Culture

Please allow us to share our cultures with you! :)

Germany

   

The 9th of November 1989 is one of the most important days in the German history. It is the day of the reunion of the German Democratic Republic and Federal Germany. This picture was taken in that night in front of the Brandenburger Tor, an emblem of Germany.


France

This picture is from Bordeaux, France which is a city very famous for wine.
You can see a typical vineyard in this picture.

Sweden

In Sweden, pizza is very thin and you eat it with "pizza salad".  This pizza salad is pickled cabbage and reminds me very much of Korean kimchi!  It was so comforting to travel abroad and get to experience this great cross-cultural similarity! =) 

This newspaper from Gothenburg, Sweden reads," Politicians suggest: spitting chewing gum (on the ground) can cost 1500 Swedish Crowns in Gothenburg." (~$205 USD/ 246,790 Korean Won).  Clearly, Swedish politicians have the environment in mind

In Sweden, one of the largest holidays celebrates an Italian "Saint Lucia" (the martyr and patron saint of the blind) who is said to have brought light to the darkest time in Sweden.  One legend claims that she came to Sweden by boat and shared food with the poor and hungry people on December 13th, the darkest night of the year (by Julian Calendar).  Another legend says that she brought food to persecuted Christians that were hiding in tombs in the catacombs under the city of Rome during the Deocletian persecution.  In the center you see Lucia who wears a red sash to represent the blood spilled from being martyred and she wears a crown of candles, which she was said to wear when bringing food to the poor/persecuted since she need lighting while holding trays of food.  This picture shows the University of Washington Lucia Choir from Seattle, WA on December 13, 2008.

This picture shows the Dalahäst, which is a traditional horse figurine and a national symbol of Sweden.  it is only painted in the city of Dalarna in Sweden.  This particular one is very large and located in Liseberg, the largest amusement park in Scandinavia.  Its main color is red because there are many copper mines in Sweden from which the paint is made.  [Follow this link for videos and fun thing about Swedish culture: http://svenska.weebly.com/fun-things.html]