The art and culture of England encompasses many different aspects in both its modern and historical contexts. These combine to create the unique identity of this ancient country, permeated with international influences and exuding a charm and heritage all its own. To know the culture of a country is to have an entirely new perspective of its history as well as its modern-day “persona”.

The cultural and artistic elements of any nation are manifested through its:

• Architecture

• Cuisine

• Folklore

• Laws and legal system

• Literature

• Music

• Philosophy

• Religion

• Language(s)

• Science

• Sports

• Symbols

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Much of ancient Hawaiian history remains unknown, from the legend of the tiki Gods to where the people themselves originated. Europeans’ insight into this unique culture began only a few centuries ago, leaving earlier history shrouded in history. One of our first accounts of Hawaii comes from Captain James Cook, who wrote about the islands after stopping there in 1778.

Among the many insights he offered into Hawaiian culture was the relative brutality and the weaponry he encountered in his explorations, which had never before been seen in Europe. The feudal culture of Ancient Hawaii was no doubt a dangerous place. Modern scholars believe that ancient Hawaiian warriors would probably have given the Spartans a run for their money. Those warriors, called “Koa,” utilized a wide range of clubs, pikes, spears, daggers and throwing axes.

One of the most dangerous weapons in the arsenal of the Koa was the warrior himself. The unique martial art practiced by these warriors, known as Lua, was developed to completely incapacitate or kill an opponent. Lua incorporates a variety of strikes and jabs deigned to break bones and take advantage of pressure points. As a martial art, Lua is considered sacred, and warriors were forbidden to teach the art to outsiders. This ancient martial art was practiced in loin cloths; the Koa did not wear armor, but rather shaved and lathered their bodies before battle in order to increase their advantage in hand-to-hand fighting.

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Perhaps the most famous clothing brand name in the world, Levi Strauss & Co. were the inventors of blue denim jeans. Here’s how it happened.

In the mid 1800s during the California Gold Rush a young German immigrant travelled to San Francisco with the intention of opening a West Coast branch of his brother’s New York dry goods business.

That young man’s name was Levi Strauss. Upon his arrival he was asked by a gold prospector what he was selling. Upon being told he was selling rough canvas for tents and wagons the prospector said he should be selling pants, as he couldn’t find any that were strong enough to last.

The comment clearly registered with Strauss. Instead of selling his canvas for tent-making, he turned them into waist high overalls. While they proved popular with miners they complained of chafing so Strauss turned to a French twilled cotton cloth called “serge de Nimes” – from which we get the now common term “denim”. That was in 1853 and Levis Strauss & Company was founded.

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I am far from an expert in the Islamic faith. I was raised Anglican Catholic and my expertise in my own faith is lacking, let alone a faith I am only beginning to try to understand. I raised my children in the Anglican faith and now that they are adults, each has made their personal choice as to faith.

Surprisingly, to me anyhow, my eldest son converted to Islam about two years ago. This roused my here-to-for dormant interest in the Islamic faith. To further clarify, my interest in Islamic holidays was peaked when I realized that my son was not celebrating Christmas (understandable), New Years, birthdays, and other celebrations he had grown up with. This seemed to be with or without regard to their significance with respect to the Christian faith.

I don’t know if you have ever read the Quran. It is relatively brief in comparison to the King James Version of the Bible. The Quran has 114 Surahs (chapters for lack of a better word). Many professing the Islamic faith have memorized it and I am given to understand that committing the Quran to memory is everyone’s goal. But I digress! What, if anything, do the Islamic faithful celebrate?

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There is a tremendous cultural diversity within the Islamic world. This diversity is also reflected in wedding ceremonies, which vary from region to region and sect to sect. My purpose here is to find the common threads in Islamic weddings as practiced today.

The Islamic marriage is known as Nikaah, which, incidentally, is from the Arabic word akd for “to unite”. Marriage in the Islamic faith is not only a social agreement but also a legal contract. This implies a “sterile”, perhaps even “cold” ceremony. This is not the case. Beyond the actual formalities that must be met, Muslim weddings are actually quite festive.

The first thing I wanted to learn was who officiates an Islamic marriage since Islam does not recognize any official clergy. I was surprised to learn that any Muslim with a thorough understanding of Islamic tradition may perform the wedding ceremony. Many, however, choose to engage the services of a marriage officer, called qazi. He acts as the supervisor of the marriage.

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Africa’s origin is steeped in mystery, effectively carried along the generations by those who valued their heritage and desired to continue the legends and tales that defined their culture to such a significant extent. The origin of its very name is filled with intrigue and presents many different theories.

“Afri” was associated with the Phoenician afar “dust” and was used as the name for the society of people living near Carthage (an ancient city near Tunis) in northern Africa. Their existence was first noted during the Punic Wars (between 264 and 146 before our Common Era or BCE). These three wars were the largest of their time, fought between the Roman Empire and Carthage. They were a battle over space between the well established Carthage and the ever-expanding Rome. Rome was ultimately victorious. When this happened, Carthage became the capital of the Roman province of Africa (which was, in part, made up of the coastal section of Libya). The Roman suffix to denote a country was “-ca” and this was thus added to “Afri”. The Arabians of that time converted this name to “Ifriqiya” in Latin. In Algeria, this name still exists, as is evident by such areas as Ifira and Ifri-n-Dellal.

Another theory is that the word originates from Berber, a group of languages spoken in Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Egypt, as well as parts of Niger, Mali, the Sahara and northern Sahel. The Berber word “ifri” means “cave” and is thought to have referred to the numerous cave dwellers (or cavemen) of the time. These North African folk were called Garamantes in Greek, although the name they bore for themselves remains unknown. This society boasted an efficient underground irrigation system and left many valuable rock paintings that revealed their way of life and values.

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Still looking for your kids’ costume this coming Halloween? If so, then here are some ideas to help you pick out the appropriate children’s Halloween outfits for your kids. Halloween is a time of fun and games as well as frights and screams. Your child will surely want to portray someone or something he wants to be, so before you rush out and buy out your childrens Halloween outfits, make sure that you ask them what they want to be this coming Halloween. This will add to the excitement to the child and avoid disappointments in the future. Usually, boys and girls have different choices when it comes to Halloween costumes, so you have to be sensitive regarding this matter. Boys tend to choose the mean-looking Halloween mask and stuff while girls may want to wear a Halloween fancy dress. It all depends on your children’s taste. However, if you want to choose to be neutral and general, here are some of the most common Halloween costumes that you may want to consider.

The Vampire

Vampires are probably the most popular costumes nowadays, with a lot of popularity brought about by recent movies and novels made about it. Your children will probably say “yes” about wearing a vampire costume this Halloween. You could try to surf out the internet for possible vampire costumes and their accessories. The usual Halloween accessories needed for the vampire costume would probably be the false set of fangs, a black cape and probably face paint or lipstick to dab a little amount of “blood” on the lips. This adds a little bit of sinister side to your child’s costume.

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Nothing beats celebrating the Halloween season than being the famous and classic vampire of all time, the Count Dracula. The well-known Dracula has given us more than screams and frights than a lot of famous monsters and creatures. This Halloween, it would be nice to dress up as the medieval Count that everyone loves and fears. Instead of wearing a Halloween fancy dress, try to surprise your friends with a classic Dracula costume.

Here is a brief history of how the Count Dracula came to be. Count Dracula is a fictional character that was created in the earlier times based on a novel in the 80’s. Since then, the name Dracula can be associated with vampirism, mysteriousness, the gothic and the likes. As the ancient legends say, Dracula originated from Transylvania, Romania, a small town in a small country. Buried deep in the catacombs of his castle, he comes back after a long period of slumber and starts spreading terror by victimizing young ladies in their sleep. Legend has it that he could also use sorcery to hypnotize a person and put him under his spell, allowing him to take control of that person.

Dracula is a pretty common Halloween costume. however, you could always make it unique and special in your own ways. In order to dress up as Dracula, you have to have the appropriate Halloween accessories for people to recognize you as such. One of the things you must have would be a long, free flowing Dracula cape. Dracula is usually portrayed to have a long jet black cape with a sharp stand-up collar accentuating the eeriness of this mysterious being. You could search in the internet for possible versions of the Count Dracula, but you rarely see ones without a cape, so keep in mind that you have to wear a cape in order to be him. You could find Dracula capes in novelty shops and costume stores near you. You could also try purchasing pre-made Dracula capes in the internet. Keep in mind that if you are ordering through the Internet, you must consider the time it takes for the cape to be delivered, so you have to order ahead of time. Capes are usually colored black and blood red, although you can also find some of various colors such as blue and purple. Capes in black are usually the most common, since it reinforces the idea of the Count Dracula being a creature of the Night. The fabric is usually made of silk and satin, but it can also be made of velvet. Velvet capes look better and classier, but they are usually expensive, so you might as well settle for satin or silk. Some capes are colored blood red on the other side; this emphasizes the costume and makes it more elegant and classy. Unlike most capes with flawless black surface, some have strange patterns and embellishments on the surface that make the cape look detailed and intricate.

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Are you looking for a popular costume this coming Halloween? If so, then you should consider getting yourself a ghost costume. Nothing is spookier than wearing a ghost costume for Halloween. What’s good about ghost costumes is that they are simple and very comfortable to wear. If you are pretty short on cash, all you have to do is get a white sheet, cut off two holes for each eye and you’re done! However, if you are looking for a more intricate Halloween fancy dress, then you could look for sophisticated ghost costumes. Ghost costumes are pretty famous because of their eeriness and versatility. When looking for the appropriate ghost costume, you could spend hours looking for a choice.

Usually, ghosts are portrayed as ethereal beings, white and semi-transparent in color. Ghosts are depicted in several different ways. Some ghosts are depicted to be formless, white entities with two black holes for eyes and one for the mouth. This image is very common and can be easily made into a costume. these are what we usually see from children’s drawings and books. Other depictions show people wearing old traditional clothing such as old-fashioned ruffled long dresses, coats and trousers. These people are supposed to portray people who have passed away long ago. For those who would like to have a more sophisticated ghost costume, keep in mind that you have to get the correct Halloween accessories for you. For the basics, you have to have an outfit that is pale in color. Usually, it has to be white since ghosts are commonly seen as white, translucent creatures. An optional accessory would be a wig that is pale white in color. You could buy cheap wigs at your local novelty shops. You could wear your wig along with a white Halloween Fancy dress. If you don’t have the time or the means to skim through costume stress and novelty shops, you could always check out the internet for websites that sell Halloween costumes. These costumes are pre-made and pre-sized so you have nothing to worry about the details. However, the time it takes for the costumes to be delivered usually range from a week to a month, so make sure that you know the estimated time of arrival and order ahead of time so that you could plan ahead and prevent delays and disappointments. Also, it is advised that you be specific with your size, to avoid returning the package and having it resent again.

There are several things you need to consider before purchasing ghost outfits. The most important thing you need to do is to know what fabric the costume is made of. Usually, ghost costumes are cheap because it is made only by cotton. However, cheap as it may be, cottons are very comfortable to wear. Satin costumes are also good since it gives your costume the right luster for your ghostly image. You could add a little make up to make your face paler and whiter making you spookier.

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Tired of the same silly costume you wear this Halloween? Why don’t you try to consider being in a Vampire fancy dress for a change? Vampires are one of the most popular types of costumes during Halloween. However, you could always make it different from the rest by simply putting some of your own ideas into it.

For a brief history lesson, vampires are creatures of the night that have been feared of since the ancient times. These creatures are commonly known to be corpses of people whose souls were thought of as being corrupted and empty. Because of this, they turned into lifeless evil creatures, which suck blood from people to fill up the emptiness inside them. Some people are even unfortunate enough to survive after being drained of their blood and turned into vampires themselves. People have believed that these creatures exist until the late part of the twentieth century. Nowadays, people know the truth that vampires do not exist, however, the interest in vampires have not ceased to exist. Movies and novels have been made regarding vampires and the likes. This makes it one of the most popular Halloween costumes of all time. This is a great opportunity to surprise your friends and family by showing your “true” self to them.

In order for you to successfully create the perfect vampire costume, you need to have all the right Halloween accessories. You could always pass by your local novelty and costume stores for vampire costumes and accessories. Here are several popular accessories you will need in order for you to portray a traditional vampire; a set of false fangs is very important. This is the trademark of all vampires. Next would be your outfit. Instead of a Halloween fancy dress, you could look for dark and elegant outfits such as a black tuxedo. You could wear a jet black coat with sharply cut coat tails to give your shape an enhanced detail. If you have no time to look for a costume shop, you could always search and browse in the internet for websites which sell vamire costumes. However, you need to consider the length of time it takes for the costume to be delivered. Some costumes take about two to three weeks to be delivered, others take less, so make sure that you order ahead of time to avoid shipment delays and misunderstanding. For the make-up, you could use face paint or any used lipstick. You could paint your face white and pale as the moonlight and dab your lips with lipstick as if blood is pouring down your lips.

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