Egyptian customs and culture

Egypt spans Africa and Asia. Islam is the state religion in Egypt. Egyptians are upright, cheerful, tolerant and hospitable. They often deal with the harsh reality of life with humor. Dinner is shared with family after sunset, so it would be rude to have a date during this time. Egyptian Muslims have an indispensable habit of praying several times a day.

Islamic culture in Egypt: Islam cannot talk about modern Egypt. The Ramadan fast, the sound of mosques calling believers to worship five times a day... What is Islam like, which brings tourists into exotic places?

From a religious perspective, Egyptian history can be roughly divided into three stages: the ancient civilization era of polytheism, the era of Christianity (Coptic) and the Islamic era from the 7th century to today. Ancient civilizations mummified their bodies because they believed that the dead would one day come back to life. However, Christianity and Islam are religions that believe in the only god, so there is no idea that one can become a god after death and that life and death are reborn. In particular, Islam's teachings are not to save this world but to cultivate the afterlife. Therefore, all people after death will be brought to God. Those who do good in this world can enter heaven, and those who do evil will be sent to hell. Now 90% of Egypt's citizens are Sunni (Orthodox) Muslims, and Islam has a great influence on modern Egypt.

The five virtues of Islam

The five virtues that Muslims must abide by in their daily lives.

Confession of Faith: Sing the core part of the Islamic faith every opportunity you get: "There is no other god but Allah, and Mohammed is Allah's messenger. "

Worship: There are five times before sunrise, noon, afternoon, after sunset, and night.

Ramadan: The ninth month of Islam is Ramadan, or fasting month. During this month, no food is allowed during the day.

Alms: The rich give away part of what they receive to the poor.

Hajj: The 8th, 9th and 10th days of the twelfth month of Islam are the days of pilgrimage to Mecca, the first holy land of Islam, and inevitable rituals are held.

In the past, pilgrims crossed the Red Sea by boat and then crossed the Arabian Peninsula from the Sinai Peninsula. Nowadays, more people fly to Mecca. Economically viable Muslims only need to make a pilgrimage once in their lives. That said, the Hajj is an Islamic dream, so in Egypt many people toil in factories and companies to make multiple pilgrimages to Mecca. When the pilgrim set out, his family and friends greeted him and wished him a safe return. Pilgrims buy rosary beads and prayer utensils in Mecca as gifts for family, neighbors and friends.

The Islamic Code, which binds ordinary Muslims, includes parts equivalent to our criminal law, commercial law and civil law, and also stipulates the personal life style and moral consciousness, which cover a very wide range of contents. To non-Islamists, these rules seem too harsh. But for Muslims, some interpretations and applications are flexible on the basis of respecting the code.

In Egypt, children are generally born with their parents 'religious beliefs. Primary and secondary schools offer religious education courses (Muslims and Christians teach separately), and there is also a religion column on the ID card. For them, religion is not only a belief, but also closely related to daily life, customs and other social activities. Without religion, their lives would be impossible to talk about.

Egyptian Muslims have several rituals that they must undergo in their lives: First, on the seventh day of birth, a naming ceremony is held mainly for the midwife and the women around them. Burning incense in the house, putting the baby in a basket and shaking it over the censer for a while. The mother steps over the censer, and then hits the bowl with a metal pestle (a device usually used to display pepper), making a "clang" sound. It is said that this is because they believe that children who are scared by the loud noise will lose sexual function, so they are familiar with the loud noise immediately after birth. Soon, the boy who grew up had to undergo circumcision to remove part of the foreskin. There are many areas where girls are also circumcised (clitoral excision, etc.), but there is an increasing number of cases in large cities where highly educated parents do not require their daughters to undergo circumcised. But on the other hand, in Upper Egypt, it is also common for wounds to be sutured due to excessive excision.

Marriage in Islam takes the form of an exchange of documents. First, the man gives the legal gift to the woman's family. He then signed the marriage certificate with the bride (often represented by his father or uncle). In order for the marriage to be recognized, two Muslims must sign it. After a series of procedures, marriage was recognized by law. However, the recent rise in the form of gift money has become one of the worries of young men in the middle and lower classes in urban areas. In order to save this amount of money equivalent to what ordinary office workers have received for years, they have gone to work in oil-producing countries such as Saudi Arabia, but it is also difficult to obtain visas. Even if you succeed, it is common for World Customs Network to work hard for years without returning in the environment of the country where the exhibits are held.

In Islamic marriages, very few people can marry two wives per man, only those who can afford the gift and the elderly who have more money can do it. These people account for only a few percentage points of the married population.

Islamists 'understanding of marriage is also different from ours. Nowadays, ordinary people in other countries believe that marriage should be married when it is inevitable to fall in love. Of course, Dink's (no children) lifestyle is also accepted by people. But in Egypt, it is generally believed that getting married is to have children, so "marrying several wives" does not just mean the pursuit of "happiness" as we imagine, but also to have more children and share housework with many wives. Here are a few examples of forms of marriage that we find it difficult to imagine.

Islam: A Morocco judge married his mentor's mother as his second wife after the death of his mentor. This does not mean that Islamic society turns a blind eye to the intimate conversations and frequent exchanges of men and women who are not brothers and sisters or couples. However, for him, after knowing that his mentor's wife had a difficult life, the only way to relieve her was to marry her. After legally married, they had to take care of their master's mother without being criticized by others to reward their mentor. This is an example of how we cannot make a correct evaluation of this with tinted glasses.

After the marriage procedures are completed, the family will have a banquet. Egyptians love music, so they often call in bands to sing and dance, drink sweet juice or tea, chat, and spend good times. Because Islamic society prohibits alcohol, you do not drink anything with alcohol. No matter who you are, you can visit such a banquet, even a passer-by who passes by.

Finally, the day of death arrived. After the death was confirmed, the surrounding temples will hold funeral services, and people from all around will also come to join the funeral procession. The dead were buried in the cemetery.

Three days later, the mourner's family received people who came to mourn at home. At this time, a special person will be hired to read the Koran. Families who are not wealthy can put tapes of the Koran instead of the Egyptians 'usual staple food of "Jesu"(unleavened flat round Egyptian bread), which is eaten with "Fur"(boiled beans),"Kebunai"(white cheese), and "Mojehya"(soup) during meals. They like to eat mutton, chicken, duck, eggs, peas, onions, pumpkin, eggplant, carrots, potatoes, etc. In terms of taste, it is generally required to be light, sweet, fragrant and non-greasy. Skewers and roasted whole sheep are their delicacies.

They are accustomed to serving guests with homemade desserts. If the guest declines and does not eat at all, it will disappoint and be disrespectful to the host. Egyptians avoid talking during formal meals, otherwise it will be considered blasphemy against God. Egyptians generally abide by Islamic rules, avoid drinking alcohol, and like to drink black tea. They have the habit of washing their hands after meals, drinking tea and chatting. Avoid eating pigs and dog meat, and avoid talking about pigs and dogs. Don't eat seafood such as shrimp and crabs, animal viscera (except liver), eels, and turtles.

Men should not take the initiative to chat with women; don't praise people for their slim figure; don't praise Egyptians about things in their homes, otherwise they will think you are asking for them; don't talk to Egypt about religious disputes, Middle East political situation and relations between men and women.

In Egypt, most people avoid needles after 3 to 5 p.m. Merchants will never sell needles, and people will not buy needles. Even if someone is willing to pay 10 times the price for needles, the shop owner will politely decline and never sell them.

In Egypt, when entering a Islamic mosque, you must take off your shoes. Egyptians love green, red, and orange, and avoid blue and yellow. They believe that blue is the devil and yellow is a symbol of misfortune. They wear yellow clothes in case of funerals. Also avoid pandas because their shape is similar to a fat pig. I like the pyramidal lotus pattern. Wearing clothes with star patterns is prohibited. In addition to clothes, wrapping paper with star patterns is also unpopular, and pigs, dogs, cats, and bears are forbidden. 3, 5, 7, and 9 are people's favorite numbers, but 13 is taboo because it is considered negative. When eating, grab food with your right hand, not your left hand. Whether you give gifts to others or accept gifts from others, use your hands or your right hand, never your left hand.

The Egyptian communication etiquette has both national traditional customs and Western practices. Both are common. The upper classes are more inclined to go abroad with European and American etiquette, and the China becomes "foreigners" and lives in a foreign environment. For everyone, we must first pay attention to our own appearance and image. Men should be shaved and their hair neat; women can make up appropriately, but they should not apply too brightly, giving people a sense of levity and coquettish. Dress neatly and pay attention to the occasion. The author once saw some women who went abroad for the first time wearing velvet cheongsam and high heels walking around the park. They thought they were very beautiful, but they did not know that they were wearing them on the wrong occasion, which made people laugh. In Egypt, it is generally advisable to wear a suit for formal occasions, to wear a shirt rather than a tie for home visits, and to wear T-shirts and travel shoes when going out to play. In short, when attending an event, you must think carefully and harmoniously and harmoniously with most people.

Egyptians are extremely enthusiastic when meeting. Under normal circumstances, when they see people they are not familiar with, the person who first greets them will say the greeting commonly used by Muslims around the world-"Ansaalamuraikum"(literally translated as "Peace comes to you", meaning "hello"). Muslims in my country call it "Selan" for short. If you are old friends, especially if you are reunited after a long separation, hug and perform a face-to-face salute, that is, hold the other person's left shoulder with your right hand and hug the other person's waist with your left hand, first left and right, each time or more times. There will also be a barrage of greetings: "How are you? "" How are you? "" How have you been? "" How are you? "Wait.

If you visit a friend, the host will repeat it one or more times: "Ehranusehranumerhapan"(meaning "You met relatives, you walked on the plains, you were welcome"). Sometimes simply? quot; Love Heran! Love Herland! "Out of politeness or suggestive intimacy, women adopt more gentle face-to-face gifts, usually once on the right side first and then on the left side.

People of the opposite sex usually shake hands, and only relatives kiss each other. Men and women can also not shake hands. Men should not take the initiative to reach out and should not cross when shaking hands, that is, four people shake face to face in a "cross" shape. Men must stand up from their seats when shaking hands, but women don't have to and can continue to sit in the chair.

Egyptians do not taboo visits by foreigners, and even welcome visits by foreigners and are proud of them. However, visits from the opposite sex are prohibited. Even among Egyptians, male and female classmates and colleagues are not allowed to visit each other. Except for poor outdoors, Egyptian homes have living rooms, and bedrooms are private rooms that do not welcome outsiders into. During home visits, you should take the initiative to greet the elderly and chat with them. Egyptians are happy to talk in all directions and should generally leave after chatting about a topic. The host said to the guest,"Mai. Salamay "(literally translated as" accompany you safely ", meaning" safe journey "or" goodbye "). Guests should not repeat these words, but can still say: "Asi Liumu. Erlai Kum."

The method of kissing was called "Booth" in Egypt. Mouth to mouth kissing is limited to lovers and couples and is prohibited in public. According to reports, there was once a young man and woman who were in love couldn't help hugging and kissing when they were in a park. They happened to be seen by the police and were taken to the police station, where they were released after paying a fine. When a couple goes far away to bid farewell and welcome them at the station or airport, the husband can only kiss his wife on the cheek.

One kind of kiss can be translated as "blowing kiss". The method is to open the right palm and blow a breath to the palm with your mouth. One kind of kiss can be translated as "blowing kiss". The method is to open the right palm and blow a breath to the palm with your mouth. Blow the "kiss" to people far away. In addition, there are kisses that imply happy feelings, such as children who have excellent exam scores or won awards. Parents hug their children and say: "Thank you, thank you" while kissing them on the cheek. A kiss that implies respect is a kiss on the back of the hand. Children kiss the back of the hand to their parents, younger brothers to their older brothers, and young people kiss the back of the hand to the elderly, people with low status, and people with high status or power and prestige.

About the left hand. Egyptians (all Muslims) believe that "the right is better than the left." Right is auspicious. Doing things must start with the right hand and the right foot. You must use your right hand to shake hands, eat, and deliver things. Wear the right sleeve first when you wear clothes, and wear the right foot first when you wear shoes. When you enter your home and mosque, take your right foot first. The reason is that Mu Qilin uses his left hand for "convenience" and dirty work, so his left hand is considered unclean. It is extremely impolite to shake hands or pass things with his left hand, and even regarded as insulting.

Taboos for Women According to Islamic teachings, the "charm" of women cannot be seen by anyone other than her husband. Even people of the same sex should not look at each other's private parts. Therefore, short, thin, transparent and revealing clothing is prohibited. Even a baby's body should not be uncovered, and there should be no public bathhouses on the streets.

In Egypt, women with bare chested backs or short skirts are not seen, and men wearing vests and shorts are not seen. Although Egyptians are tolerant of foreigners and are not as strict as in some Islamic countries, one must be warned; wearing vests, shorts and miniskirts is strictly prohibited from going to mosques in Egypt.

Don't yawn. Usually try not to yawn or sneeze in front of Egyptians. If you really can't control it, you should turn around and cover your mouth and say "sorry." Egyptians hate yawning and believe that yawning is the work of the devil. One person yawned and hurriedly said as if he were a crime: "Please forgive God. "Sneezing is not necessarily a bad thing. If a person sneezes in front of people, he will say: " I bear witness that there is no God but God." "The person next to him said: " God loves you." He went on to say: "God has mercy on me and everyone."

Widow with poisonous eyes

Some Egyptians often associate certain physiological phenomena with good or bad luck. When his ears buzzed, the Egyptian thought someone was talking about him, covered his ears, and wondered who was talking about him. It is generally believed that the right tinnitus is a bad person scolding him, and the left tinnitus is a relative thinking about him and greeting him. The folk saying goes: "The ear buzzes, good things come every day." "So are the eyes. The jumping of the right eyelid is regarded as a bad luck, while the jumping of the left eyelid is a sign of good luck, so the old people said: "God, let it turn into good luck! "If the palm of your right hand is itchy, a friend may visit, and the itching left hand will be lucky and profitable.Egyptians often associate eyes with jealousy. They believe that some people have poisonous eyes and call them poisonous eyes. When their eyes sweep over people and animals, people and animals will die; when they sweep over things, things will be destroyed. The way to prevent toxic eyes is to burn incense, wear a mask or hang a small pocket of fine salt around a child's neck. In the Siwa Oasis, custom states that new widows must be confined in a dark room for a period of time, with food brought in by maids. After the confinement period, she went out to take a bath at the spring. At this time, someone walked in front of her and shouted to pedestrians to hide quickly, because the first person she saw would be poisoned to death by her gaze. Needles are tools for sewing clothes and are almost a must-have daily necessities for every family. However, in the eyes of Egyptians, they are somewhat mysterious. Every day from 3 to 5 p.m., Egyptians will never sell needles. This has become an unwritten commandment in their lives. According to legend, during this time of day, gods descend to earth to give people some necessities for life, but gods must personally observe people's respective situations. The richer the person is, the more reward he will receive; the poorer the person, the less reward he will receive. The poor always thread needles and make repairs all day long. In order to allow the poor to receive more rewards and avoid embarrassment for life, people will never sell needles at this time.

Under the influence of this myth and legend, some people in Egypt did not dare to do needlework even at night, otherwise they believed that it would bring disaster to their mothers. Some women in rural areas regard borrowing needles as a taboo. When it is necessary to borrow, the lender has to put the needle in the bread and hand it to the borrower. The borrower does not dare to take out the needle with his hand in front of him. Needles sometimes become the spoken language used by some women to scold each other. If a woman is scolded for being a needle, she will feel like she has suffered a great humiliation and is in pain. Today, needle still has its unique and legendary status in the hearts of Egyptians, and the taboo against needle has also been inherited and has become a folk custom in Egypt.

Egyptian needles are tools for sewing clothes and are almost a must-have daily necessities for every family, but they are somewhat mysterious in the hearts of Egyptians. Every day from 3 to 5 p.m., Egyptians will never sell needles. This has become an unwritten commandment in their lives. According to legend, during this time of day, gods descend to earth to give people some necessities for life, but gods must personally observe people's respective situations. The richer the person is, the more reward he will receive; the poorer the person, the less reward he will receive. The poor always thread needles and make repairs all day long. In order to allow the poor to receive more rewards and avoid embarrassment for life, people will never sell needles at this time. Under the influence of this myth and legend, some people in Egypt did not dare to do needlework even at night, otherwise they believed that it would bring disaster to their mothers. Some women in rural areas regard borrowing needles as a taboo. When it is necessary to borrow, the lender has to put the needle in the bread and hand it to the borrower. The borrower does not dare to take out the needle with his hand in front of him. Needles sometimes become the spoken language used by some women to scold each other. If a woman is scolded for being a needle, she will feel like she has suffered a great humiliation and is in pain. Today, needle still has its unique and legendary status in the hearts of Egyptians, and the taboo against needle has also been inherited and has become a folk custom in Egypt.

Egyptian-style business meetings to meet government officials, heads of companies and enterprises, or family visitors undoubtedly require an appointment and should not be uninvited guests. However, due to special circumstances, the hospitable Egyptians will not take offense like Westerners. They always smile and imply welcome, saying: "The door of my home (office) is always open for you, and you are welcome to come anytime. "Working meetings are all held in the office. Except for senior officials, no one treats you as a VIP and sends people to wait at the door to pick you up to the reception room. The people you meet often talk to you while working. For example, if a subordinate sends a document that requires signature, or asks for advice on handling a matter, or if a phone conversation comes from outside for a few minutes, you will be left out and ignored. A few times, you will gradually get used to this Egyptian-style meeting.

Egyptian Festivals Egypt is an Islamic country, so it uses both the Gregorian calendar and the Islamic calendar. The Gregorian calendar is used in daily life. According to Islamic customs, the work and rest hours can start the week on Saturday, and Friday is a rest day. Government agencies will also be closed on Thursday or Saturday. Public holidays, and most large companies, banks, and commercial institutions will close Fridays and Saturdays). Popular holidays: Popular holidays in Egypt are divided into three categories: legal holidays, Islamic holidays, and Christian holidays. However, religious holidays are not statutory holidays.

National National Festival New Year January 1 Independence Day February 28 Wen Feng Festival April 12 Resurrection April 15 Sham-Nashi Mid-April Local Spring Festival Sinai Liberation Day April 25 Eid al-Adha April 29 Islamic New Year May 19 Eid al-Fitr May 21 Republic Independence Day June 18 Revolution Day-National Day July 23 Sacrifice Day July 14 Mohammed's Birth July 28 Armed Forces Day October 6 People's Resistance Day October 24 Mohammed's Ascension Day December 8 Victory Day December 23