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Why is culture important?

Posted on 09. Mar, 2010 by Iwind in Travel and Culture

Culture can be defined as the amalgamation of various constituents of human existence. Culture has a broad definition, including the mannerisms that people exhibit (behavior patterns), their religious or spiritual beliefs and the principles that define their actions. Culture isn’t a single entity but applies to various forms of human expression, including arts, traditions and rituals that have been prevalent for some time. Understanding the culture of a community or a region essentially means, being able to understand the mindsets of different people and the reasons that govern their actions.

Understanding Importance of Culture — often quoted as ethnic backgrounds or traditions of a community, culture helps in rendering a sense of individualism to people. Even within a nation, a community can struggle to define itself or establish a unique presence. In such cases, the presence of cultural values often presented in the form of customary mannerisms or time-honored practices helps a community to carve a niche for itself.

Why is culture important from a unifying perspective?
In contemporary times, when nuclear families are becoming the norm and regional migrations are common, the presence of cultural values help to unite people separated by distances or difference in mindsets. People belonging to a community enriched with cultural aspects such as celebration of common festivals share a common bond that helps to unite them in an unspoken but effective manner. Following a community’s traditions means that the community members share various aspects like cooking recipes, sense of dressing and the manner of communicating which help in creating a sense of commonness and hence, unity.

People who migrate away from their homeland are able to sustain a sense of being connected with their family and their community if they continue to practice the traditions which have seeped into their lives as cultural values. Culture is often defined as an invisible, social-control mechanism wherein people start interpreting the cultural values that have passed on to them as the benchmarks for how they should function. In this manner, healthy cultural values often act as social-regulatory tools, helping to shape a better, more organized and united community.

Why is culture important from a global perspective?
An often underestimated contribution of culture lies in its ability to create a regional and socialist harmony. This is because the fast-paced, contemporary world wherein people from different corners of the globe are increasingly intermingling with each other. Every individual brings forth the customs and cultural aspects of a certain region. When people begin to understand different cultural aspects, they develop some degree of understanding of faraway nations and communities, helping them become better informed, more tolerant and smarter world citizens.

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Tags: behaviour patterns, busy, culture, exhibit, families, globe, important, nuclear families, social harmony, spiritual beliefs, understanding, values