Culture
Sweden
Swedes are granted with months off work when a baby is born, and the workload is cut in half until the child reaches 8 years old (Sweden - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette). In Sweden, people try to be not to dull, but they also don't go all out. They shoot for the median within their activities, clothing, and housing (Sweden - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette).
Sweden’s customs have been changing for years, but some date back centuries. Germany and the Protestant Church once influenced Sweden’s culture, but now the traditions have changed because of pop culture impact (Celebrating the Swedish way). The south and southeast parts of Sweden are more densely populated, and closer to shores, i.e. port cities (Eurosurveillance). This means more outside contact and wealth, which stems culture. Customs branch out from those areas to northern Sweden.
Robyn, a Swedish Pop artist, has climbed into mainstream popularity since her hit “Do You Know What It Takes” first aired (NPR). One of the most well known athletes around the world, Bjorn Borg, is from Sweden. The retired tennis player has 11 grand slams and has won over 600 matches in his career (Tennis - ATP World Tour - Tennis Players – Bjorn Borg).
Sweden’s customs have been changing for years, but some date back centuries. Germany and the Protestant Church once influenced Sweden’s culture, but now the traditions have changed because of pop culture impact (Celebrating the Swedish way). The south and southeast parts of Sweden are more densely populated, and closer to shores, i.e. port cities (Eurosurveillance). This means more outside contact and wealth, which stems culture. Customs branch out from those areas to northern Sweden.
Robyn, a Swedish Pop artist, has climbed into mainstream popularity since her hit “Do You Know What It Takes” first aired (NPR). One of the most well known athletes around the world, Bjorn Borg, is from Sweden. The retired tennis player has 11 grand slams and has won over 600 matches in his career (Tennis - ATP World Tour - Tennis Players – Bjorn Borg).
World renowned tennis player, Bjorn Borg.
Chad
Chadians believe in a lot of superstitious peculiarities. For instance, people in Chad believe that a woman who leaves her house after giving birth will contract infectious diseases or “see evil demons” (Bits of Culture – Chad). For a Chadian male to marry a woman, they must work in their future-father-in-law’s field for 3 years, build a hut for their future-mother-in-law, and do other various jobs and favors before marriage (Bits of Culture – Chad).
Chad has been under control of France until 1990 when it became it’s own country (Chad, Country Profile at UCLA African Studies Center). It has been the setting for many civil wars and perils, but is relatively peaceful now. Their culture has not changed all that much from how it was. The origins are not clear, but the influences of France’s hold and the upsets around them could have shaped it into what it is today. More people live in the southern part of Chad, so the culture is thicker and occurs more frequently down there. Their superstitions spread upwards from there into northern Chad (GRUMP).
Chad’s most well known person is their President, Idriss Deby. He won the 2011 election, getting his 4th term in office. He has kept Chad the most peaceful it has been in years, and has helped the country greatly (BBC News - Chad profile). Chad celebrates it’s Independence on August 11th, and Freedom and Democracy on December 1st (Festivals and events calendar Chad).
Chad has been under control of France until 1990 when it became it’s own country (Chad, Country Profile at UCLA African Studies Center). It has been the setting for many civil wars and perils, but is relatively peaceful now. Their culture has not changed all that much from how it was. The origins are not clear, but the influences of France’s hold and the upsets around them could have shaped it into what it is today. More people live in the southern part of Chad, so the culture is thicker and occurs more frequently down there. Their superstitions spread upwards from there into northern Chad (GRUMP).
Chad’s most well known person is their President, Idriss Deby. He won the 2011 election, getting his 4th term in office. He has kept Chad the most peaceful it has been in years, and has helped the country greatly (BBC News - Chad profile). Chad celebrates it’s Independence on August 11th, and Freedom and Democracy on December 1st (Festivals and events calendar Chad).
Chad's president, Idriss Deby.
Language
Sweden
Sweden’s official language is Swedish, but Yiddish, Romani, and Finnish dialects are spoken there as well. The language law that proclaimed Swedish as the official language also promotes the use of the other languages (Swedish Language). The Swedish language, spoken by Swedish people, is a Northern Germanic language with hints of German, French, and English words. Over 10 million people worldwide speak it today (Swedish Language). Sweden’s language is a unifying factor, because they have fewer languages. The other less used ones are still supported by their government, so there are fewer barriers.
Chad
Chad’s official languages are French and Chadian Arabic. Over 120 other tribal languages are spoken there, which differ from land region to region, as well as trading regions. Arabic is spoken by the majority of the Chadian people (Virtual Chad). Arabic, as spoken by Chadians, is from the Afro-Asiatic group of worldwide languages, and is spoken by over 150 million people internationally (A History of the Arabic Language). Out of the many other languages spoken in Chad, most of them are either spoken commonly, and around 30 of them are either dying or close to it (Virtual Chad). In Chad, their languages are a divisive factor. They have so many different languages and language barriers that they can’t possibly communicate well with Chadians of other regions.
Religion
Sweden
In Sweden, polls say they are not as strongly religious. Only 3 of 10 people in Sweden say they have confidence in the church. The majority of Swedes are Christian, and the second largest religion in Sweden is Islam (Celsing). Sweden has freedom of religion.
Chad
Chad’s main three practiced religions are Islam, Christian, and other Traditional African religions. Results of a poll taken in Chad show that the majority of Chadians who are Christian or Islamic practice their religion every day, and say that it is very important to them (Poll Results). Chad has freedom of. Chad’s government has limited this right for certain groups at some times (U.S Department of State).
The Quran, used by Islams.
Ethnicity
Sweden
Sweden has three indigenous ethnicities: Swedes with Finnish and Sami minorities (CIA – The World Factbook).
Chad
Chad has over 10 different ethnicities in its country. The largest ethnic group is Sara, and takes up only 27% of the population (The World Factbook).