research paper

Cultural Expression Essay What is cultural expression exactly? According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, cultural expression is expressions that result from the creativity of individual societies. Cultural expressions can range from anywhere between music, dance, art pieces, ceremonies and performances. There are so many different and interesting cultural ceremonies all over the world, but I am choosing to inform on the similarities and differences between the Hindu celebration of Diwali and the Christian holiday of Christmas. Though there is so much information on Diwali and Christmas, I am going to be writing about the background of the celebrations, what takes place during the celebrations, and how each holiday is represented. For many famous festivities, there are always different legends about how the celebrations came to be. There are a few legends about the origin of Diwali, but the most popular is the story of Ramayana. Thousands of years ago, in the city of Ayodhya, there was a king named Dasaratha who ruled with three of his queens and four princes. The eldest prince named, Ram lived with his beautiful wife Sita and got along well with the other queens and princes. One of the King’s wives was jealous of Ram, and ordered him to be exiled to the forest so that her son could take position of king. Ram, Sita and Ram’s brother, Lakshman went into the forest. A few years into their exile, the demon Surpanakha willed Ram to marry her, but he refused. In order to punish Ram, the demon’s brother kidnapped Sita. After a long battle to get Sita back, Ram fought the demon and finally killed him. After their required 14 years of exile, all three heroes returned home to have everyone waiting for them. Now the history of Christmas is a little different. Centuries before Jesus arrived, many Europeans celebrated light and birth during the Winter Solstice, when the worst of bad winters had past and the people

Cited: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/cultural-diversity/cultural-expressions/the-convention/glossary/ http://www.wipo.int/tk/en/folklore/ http://www.dishoom.com/2012/11/diwali-and-ramayana/ http://www.history.com/topics/christmas