become one of the most famous of Spain's summer festivals with thousands of people flocking to this little town for this rather crazy event. The origins of it aren't clear with several theories explaining how it came to be. However, the most likely theory says that the explanation dates back to 1945 when a parade of enormous figures with big heads was passing through the streets of Buñol. Apparently some kids tried to join in the parade and knocked over one of the giants who got to his feet and started swinging out at everyone around him. The kids fought back by grabbing tomatoes and throwing them at him until police stopped them. This is one of the coolest traditions of Spain if not the world, I really hope that some time in my life I can make it there during these days and that I get to participate in this awesomely hectic event that really just seems like a lot of messy fun! It really just seems like a good time to me.
Site: http://www.spanish-fiestas.com/spanish-festivals/la-tomatina-tomato-battle-bunyol.htm
Flamenco
Well there is a good chance that you haven't heard of it, I know I hadn't before I stumbled upon it but it seemed somewhat interesting so I looked into it. It is a old tradition that consists of much dancing, a lot of guitar playing, but most of all singing which is the most important part. Although the theme of the celebration can range from all kinds of feelings it comes from the gypsies and many sad versions of this celebration are due to the sufferings of these gypsy people.
Of course this tradition has been changed as it traveled throughout Spain which is expected since no two places seem to have the exact same culture or traditions, but one part that remains is that while playing guitar and dancing are a big part of it singing remains the most important part of the celebration. This tradition started about 200 years ago by a gypsy people that were just expressing themselves. Song, dance and guitar are mixed into rhythms which are often made up on the spot. Flamenco can have any imaginable theme, from up to date stories, to politics, to love, to history, to humor, and so on. Often however, the tragic lyrics and tone of flamenco reflect the sufferings of the gypsy people from whom it originated. This tradition is interesting and it is cool to learn how and why it came to be. Although we don't even have anything close to this in the U.S. (outside Native American culture) it seems to me that it would be odd if we did.
Site: http://www.spain-info.com/Culture/flamenco.htm
Of course this tradition has been changed as it traveled throughout Spain which is expected since no two places seem to have the exact same culture or traditions, but one part that remains is that while playing guitar and dancing are a big part of it singing remains the most important part of the celebration. This tradition started about 200 years ago by a gypsy people that were just expressing themselves. Song, dance and guitar are mixed into rhythms which are often made up on the spot. Flamenco can have any imaginable theme, from up to date stories, to politics, to love, to history, to humor, and so on. Often however, the tragic lyrics and tone of flamenco reflect the sufferings of the gypsy people from whom it originated. This tradition is interesting and it is cool to learn how and why it came to be. Although we don't even have anything close to this in the U.S. (outside Native American culture) it seems to me that it would be odd if we did.
Site: http://www.spain-info.com/Culture/flamenco.htm
The Running of the Bulls
Yeah, I would agree with what most people think that haven't grown up in a traditional Spanish speaking environment, and that is that the running of the bulls and bull fighting seem unusual to say the least. Also they seem unnecessarily dangerous. The running of the bulls sounds interesting however and why they do and what it means surprised me a bit being that they do it to honor their patron saint, San Fermin. By the way the running of the bulls is held in Pamplona, Spain.
Every year from July 7th-14th the running of the bulls begins, thousands of people gather in Pamplona to start the most famous bull-running celebration to honor Navarre capital's patron saint, San Fermin. In the morning of July 7th, runners mostly younger men gather at the bottom of Santo Domingo, which is where the starting line is. They then group up and sing a tradional song. Then, a rocket goes off, and a bunch of bulls are released. The bulls run along the rather narrow street a half of a mile to a bull ring. The runners run in front of the bulls, trying to get as close as possible. I would guess that participating in this would be quite the adrenaline rush and honestly I could never see myself doing this. Although impressive the fact that these bulls are bred for this and then killed later in the day by a matador in a bull fighting ring seems a bit cruel, however the running of the bulls part seem exciting.
Site: http://www.spain-info.com/Culture/bullrunning.htm
Every year from July 7th-14th the running of the bulls begins, thousands of people gather in Pamplona to start the most famous bull-running celebration to honor Navarre capital's patron saint, San Fermin. In the morning of July 7th, runners mostly younger men gather at the bottom of Santo Domingo, which is where the starting line is. They then group up and sing a tradional song. Then, a rocket goes off, and a bunch of bulls are released. The bulls run along the rather narrow street a half of a mile to a bull ring. The runners run in front of the bulls, trying to get as close as possible. I would guess that participating in this would be quite the adrenaline rush and honestly I could never see myself doing this. Although impressive the fact that these bulls are bred for this and then killed later in the day by a matador in a bull fighting ring seems a bit cruel, however the running of the bulls part seem exciting.
Site: http://www.spain-info.com/Culture/bullrunning.htm
Spanish Birthday Traditions
Many different cultures around the world celebrate birthdays in many different ways I am going to inform you on some traditions of a normal spanish birthday or "Cumpleaños". Many Spanish celebrate two personal days of celebration, their birthday, and their name day, or Saint’s Day. Many people think that a spanish birthday only consists of a piñata, this is not the case, however,but they usually do have piñatas as part of the celebration.
Lets start with birthdays. Birthdays are pretty low-key events in Spain. I suppose one advantage of being in Spain is that if you’re 40 or 50, people really don't make it a big deal. They don’t really send cards in Spain. Also don’t expect piles of presents either. Close relatives might give presents, but these will probably be small and probably not a big deal, unless you have a party then most guests will bring along a gift of some sort. I guess that if you were getting older than it would be awesome since you don't have to be reminded of aging every year but being younger and not getting a ton of presents? That wouldn't be so great, not trying to sound spoiled or all about "getting and not giving" but I enjoy getting presents! Another tradition often celebrated for people of Spanish speaking countries is mostly for younger people and this tradition is the breaking of a piñata which is generally full of candy.
Site: http://www.solchannel.com/andalucia/expat-life/expat-survival-guide/-special-occasions-in-spain-vi247.html
Lets start with birthdays. Birthdays are pretty low-key events in Spain. I suppose one advantage of being in Spain is that if you’re 40 or 50, people really don't make it a big deal. They don’t really send cards in Spain. Also don’t expect piles of presents either. Close relatives might give presents, but these will probably be small and probably not a big deal, unless you have a party then most guests will bring along a gift of some sort. I guess that if you were getting older than it would be awesome since you don't have to be reminded of aging every year but being younger and not getting a ton of presents? That wouldn't be so great, not trying to sound spoiled or all about "getting and not giving" but I enjoy getting presents! Another tradition often celebrated for people of Spanish speaking countries is mostly for younger people and this tradition is the breaking of a piñata which is generally full of candy.
Site: http://www.solchannel.com/andalucia/expat-life/expat-survival-guide/-special-occasions-in-spain-vi247.html
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