March 4, 2012

Why are we scared of the number 13?

by Lindsay Shapka in Culture, People, History

For those of us that reside in the western world, fear or superstition of the number 13 is pretty common.

In fact, this fear even has a name: Triskaidekaphobia.

The number holds so much power that it is often omitted from hotel rooms, the floors of tall buildings and some people won’t even get out of bed on Friday the 13th.

There is no one reason to explain where this superstition comes from, but the many that I have come across pose very intriguing ideas rooted in historical or religious beliefs.

Why are people afraid of the number 13?

There were 13 people at the Last Supper where Jesus revealed that one of his disciples would betray him.
On Friday, October 13, 1307, King Philip IV of France ordered the Knight’s Templar arrested and killed.
13 is a lucky number in Judaism, and so, some say that a fear of the number comes from anti-semitism.

There is also evidence that a fear of thirteen comes from a fear of women, witchcraft, and disorder.

13 was once a number used to represent femininity because it corresponds to the number of lunar menstrual cycles in a year (13x28 days=364).
Witches gathered in covens of 12 with the devil joining them as the 13th member.

Other reasons seem a little more random.

There are 13 turns in a hangman’s noose and 13 steps up to the gallows.
12 is universally considered a perfect and harmonious number and 13 represents a step too far and throws this harmony into discord.

Did you know that the number 4 is unlucky too?

When living in South Korea, on the 13th floor, I noticed that though 13 was never omitted from buildings and hotel room doors, the number 4 was.

I discovered that the explanation for this superstition is a lot more cut and dry than the western superstition around 13. Apparently, countries in Asia and South East Asia familiar with Cantonese, avoid the number 4 because it is nearly identical in pronunciation to the word ‘death’.

Many product lines developed in Asia, like Nokia, omit the 4th series, jumping right to the fifth while hotels and high rises will often omit any floor with the number 4 in it (ie: 4, 14, 24… etc.)

Check out the latest posts!

People & Culture Blog Feed

6 Must-Read Books to Read This Winter.jpg

Just Blues: Experiencing the music of the legendary Sonny Rhodes

February 26, 2012

Exploring The Great Mosque in Xi’an, China

by Lindsay Shapka in Culture, Travel, People

The market was a tempting, chaotic maze of hanging lanterns, silk robes, and kitschy Mao paraphernalia. Glimpses of blue sky were visible through gaps between colorful tarps stretched over my head, as I wove through the crowd that was browsing the over-stuffed stalls.

It was taking all of my willpower to stop myself from pausing to get a closer look, but shopping could come later. I had a destination to get to.

The enormous wooden door was only part way open when I finally arrived at the entrance of the Great Mosque. The doorway was protected by a blue tarp, tied overhead, that was shared with a stall selling small copies of religious texts and colorful silk pencil cases.

I handed 12 yuan (approximately $2) to a bored looking woman sitting on a wooden stool (the Mosque is free for Muslims to enter) and stepped through the half-open door into an unexpectedly magical place.

The Great Mosque in Xi’an is one of the largest mosques in China and, from the outside, is disguised to look like a typical Chinese temple.

Other than four palm trees located just inside the entrance, the gardens leading to the temple are decorated with rocks and archways that look typically Chinese. Even the enormous, turquoise roofed prayer hall, located deep inside the complex (and not open to visitors), is designed to look like a large pagoda from the outside, hiding its telltale dome.

The mosque is said to have been founded sometime in the 8th century, and I assume its survival can, in large part, be attributed to this clever disguise.

High, thick stone walls shut out the craziness of the market that I had left behind and I took a deep breath as I started to walk through the garden — it had been too long since I had heard birds and smelled fresh air.

There were very few people in the large complex and none of them looked like tourists.

It struck me all of a sudden that my status as an "outsider" might be a problem, but none of the men dressed in black robes and white caps seemed to care about my presence.

This left me free to wander in and out of pagodas, small rooms with latticed doors and under blue tiled archways in quiet seclusion.

Without warning, my solitude was broken suddenly by chanting being broadcasted loudly through a hidden speaker. Curiosity drew me towards the source of the hypnotic sound, and I soon found myself at the entrance of the Great Mosque itself.

A row of square doorways across the front of it — with shoes neatly lined up outside — were open to the garden.

I didn’t dare get too close but peeking into one of the dark doors from a distance, I could see a cavernous room filled with men kneeling on an elaborately tiled floor. Their white-capped heads were lowered towards a figure, who had his back to me, at the far end of the room. I sat beside one of the doors, alone and out of sight, to listen to the chanting echoing inside the hidden dome.

Not wanting to get in the way I left the mosque before the chanting stopped.

I meandered back under the blue archways, past the four palm trees and finally, with one last deep breath of fresh air, stepped through the half-open door and back into the chaos of China.

Planning your visit

Open: Daily 8:00 am to 7:00 pm

Admission: March to November: CNY 25 (Approx. $4) December to February: CNY 15 (Approx. $2.50)
* Muslims can enter for free

Pin Me!

Read The Latest Posts!

Travel & Adventure Blog Feed

The best travel quotes from around the world.png

Guide to Teaching English as a Second Language

February 16, 2012

The Swastika Was a Symbol of Peace Before it Became Associated With Evil

by Lindsay Shapka in Travel, People, Culture

Even though it was located in the middle of a huge city, behind the stone walls that surrounded the ancient Buddhist complex, all was quiet.

After walking under a red pillared passageway, grey, weathered stone steps led me up to the main temple.

A 3-tiered grey stone pagoda sat in the middle of the dusty square in front of the temple, white pillar candles, and incense burning on a raised platform in front of it. Whoever had lit the flames was nowhere to be seen.

The temple itself, the center of all religious activity, was brown with elaborately painted vines and flowers covering the doors and window frames.

Not wanting to interrupt any ceremonies being performed inside, I sat on its steps carved with stone dragons, listening to the slow, strong chanting coming through the cracks in the huge wooden lattice doors.

It was a beautiful building — the sides were painted with intricate murals showing parts of the Buddha’s life and carved stone lotus flowers embellished the eaves and pillars. Abandoning my spot on the stairs for a closer look at the murals, I was shocked to see a huge swastika, painted in yellow, on the side of the temple.

My shock continued to grow as I walked throughout the rest of the complex and noticed swastikas on other buildings, and on statues of the Buddha as well.

The swastika as a religious symbol

It wasn’t until I got home and had the Internet at my fingertips that I learned that the swastika had been a symbol of Buddhism for thousands of years before the Nazi party of Germany adopted it as their own.

Representing good luck and well-being, the symbol is most commonly used in India but is also found in both the ancient and modern art of Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Celts, Native Americans, Persians, Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists.

In Buddhism, it also represents auspiciousness, the Buddha’s footprints, and the Buddha’s heart. Often used to mark the beginning of Buddhist texts, it is usually only found on buildings in South Korea.

The corruption of the symbol

In the twentieth century, the swastika was corrupted by the Nazi party (much like the Ku Klux Klan did to the Christian Cross, but with a lesser impact).

Despite the fact that the Nazi version of the symbol is drawn at an angle, with the crisscrossing lines running diagonally while the Buddhist version lies flat, most people in the Western World now look at any version of it as a symbol of evil and see nothing more.

Ironic, considering its original representation of peace, life, and joy.

Read The Latest Posts!

People & Culture Blog Feed

February 12, 2012

Hunting Down The Origin of The Triangle Shaped Hat

by Lindsay Shapka in Culture, People, Travel

Have you ever wondered why we associate certain items with certain cultures? Where do these items come from?

Why does a floral lei make us think about Hawaii? Why does a double-decker red bus bring up images of London, and why does a triangle shaped hat make us think of the rice fields of Vietnam?

I couldn’t help but ask these questions while walking down a quiet street in Hoi An, Vietnam while watching a woman, wearing a stereotypical triangle shaped hat, as she pushed her bike, laden with pineapples, slowly down the street. Determined to discover the story behind the hat, I started asking around about its origin.

I didn’t have much luck.

When I asked a man selling these hats on a street corner, he looked at me like I was nuts and told me that he made them, while the women at the front desk of my hotel said that the goddess made them through her people’s hands. I even asked a bartender later that night, but his response was that he would tell me only if I came home with him — I passed.

Realizing that I was getting nowhere, I decided it was time to do some research of my own.

This is what I’ve discovered.

The history of the palm-leaf hat

The triangle shaped hat of Vietnam also called the Non la, or palm-leaf conical hat, made its first appearance over 3,000 years ago. Its origin comes from a legend related to the history of growing rice in the country:

There had been non-stop, monsoon rains and the countryside was being washed away when suddenly a giant woman came down from the sky. She wore a hat made of four, huge, round shaped leaves that were stitched together with bamboo sticks to guard her from the rain.

She stood tall, twirled the hat back and forth and dispersed the clouds and rain.

She then taught the people how to grow rice in their rain-soaked fields before disappearing back into the sky.

The people built a temple to her, The Rain-Shielding Goddess, and tried to mimic her hat by stitching together palm leaves in order to honour her.

How these traditional hats are made

Today, the conical hat is made out of palm leaves, bamboo, or bark from a Moc tree and was once different shapes depending on a person’s sex and ranking.

Now, it is mostly worn by farmers, boating people or tourists and is mainly made in the standard shape seen in most tourist photos.

In some rural areas like Sapa, north of Hanoi, locals still make high-quality hats with designs and poems sunk into them that are only visible under direct sunlight.

Why do people wear them?

Not only great sun protection, these hats can be used as baskets, fans, and are great shields to hide kisses behind.

They are not as easy to find in the big cities anymore, because they can’t be worn on motorcycles, the main mode of transport in the country, but you should have no problem finding hundreds of them for sale at one of the many smaller towns and villages throughout the country — just remember that they are a difficult souvenir to take on a plane!

Keep Reading!

Travel & Adventure Blog Feed

February 8, 2012

Did You Know That Only Metal Chopsticks Are Used in South Korea?

by Lindsay Shapka in Culture, Travel, People

Imagine being in a foreign country and ordering what you think, from the photo in the menu, is chicken in marinara sauce, only to have a plate of cold, raw octopus tentacles in spicy fish sauce set in front of you.

Because you can’t speak the language, and all eyes are already on you because you are the only foreigner in the room, you have no choice but to attempt a few bites of your exotic dish.

Reaching for your utensils, you register that the chopsticks that you are about to use don’t have the familiar round, wooden feel — like the ones that come with Chinese take-out at home — but are flat, cold, made of metal and seem to slip with every attempt to pick up your food.

Crap.

Why are chopsticks metal in Korea?

Out of all the Asian countries, only South Korea uses metal rather than wood, bamboo, or plastic as the material for their chopsticks.

This practice started centuries ago in the time of the Joseon Dynasty when one of the Joseon kings, paranoid about an attempt being made on his life, started using chopsticks made of solid silver thinking that the silver would tarnish if there was any poison in his food. His higher officials followed suit and over time, the use of metal filtered down to the rest of the population.

Though difficult to use for those of us familiar with the cheap, wooden take-out version, these stainless steel utensils are not only easier to clean than their wooden counterparts but are reusable and so better for the environment.

They do take a while to get the hang of, however.

My first attempt, involving red saucy tentacles, resulted in a large red stain in the middle of my lap that matched the color of my (embarrassed) face.

Why You Should Never Give Money to Children When Travelling In Developing Countries

by Lindsay Shapka in Culture, Travel, People, Travel Tips

Don't give money to children when you travel

When traveling outside of the developed world, whether you are pulling a Louis V. suitcase behind you or carrying an overstuffed pack on your back, you will most likely have more money in your pocket than what the average person in the country you are visiting will make in a year.

Because of this, you will likely spend the majority of your trip looking into the big, innocent eyes of precious children with dirty cheeks, bare feet, and empty palms stretched out towards you.

It will be very easy to reach into your pocket and pull out a few coins to drop into their palms, an amount that is really pennies to you in the grand scheme of things. By doing this, however, you are not helping them, but condemning these children to a life of dependence and poverty.

Why you shouldn't give money to children

In most of the countries where you see kids begging in the street, there are few government social programs or education regulations in place to ensure that children and their families are being properly taken care of.

To supplement this, NGOs (Non-Government Organizations) have set up shop to offer schooling and housing free of charge.

You would think that parents would jump at the chance to have their children receive an education from these NGOs but this is often not the case.

Because they pull at the heartstrings and open the wallets of tourists, children make more money begging than their parents make at legitimate jobs. Even though sending their children to school is free, to many parents (who are, sadly, usually uneducated themselves) the lure of quick cash is more enticing.

Begging is a big industry, and kids are the victims of it

Begging has become a big industry and there are men and women who scour the countryside, looking for young, cute kids to come work for them as beggars in the city. They take these children from their families, promising to send back money that the child earns. They essentially act as their ‘pimp’.

What this means is that the money you put in a child’s outstretched hand is usually going to the adult that is standing off in the shadows nearby and only a fraction of it will go towards the child and his or her family.

What can you do?

The best way to avoid perpetuating this cycle of poverty is to say no to that outstretched hand and instead donate directly to one of the hundreds of NGOs.

If you just can’t bear to walk away from the tear-stained cheeks looking up at you, try giving them something of no value that cannot be taken away from them.

I carry balloons to give to the little boys and bobby pins to give to the girls. Both cost next to nothing, take up little space in a bag and (in my experience) make the child you give them to smile more than a dollar would.

After all, they are just kids.

Pin Me!

Don't give money to children when traveling

Visiting Mao Zedong's Body In Beijing, China

by Lindsay Shapka in Culture, People, Travel

Chairman Mao Memorial Hall        Beijing, China

The Chairmen Mao Memorial Hall sits in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. This mausoleum, built by workers using supplies from all over the country, is the final resting place of the body of the former leader of the country — Mao Zedong — who died in September of 1976.

After paying to check their bags and cameras safely away, visitors to the hall must pass through metal detectors before they are carefully divided into single file lines, and filtered matter-of-factly into the massive complex.

Just outside the entrance, a sign standing next to a woman selling flowers reminds visitors to remove their hats and to keep silent.

A narrow roped off pathway controls where visitors walk and guards wearing white gloves ensure that the lines of people move at a constant shuffle. Stopping is not allowed.

Mao’s mummified corpse lies in a crystal cabinet, his head slightly elevated with grey streaks in his hair. A red flag emblazoned with a hammer and sickle is draped over his body, and an eerie red spotlight lights his face. Beneath him, unseen to observers, is a refrigerator where he is lowered and stored at night, and where a wax replica of his body that is used for display when work is being done on the real one, is stored.

The whole experience lasts only minutes and before you know it, you are back in the square and the whole thing seems like some sort of weird dream.

Interestingly, Mao wanted to be cremated when he died but the Politburo went against these wishes instead preserving him the same way that other infamous Communists are. (The bodies of Lenin in Russia and Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam are on display in a similar fashion).

Recently joining the list of mummified rulers was Kim Jong-Il, the former leader of North Korea, who was embalmed and placed beside his father, Kim Il-Sung at Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang.