Which is the most important cultural identifier or the feature that defines your cultural identity? Write an essay of 180-250 words.
You can choose one of the following cultural identifiers:
- Festivals and cultural practices
- Shared values and beliefs
- Traditional food
- History
- Education
It's believed that cultural identity helps us identify ourselves as part of a culture.
This can be shown through the language we use to communicate, the food we often eat, the national clothes we wear on special occasions or festivals and cultural praces.
Among these, I think food and culinary traditions are the most important cultural identifiers.
On an individual level, there is a connection between food and each person's family ties.
We grow up eating the food cooked by our mother or other members in our family, so food becomes closely connected to our family traditions.
Many of us associate food from our childhood with warm feelings and good memories and it reminds us of our families and holds a special and personal value for us.
Food from our family often becomes the comfort food we seek when we miss our family or feel stressed.
I still remember a memorable moment when I was a kid.
I could not eat rice because I had a toothache.
My mother cooked soup and brought it to bed for me.
The flavor of the soup became something very familiar to me.
Now, whenever I feel tired or stressed, I remember the soup my mom used to make for me and I crave that soup.
On a larger scale, food is an important part of national culture.
It helps tell where each of us is from.
Each country has its own national cuisine.
For example, Chinese food mainly has sweet and spicy flavor with a special focus on red color decoration.
Traditional cuisine is passed down from one generation to the next and acts as a prominent expression of cultural identity.
Immigrants bring the food of their countries with them wherever they go and cooking traditional food is a way of preserving their culture when they move to new places.
In conclusion, food connects people to their family and nation, so it is a good reflection of a person's culture identity.
Some people believe cultural identity is how we identify ourselves as part of a culture.This can simply be done through the language we use, the food we often have, or the clothing we often wear on special occasions. In my opinion, festivals and cultural praces celebrated and preserved years after years are the most important cultural identifiers.
Through festivals, we want to express our unity as well as cultural identifier. Originally, festivals are special occasions when people at a parular place stop working in order to celebrate parties or events. They are often connected with religious beliefs of a specific group of people to thank God sand ancestors for good harvests, fortune, and happiness.
Along with festivals, cultural praces are unique ways of expressing who we are and what country or culture we belong to. These are traditionally considered the right things to do in a community. For example, Vietnamese people usually go to pagodas on first days of New Year to pray for good health and happiness. Although we are now in modern time, these traditions are well preserved respectably as a cultural stereotype.
As people all over the world become closer and closer, we share our festivals and cultural praces - the most important features. We organise international festivals and take part in various kinds of cultural events in other countries. This is always the meaningful way of identifying, sharing and preserving cultures.