Multicultural Society

Every society includes different people. There are people of different races, cultures, beliefs, with different nationalities, languages and lifestyles. This also includes different ways of thinking, behaviour and traditions. So it is very important for us to learn how to live together, how to overcome problems, how to get on with each other. Understanding and tolerance are important too. We should recognize the other people before we condemn (odsúdiť) them. Knowing other people can help us to recognize ourselves.

Multicultural education has also big importance. It prepares us for living in a multicultural society. It also helps us to be educated in more ways. We can learn about different cultures, we can learn about traditions and holidays which are celebrated by people of different nationalities. This knowledge can also help us to overcome misunderstandings and problems between people of different races and nationalities. Unfortunately there are still people who are afraid to know other cultures and they don’t respect their habits and behaviour. These people are called racists. They condemn people because of their colour of skin, nationality or religion. They are intolerant and they behave aggressive very often. Thanks to them is the coexistence and cohabitation of different races still problematic in our country.

There are many holidays which are celebrated during the year in our country. They are popular by people because they don’t have to work or go to school these days. They can relax and enjoy their leisure time. We can divide them to religious holidays and public holidays which are also called bank holidays because most offices, businesses and schools are closed. In our country we have five public holidays. The first of January is the day of the foundation of Slovak Republic. The fifth of July is the Day of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. We celebrate two brothers who bring Christianity in 863 to area of today’s Slovakia. The twenty- ninth of August is the Day of Remembrance of the Slovak National Uprising. The first of September is the Day of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic. The seventeenth of November is the Day of the Fight for Freedom and Democracy. The most important religious holidays are Christmas and Eastern. The most beautiful time of the year is Christmas. The Christians are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Preparation for it is taking 4 weeks and it’s called Advent. We are decorating our houses and Christmas trees. On the 24-th of December the whole family is meeting by Christmas dinner. It usually consists of cabbage soup, potato salad with fried carp; we also eat lot of cakes, fruit and other delicious meal. After dinner people go to Christmas trees and they are getting and given gifts. On the midnight Christians usually go to the churches. During Easter Christians are celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. In the Easter Monday morning guys go around with whip and with buckets full of water to girls. After that they obtain coloured eggs, chocolate and ribbons for whip as a reward. We also use to celebrate the All Saints day. It is on the first of November. It is the day when we are visiting cemeteries and we use to light candles on the graves. We also use to celebrate the New Year’s Day. At midnight people wish each other all the best in New Year as good health, happiness, love and a lot of success in work or life. We use to make New Year’s resolutions and we’re trying to keep it as long as it is possible. The celebrations at midnight are accompanied with fireworks.

Questions

1. Think about Slovak society and name the nationalities living there. Compare their ways of life and mutual relationships.
There live lot of nationalities in Slovakia. Most of them are people from lands which boarder with our country. So there live people from Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Ukraine, and people from Germany too. The biggest ethnic minority living in our country is the gypsy minority. They are temperamental and are living on their own. I think most of minorities which are living in our country don’t have different way of live. They live like the Slovak people, there aren’t differences. They can differ only by colour of their skin, by religion or holidays which they celebrate. By I don’t see any other differences.

2. Explain the advantages of being bilingual.
I think there are many advantages. People who had grown in bilingual families were taught in two languages. So from their childhood they have learnt foreign language. I think that their ability to learn other foreign language is better. It is easier for them. They can also find a well paid job in the future, because good language skills are very important nowadays. They are also well prepared to live in multicultural society because they were taught at least in two cultures.

3. Some students in Slovakia have the chance to study English (or German, Spanish or French) at bilingual schools. What are the pros and cons of attending such a school?
In my opinion bilingual schools can offer good education to students. Pupils can improve their language skills. They learn some subjects direct in foreign language and I think it is a big advantage. They can get more experiences by learning languages. They are better prepared to communicate in foreign language, their communicative language skills are better.

4. Explain the advantages of spending a year in an English-speaking country in the development of a young person.
I think spending some time in foreign country is good for everyone. Young people can get lot of experiences there because they are alone in foreign country. They don’t have their families and friends there. There is nobody who can help them. So they have to be independent, they have to relay on themselves. Of course they can improve their language skills because there live only foreign people who speak foreign language only. They can also get some experiences by working. Many young people want to work abroad. They can earn many there.

5. What feelings might people of different nationalities, colours and races have being alone in a strange culture?
They can have different feelings. I think it depends on the country in which they are and of course on people who are living there. It depends on how tolerant they are if they have enough understanding for people from different cultures. It could be difficult for foreign people to be in strange country. They don’t have their families and friends there; they don’t have any mental support there. It can be more difficult for them if they don’t know the language. Then it is a barrier not only between nationalities but even between languages.

6. How can we overcome the differences between different cultures?
There are lot of possibilities of how can we overcome the differences. Everything depends on society. So I think we should recognize other nationalities and their cultures. The first possibility is to be informed and multicultural educated. People should recognize other nationalities, their cultures and traditions. Then they won’t have strange feelings about these people. The other important thing is understanding and respect. We should be tolerant to foreign people and we should try to understand them. In my opinion these relationships would improve if people were more tolerant.

7. How would your parents behave if you wanted to marry a person of a different race or religion?
I think my parents are tolerant enough. So I think their behaviour won’t be different. Of course they will be interested in how this person is like, what character treats does he have. They will also ask me if we know each other well and if we understand each other. They would know if it is a good partner for me, if he will respect me and if he will be a good support for me. They would also know what is his opinion to family, if he want to have children and if he could take care of family.

8. How tolerant do you think you are?
I think I am a quite tolerant person. I have any problems with people of different races and religions. The most important qualities for me are behaviour and character. If somebody is polite to me I am polite to him.

9. Holidays which are celebrated in English speaking countries.
There are many public holidays in the USA. The Independence Day is on 4-th July and it is an anniversary of signing the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It is celebration of separation and independence of American colonies from United Kingdom. Thanksgiving is on 4-th Thursday in November and firstly it was celebrated in 1621 as the expression of joy and happiness after the first successful harvest. Memorial Day (Veteran’s Day) is celebrated on 30-th of March. This day commemorates Americans who fought in wars for their country. Labour Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September to honour working people of America. Halloween is on the 31-th of October. This feast is mysterious and that’s why people are dressing themselves to the funny or scary costumes and trying to scare others. There are also holidays which have more family character. Easter is a typical spring holiday. Especially children like this holiday because the Easter Bunny brings them chocolate eggs and sweets.

Christmas is a typical winter holiday. It is the occasion for meeting with relatives. On Christmas Eve the trees are decorated in families. Santa Claus comes on Christmas Day and people get and give presents to each other. On Christmas Day the traditional Christmas dinner is served.
New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are also celebrates in the USA. People go to the parties to welcome the coming year. They make resolutions and promises and trying to keep them all the year.

Public holidays in Great Britain are called “Bank Holidays” because all the banks, offices and schools are closed. Good Friday is the Friday before Easter. It is the anniversary of Christ’s crucifixion. Easter Monday is celebrated with fireworks. Whit Monday (seven weeks after Easter) is a Christian festival celebrated in commemoration of the coming of the Holy Ghost. August Bank Holiday is the most popular summer holiday. In that time families can go to the seaside and spend long weekend there. Christmas is the most beautiful holiday of the year. Preparations for Christmas start many weeks before. Special Christmas decorations, lights and Christmas trees can be seen in the streets. On Christmas Eve British homes are already decorated with Christmas trees. In the morning of Christmas Day people get and give presents to each other. In the evening is the traditional Christmas dinner is served. It consists of filled turkey or duck and Christmas pudding afterwards. The 26-th of December is called Boxing Day. On this day boxes with presents are given to postmen and other people who do services to the household. New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are not public holidays in England. People go to work as usual. On New Year’s Eve most of them stay up till midnight to see New Year coming. Many go to parties.