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'The Great Indian Shift', Social Media's New Ridiculous Trend
'The Great Indian Shift', Social Media's New Ridiculous Trend
Sanjana Singh, Y11B
'The Great Indian Shift', Social Media's New Ridiculous Trend
‘The Great Indian Shift’ is a new ridiculous trend that social media has recently come up with. To all the people reading this who don’t spend all their time 24/7 on social media and actually have a life, let me explain what this new trend is. South Asians have always been viewed as undesirable and unattractive on social media due to the poor portrayal of South Asian culture in Western media (i.e. the nerdy character) and the negative stereotypes and connotations associated with the ethnicity . This so-called ‘great shift’ claims that South Asians (particularly Indian people) are all of a sudden, beautiful. Which is quite ridiculous because South Asians have always been attractive. For example, India has won the Miss World title six times and the Miss Universe title three times. It’s not South Asians that have changed, it’s how other people perceive them. The idea of a race becoming a trend is ludicrous.
South Asians have always been treated badly on the internet, from racist remarks to being referenced on ‘what race would you not date?’ videos. But now, South Asians are being perceived as attractive by non desi-people. South Asians went from being ugly to desirable, and all because of a trend. This results in self doubt, lowered self-esteem, a lack of confidence and in turn leads to the desire for validation. This whole absurd trend is based on validation from other racial groups. It manipulates the insecurities of certain South Asians vulnerable to these racist comments. It’s heartbreaking how it takes a dubious trend for some South Asians to feel confident in themselves. Which poses the question, why do South Asians need someone to tell them that they’re beautiful?
Although the beauty ideal is different depending on the culture and country, it cannot be denied that beauty revolves around Western beauty standards. For example, now, South Asians are viewed as attractive simply because the Western beauty standard deems them as so. Furthermore, not every South Asian looks the same. South Asia is an incredibly diverse region, home to people with different skin colours, face shapes and features. However, this trend is clearly oblivious to this fact. In reality, it promotes colourism as it tends to favour South Asians with eurocentric features, such as: fair skin, small noses or light eyes.
To all the people feeling insecure when it comes to this trend, don't let your appearance and self-worth be dictated and controlled by something so insignificant. It’s sad that it has to be said in the first place, but it shouldn’t take a weird trend to convince people that they are beautiful.
The History of Chinese New Year Traditions
The History of Chinese New Year Traditions
Sophie Turner, Y13A
The History of Chinese New Year Traditions
Chinese New Year is a holiday associated with many distinctive, iconic customs. But where do these traditions originate from? From red envelopes to bright fireworks, this article explores how these traditions have manifested themselves from deep rooted history.
Lion Dances
A staple of CNY is watching a lion dance, although as in line with Chinese traditions, the cultural dance is also performed at various important events, such as weddings and business events.
It is debated as to when exactly these types of performances began, but most historians widely agree that they originated in the Tang Dynasty, almost 1500 years ago in the 7th century. Back then, the dance was performed at the royal court (the Tang Court), and was known as the Great Peace Music. These performances were similar to what we know today in their extravagance, with one description featuring 140 background singers alongside five large lions.
The dance is very superstitious in nature - it is believed to scare off evil spirits and bad luck. In Chinese culture, lions continue to serve as an animal symbolic of stability and strength. Today, the art of a lion dance has evolved to become more creative - with elaborate costumes and increasingly complicated tricks.
Red Envelopes
The concept of a gift to symbolize good fortune originates from the Han Dynasty (beginning 206 BCE). The people of that time period acquired the custom of giving a coin to one another, known as “yasheng qian”, which was inscribed with messages of good fortune. It was widely believed that owning one of these would protect you from sickness or even death.
In the time period of the Republic of China, elders had the tradition of giving young people one hundred coins that were wrapped with red paper or string. This eventually evolved into the tradition we know today: a red envelope with cash inside.
Fireworks and Firecrackers
Fireworks are believed to have been invented in China, in approximately the second century BC.
Much of the beliefs of Chinese New Year are to do with the mythical monster Nian, who once a year, arrived to torment people. The legend is that an old man discovered that he was scared of red and firecrackers, which led to the sacred tradition of releasing red fireworks in CNY.
Since 1982, Hong Kong has released fireworks for the festival over Victoria Harbour - to the watching eyes of millions of Hong Kong people.
South Korean Traditions
South Korean Traditions
Walter OH, Y11A
South Korea - Traditions
As a Korean, I feel joy when people enjoy K-pop, Korean food, and Korean sports. On the other hand, many other parts of Korean culture are ignored. So in this article, I will introduce you to some more things about Korea.
Korea has 3 board games that are popular. Firstly, we have Janggi, which is basically Chinese chess but with a few different rules (seen in the picture on the left). Secondly, we have Baduk, which is also known as Go. Finally, we have Yutnori, which is a traditional Korean game generally played in the new year. It involves throwing 4 sticks.
Korea used to have this different age counting method, generally called the Korean Age, but this has been abolished recently (on June 28, 2023). The system went as follows: you were born as a 1 year old and every time a year passes you get a year older. This meant that I would be currently 17 years old in Korean Age as I was born in 2009. The month and the day doesn’t matter.
Some may already know, but Korea has its own language, Hangul, also called Korean. This was developed to allow poor people to be able to communicate easier without studying (as before, one would have to use Chinese and learn from school). Created by King Sejong, the language remains known as one of the most scientific languages in the world. The alphabets are designed to be similar to the sound created by the character.
Counterintuitively, the use of Hangul rose after Japan invaded Korea. This was to prevent Japan from fully taking over Korea, as a way to fight for independence for Korea. Funnily enough, even though it was Japan which should be punished for starting World War 2, Korea was the one that got split in half.
As mentioned before, Korea was split into 2 parts after World War 2. South Korea was dominated by the US and North Korea was under the control of the Soviet Union. During the Cold War, the two Koreas fought and the war has never ended. So far, they have only signed an Armistice (which means to pause the war, but not to finish the war). No peace treaty was signed after, so that technically means the war is still going!
In Korea, one of the most important things is food. Jjigae is a kind of soup or also known as stew, and in Korea we have many Jjigae. Mainly, we have Kimchi Jjigae, Budae Jjigae (also known as army stew, developed in Korea when there were bans on foreign foods), Doenjang Jjigae (also known as soybean paste stew), and more. There are also other well-known foods, such as Bibimbap, which is rice mixed with vegetables like carrots, mushrooms and some add egg yolk to it. Some others also enjoy Bulgogi, which is basically Korean barbecue. There is also Japchae (seen on the right), which is Korean glass noodles with vegetables and soy sauce. It may also have beef in it if wanted.
From the above statements on its culture, we can understand South Korea has developed despite the war. However, there are some issues that Korea will have to face, mainly, due to a low birth rate. Currently, the birth rate of South Korea is 0.72, the lowest the world has ever seen. There are predictions that the population could halve with this fertility rate.
Thank you for reading and if you have any question about the content of this article, please don’t hesitate to contact me at walter30661@g.lfis.edu.hk.
Sources:
https://www.chessvariants.org/oriental.dir/koreanchess.html
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/Depts/Union/CCC/go
https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/Culture/view?articleId=221648
https://www.90daykorean.com/interesting-facts-about-south-korea
https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2023/01/koreans-becoming-younger
https://www.defense.gov/News/long-diplomatic-wrangling-finally-led-to-korean-armistice
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/travel/global/10-foods-try-south-korea
Some information is also from my own knowledge.
Superstitions
Superstitions
Chloe Becker, Y11B
Superstitions
‘Good luck’ is a term we hear often from our friends and family, but what significance does it really have on how we may perform? This term represents a global belief in superstition, in this case, luck.
"Sometimes the creation of a false certainty is better than no certainty at all," says Vyse. Psychologists express numerous reasons why we as humans rely on superstitions. These vary from desire for control to cultural and social influences.
Firstly, the internal belief of superstition may drive from the need of control and self-reassurance. People often associate ‘luck’ with an object by creating a ‘lucky charm’ or by insignificant sayings such as “break a leg” which instills confidence and control within an individual. This sense of control relieves people from anxiety they may be facing, leading to a better performance in the task at hand. This ‘placebo effect’ of luck from a saying or an object may produce positive thinking and improve people’s response to events. This was proven by a group of scientists in 2010, they conducted an experiment which showed manipulating superstitious feelings increased golfing ability. The Hogrefe article states “some participants were primed for superstition prior to the task by being told “Here is the ball. So far it has turned out to be a lucky ball.” Controls were simply told “This is the ball everyone has used so far.” Remarkably, this manipulation produced a substantial increase in golf performance: Controls made 48% of putts while superstition-primed participants made 65% of putts”
However this idea of ‘luck’ isn't a physical thing that we can touch or hold. So how exactly have we come across this concept? Well, for generations there has been the ‘evolution’ and development of superstitions. However, it’s believed that these superstitions were rooted from ancient Greece in the 4th century BCE and countless cultural backgrounds. Although, there are ideas we aren’t as sure about their original roots. For example, the concept of ‘knocking on wood’ has a couple of theories, the first one dates back to practices of the Pagans. They believed that there were spirits and gods within the trees, and by knocking on the trunk this would instill a form of protection and luck. The alternate theory is much more recent, from the 19th century playground game Tiggy Tiggy Touch Wood, a variation of ‘tag’. In this game if a player touches a piece of wood before being ‘tagged’ they are protected, which can lead to the development of this superstition.
Some people may have personal reasons for their belief in a superstition, but this is primarily swayed by cultural differences and the contrasting beliefs across the globe. For instance, in North America you may walk into a building and notice that the 13th floor is missing or in Asia the 4th floor is missing. This isn’t a matter of ‘forgetting’ a floor, but rather the eerie connection to the number. Even things such as the colour red have different nuances. In China it represents luck, happiness and celebration but in South Africa, red is often associated with mourning and sacrifice. How can the same colour hold such opposing and powerful connotations? Well, it all depends on how that culture developed, such as the sociocultural environment, social information. But an underlying factor between all these ideas of superstitions and good or bad luck is fear. The fear of something bad happening or the fear of losing control.
Sources
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326330#Superstitions-may-improve-performance
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