Culture and social development
Map of Economics: Transportation
The picture to the left is a picture of Greenland's airports and heliport landings. In Greenland, they don't drive to the next town like we do, it easier to take an airplane or a helicopter to get around this country because it is more then 85% of the country is covered in ice, making it hard to drive. As you can see there is either a helicopter landing or an airport to land in every town in Greenland. There are only 21 towns in Greenland, these towns are designated by red dots on the map. There is a key on the right side the tell us this as well as where are helicopter landing and airports. Reference: Royal Danish Embassy.(2014).Geography and Geology.Retrieved from http://japan.um.dk/en/about-denmark/gl/geography-and-geology/. |
Helpful websites to use
Denmark in Japan is one of the great websites that I have found while researching my country. The name of the site might be misleading but it has a designated page about Greenland in particular. This site has information about Greenland’s history, culture, political system, economy and many other helpful tabs to help you grasp a better understand of how Greenland works. Once I came across this website, it helped me write my paragraphs for my website. It also has information about other countries such as Denmark and The Faroe Islands.
Another helpful site that had great information on culture was Countries and Their Cultures. While I was reading though this site, it gives you a more indebt information about the types of cultures found in Greenland and talks about how they survive in the weather and how they get food. This site is valuable as well because it has other websites you can visit to get more information that you might want to looks more into. Out of all of the websites to look up culture for Greenland, I would suggest looking at these ones because it look a while to find a good resource about culture in Greenland.
Another helpful site that had great information on culture was Countries and Their Cultures. While I was reading though this site, it gives you a more indebt information about the types of cultures found in Greenland and talks about how they survive in the weather and how they get food. This site is valuable as well because it has other websites you can visit to get more information that you might want to looks more into. Out of all of the websites to look up culture for Greenland, I would suggest looking at these ones because it look a while to find a good resource about culture in Greenland.
Statistics of Greeland
Here are some interesting facts about the people living in Greenland
male: 10.76 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 8.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2014 est.)
male: 69.15 years
female: 74.63 years (2014 est.)
- Birth Fact:
- Infant Morality Rate:
male: 10.76 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 8.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2014 est.)
- Population Growth Rate:
- Net Migration:
- Life expectancy at birth:
male: 69.15 years
female: 74.63 years (2014 est.)
- Death Rate:
Greenland's maps of communication
In today’s society we don’t think about what would we do without the Internet or cellphones. We think about the here and now and when the new iPhone is going to come out. Tim Berners-Lee created the World Wide Web in 1990 and Martin Cooper created cellphones in 1973. Back during those times, the United States was fortunate to have these means of technology while other countries, such as Greenland, didn’t have them until later on. In 1994 (Figure 1), Greenland only had 36 Internet users out of the 55,631 total populations. As the population rises, the total number of Internet users went up (Figure 2). When you look at Figure 2, it shows that in the year 2010, there were 36,096 Internet users out of the 57,296 total populations.
Since we know these numbers, we can assume that the use of cell phones would be about the same time. This is actually incorrect since cellphones were created before the Internet. While I was taking a picture of these maps, I particularly picked Figure 3 as my starting point because before 1992 there was no cellphones introduced to Greenland, even though they where created in 1973. I found this interesting because in one single year, only 171 Greenlanders had a cellphone out of the 55,735 total populations. As you can see in Figure 4, the Greenlanders with cellphones increased in 2010 to 57,349 out of the total population mentioned above.
Since we know these numbers, we can assume that the use of cell phones would be about the same time. This is actually incorrect since cellphones were created before the Internet. While I was taking a picture of these maps, I particularly picked Figure 3 as my starting point because before 1992 there was no cellphones introduced to Greenland, even though they where created in 1973. I found this interesting because in one single year, only 171 Greenlanders had a cellphone out of the 55,735 total populations. As you can see in Figure 4, the Greenlanders with cellphones increased in 2010 to 57,349 out of the total population mentioned above.
Religions in Greenland
In every country there will be several different types of religions. Some religions live on for years, grow and spread throughout the country, while others are not in practice anymore. In Greenland the main religion is Christianity and it “was brought to Greenland by Leif Eriksson to Brattahlid during the Viking period (Milfeldt)”. There are a few other religions such as Agnostic, Ethnoreligionist, Bahai and Atheist, but they make up less then three percent of Greenland. The branch of Christianity that has made up 96% of Greenland is Lutheran. According to Patheos, Christianity was developed out of Judaism in the 1st century B.C. and is founded on the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
While Lutheran is a major branch of Christianity, they are taught the same beliefs of Christianity. Lutheran’s are taught to believe in the Bible, God, sins, gospel, saviors, faith, and conversion. They also are taught to go to church, ministries, baptisms, the Lord’s Supper, the hereafter, and Lutheran worship. As well, “The majority of the Greenlandic population is associated with the Lutheran Church, which is the national church of Denmark. But traditional Inuit spiritual beliefs remain strong in many of Greenland's remote communities (Illstorm)”. “Members of Greenlandic communities continue to practice a wide range of rituals handed down from their ancestors. These range from giving ritualistic thanks to bears, whales, and other creatures after they have been slain by hunting expeditions to taboos on mixing food and clothing associated with the winter months with those associated with the summer season (Illstorm)”. Erik the Red’s Wife “was behind the first Christian church on the North American continent in Brattahlid (Milfeldt)”. As we know, Christian’s have several sacred places all around the world such as Jerusalem, which is also known as the Holy Land. Stated in the United Religions Initiative, Christians worship in churches. It is customary to worship on Sunday, the Sabbath, and on other special festivals and celebrations while monks and nuns, attend church daily. In addition, most Christians pray or worship at home through individual or family devotions. An ordained priest or minister most often leads church services. The services usually include participatory prayers and hymns, readings, and a sermon. In Greenland, they have “Hvalsey church, which was built in the 14th Century (Milfeldt)” and the Tjodhilde’s I mentioned earlier. There are several countries, such as The United States of America, that religion is intertwined with government. “In 1979 the Danish government granted home rule to Greenland. Under this agreement, Greenland remained part of the Danish realm, and each Greenlander was a Danish citizen, enjoying equal rights with all other Danes. Denmark retained control of the island’s constitutional affairs, foreign relations, and defense, while Greenland maintained jurisdiction over economic development, municipal regulations, taxes, education, the social welfare system, cultural affairs, and the state church (Rasmussen)”. When religion and government are brought to the table, they do not intertwine like the U.S.A., they are two separate items because Denmark controls Greenland. After learning new information about Greenland, I would like to travel to Greenland and attend a service in their church. My family and I are Lutheran and believe in the same beliefs as they do. It would be an experience that would make me happy and I can compare to what I do back at home and how they do their worship. As well, I believe that the country still does the same roles of their religion but there might be some slight changes due to the time period. Referances
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Culture and Food
WHy these recipes?
As a guest at Greenlandic eateries it is possible to taste traditional Greenlandic food - often as part of the highly regarded Greenlandic buffet. The majority of restaurants also have international menus that incorporate Greenlandic ingredients. If you would like to try cooking with Greenlandic ingredients yourself then see the recipes for summer casserole with Greenland halibut as a main course and followed by a dessert of apples and Greenlandic berries with a crisp topping - perhaps finished off with a Greenlandic coffee. Food made from Greenlandic ingredients is always a culinary experience and the ingredients are often organic, since fish, game and marine animals roam free in their natural environment and are not given artificial feed or flavorings. Crowberries actually grow in Greenland, whereas nearly every other kind of fruit and vegetable is unable to survive the cold.
Religion and food
In the villages of Polar Inuits, families like to visit each other and have parties. They drink coffee and eat cakes and exchange brightly wrapped parcels. Traditional presents are model sledges, a pairs of polished walrus tusks, or sealskin mitts. Everyone in the village gets a gift and children go from house to house, singing songs. On Christmas Eve, Church Services are held and most people go to them, many in national costume. Some men wear the white anoraks which are worn on special occasions. Christmas Trees have to be imported, because no trees grow as far north as Greenland. The trees are often imported from Denmark - Iceland has had a long historical connection with Denmark. The trees are decorated with candles, bright ornaments and sometimes small versions of sealskin breeches known as kamiks. Trees are traditionally decorated on the evening of 23rd December. People who don't use an imported tree, might have a traditional driftwood tree decorated with heather. it is traditional on Christmas night that men look after the women, serving their food and coffee and stirring the meal for them. Games follow the Christmas meal, including one in which an object is passed from hand to hand round a long table under the cloth. It is supposed to be repulsive: round, clammy and rough texture; such as a frozen egg, wrapped in strips of wet fox fur.
Where does all of this food come from?
Food of Greenland is the made of rare and exotic ingredients. Greenland food should be tasted by every foreigner who visits the country. The restaurants in Greenland mostly serve traditional Greenland dishes together with food of Denmark. The food items of Greenland are made of ingredients which are available in this island which are mostly fish and meat. Fresh fruits and vegetables are generally part of the menu of Greenland. The procedure of cooking in Greenland is fairly simple and the every day food items are composed of locally found ingredients. 'Suaasat' a kind of nourishing soup is widely available in all the Greenland kitchens. Spices are not used that much in Greenland cooking and the only non- vegetarians ingredients in the menu are rice, potatoes and onions. Whales, meat of reindeer, seals and fowls are very popular with the Greenland people. To learn about Greenlands resources, visit my political and economic information under "Resources in Greenland".
Culture and Food References:
- Foodfreeway.(2011). Recipe of the week: Halibut casserole from Greenland. Retrieved from http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/blogs/foodfreeway/2011/02/23/recipe-of-the-week-halibut-casserole-from-greenland/
- Jacoba.(2011). Christmas in Greenland. Retrieved from http://www.justfoodnow.com/2011/12/04/christmas-in-greenland/
- WhyChristmas.(2010).Christmas in Greenland. Retrieved from http://www.whychristmas.com/cultures/greenland.shtml
- Maps of the World.(2012).Greenland Food. Retrieved from http://www.mapsofworld.com/greenland/culture/food.html