Culture of Portugal
Culture of Portugal
The country of Portugal has many rich cultural facets in food, music and sports. Situated on the west coast of the Iberian Peninsula that it shares with Spain, Portugal’s culture was shaped by the influences from the Latin, Visigoth and Muslim cultures. Many men in Portugal go into the Atlantic to catch fish while the women are homebound doing chores like house work or cleaning the fish. The men are the bread winners while the women are the housewives who take care of the home. The kids are free to make their own decisions outside of their home. It is mandatory for children to go to school until 6th grade but after that they are free to choose to carry on in school or help out in the working society. Even though the children have freedom outside their homes, it is within the culture for children to not leave the house until married and have their own children because of the strong family ties. Divorce was not an option in Portugal for many years. After the revolution of 1974, divorce was finally allowed into the Portuguese culture dominated by the Roman Catholic religion. Portugal has been known to be a very homogenous society over the years with mainly one language and one religion, Portuguese and Roman Catholic respectively. The Do’s and Don’ts of the Portuguese Culture are quite simple but different from the way of life that we know here in the States. For example: each time you meet someone new, you take time to get to know them; do not use first names unless you know them very well, the Portuguese have a lot of respect for academic titles for doctors and engineers and are addressed accordingly; upon meeting for the first time, the Portuguese can be quite reserved and formal if they do not know you well; don’t write in red because it is considered rude; if invited to someone’s house, do bring flowers; do not stretch in public because it is also rude; tip taxis 10% on each ride and by just using common sense and smiling at all times you
The country of Portugal has many rich cultural facets in food, music and sports. Situated on the west coast of the Iberian Peninsula that it shares with Spain, Portugal’s culture was shaped by the influences from the Latin, Visigoth and Muslim cultures. Many men in Portugal go into the Atlantic to catch fish while the women are homebound doing chores like house work or cleaning the fish. The men are the bread winners while the women are the housewives who take care of the home. The kids are free to make their own decisions outside of their home. It is mandatory for children to go to school until 6th grade but after that they are free to choose to carry on in school or help out in the working society. Even though the children have freedom outside their homes, it is within the culture for children to not leave the house until married and have their own children because of the strong family ties. Divorce was not an option in Portugal for many years. After the revolution of 1974, divorce was finally allowed into the Portuguese culture dominated by the Roman Catholic religion. Portugal has been known to be a very homogenous society over the years with mainly one language and one religion, Portuguese and Roman Catholic respectively. The Do’s and Don’ts of the Portuguese Culture are quite simple but different from the way of life that we know here in the States. For example: each time you meet someone new, you take time to get to know them; do not use first names unless you know them very well, the Portuguese have a lot of respect for academic titles for doctors and engineers and are addressed accordingly; upon meeting for the first time, the Portuguese can be quite reserved and formal if they do not know you well; don’t write in red because it is considered rude; if invited to someone’s house, do bring flowers; do not stretch in public because it is also rude; tip taxis 10% on each ride and by just using common sense and smiling at all times you
References: 1) http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Portugal.html 2) http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/471439/Portugal/23819/Sports-and-recreation 3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal 4) http://www.visitportugal.com/NR/exeres/720D5C1A-D407-4D2A-9956-43447B64DBB2,frameless.htm 5) http://www.golisbon.com/food/food.html 6) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Portugal