Good Day,
Everywhere in the world clothing takes on a special meaning. Every once and a while, it is fun to take a look around at the aesthetic things in our life and give them more attention. For example: everywhere in the world clothing takes on a special meaning.Whether it be costuming for annual events or personal celebrations or just part of their everyday lives, what people wear is of significance to them. Take this short quiz to determine how much you know about the global traditions associated with attire and about the nuances that make what we put on our bodies more that just what we store on shelves or place on hangers in our closets.
Q: What are the pants made of that a woman might customarily where in Mongolia?
A. Sheepskin
Q. Men in Scotland wear a type of pleated skirt called a _______________.
A. Kilt
Q. Women in India make dresses called __________________.
A. Saris
Q. What does a woman who wears a sari do with the loose ends?
A. She makes a shawl that covers her head
Q. What is the name for the hat that men wear in both India and Africa?
A. Turban
Q. What does a Spanish goatherd use to make a cloak?
A. He wraps a blanket around his shoulders
Q. What is the color that for a long time brides in China wore to their weddings?
A. Red
Q. In this instance, what does this color signify?
A. That the bride is happy to be married
Q. Where do the people live that traditionally wear black and white stripped garments when a friend dies?
A. South Sea Islands
Q. What does the black and white in these stripes signify?
A. the black stripes signify sadness and the white – hope that their friend will go to heaven
Q. The hoods of the gowns that the professors at college graduations wear in the U.S. are trimmed in various colors – what do these colors stand for?
A. Fields of study –
- Golden yellow stands for science
- Green for medicine
- Pink stands for music
- Light blue for education
- Purple for law
Q. In different parts of the world clothing and accessories can be used for other things. Give three examples:
- Ten gallon cowboy hats are used for buckets and they are filled with water so that their horses can drink from them
- In Greenland jackets can be substituted for beds – the pouches in the back of them is where mom’s place their little children to sleep while they wears the garment to keep warm
- In Portugal men like to wear stocking caps where they can place their coins and tobacco snuggly inside the tips of these caps
Q. What are wooden shoes called in some parts of Belgium and sometimes in the Netherlands?
A. klompen
Q. What are they referred to in France?
A. sabots
Q. What is the advantage of wooden shoes?
A. The people who wear them keep their feet nice and dry when they are tucked inside the wood
Q. In Japan what are the wooden clogs called? And, why are they mounted on wooden blocks
A. They are called Geta, they keep their feet from getting wet
Q. Why do the Japanese remove their shoes before going into the house?
A. to keep their conventional straw floor mats clean
Q. In what Asian country might you dispense with wearing shoes altogether even in the snow?
A. Bhutan
Q. Why do people in Austria wear scary masks during Fasching?
A. Fasching (carnival time) is a period just before Lent when people sing and dance in the streets, and make as much noise as they can. They believe that the noise they make scares away winter so that spring comes in faster.
Q. In what country is it customary to wear a crown with candles on your head and when would you wear this crown?
A. If I were a young girl in Sweden I might wear lighted candles in a crown for Saint Lucia’s Day which is the 13th of December. Early in the morning I would put on my crown and go through my house waking up my family with songs and food.
Q. What is the name of the leaves in Hawaii that girls wear when they dance the hula in grass skirts?
A. Ti leaves
Q. Where do the leaves come from that are make up the grass skirts for the women in the Pacific Islands?
A Their skirts are made from leaves from the coconut trees
Examples in Videos –
Swedish St. Lucia Celebration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cw5NmXkXjlY&feature=related
Fasching Celebration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r62niXB12Fs
Japanese Geta Shoes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB-KHzZSWtU
The Making of Klompen Shoes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcCozSKSdCU
African Marriage Attire – Zulu Tribal Customs
1940’s Man Dancing Hula in Grass Skirt –
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-950644327629567177#
Mongolian Beauties – in traditional costuming and more modern attire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2ZZD9-ce3A&feature=related
Also See These Articles –
Reflections of life, culture, costuming and religion in India
http://www.sights-and-culture.com/India/India-reflections.html
Chinese Wedding Customs –
http://www.zimbio.com/International+Weddings/articles/94/Chinese+Wedding
Mongolian Traditional costuming for Dance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAfUZ81E42I
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