Culture and Its Different Definitions

Mahdiyeh Montazeri

How well do you know about the culture of your country?

Culture is a key word for all the world’s countries and especially for countries with great civilizations. Every nation has its own definition for culture which is rooted in its cultural specifications. In some countries the definitions of culture are somehow the same; hence one would say they have similar cultures.

But a general definition for this term is “values in a society” including religions, policies, literature, dress codes, customs, arts, and even food. As a matter of fact, one of these values could possibly be more important than the others, in other words the impact of a certain feature varies from a society to another.

Usually countries with a single religion enjoy a more valuable culture; as if the holy book of that country is changed, then its culture will change too, and it will lose its own authenticity over the time.

History of Culture in Iran

Iran is one of the oldest and most civilized nations in the world. In past, it was one of the two extremely wide and strong states of the globe. Culture in this country goes back to thousands of years ago. Those days its religion was Zoroastrian and then later on it converted to the most complete religion in the world, Islam. This shows that monotheism has a special place among Iranians. Thus, it is natural that religion has a considerable influence on Iranians’ concrete and abstract culture including their books, clothes, behaviors, languages etc.

Islam is the religion that has been enunciated by Torah and Bible, two other holly books of Jews and Christians. All of the faithful Jews and Christians believed that someday Islam would emerge. This religion is not only in parallel with them, but it also includes Jewish and Christian principles with the most completed information, through which the last prophet of God  Hazrat Mohammad (PBUH) with its miraculous book Quran finishes this story.

Intelligent Iranian people always choose the best, and the most complete things for themselves, so there is no doubt that their culture is rich.

One of the most valuable issues in Iran’s culture is the books and knowledge. Since many centuries ago Iran has been the center of growing scientists, poets,  politicians, inventors like Avicenna , Abu Reyhan Birooni, Ferdowsi , Hafez,  Zakariya Razi, Khwarazmi,  Hayan, Professor Hesabi and many other individuals specialized in other fields.

Veneration as a Cultural Feature

Veneration is one of the abstract cultural values in Iran. The basic reason is their great esteem for God, prophets, and the Holy Quran. This veneration is clear in both their behavior and speech. One of the important dimensions regarding veneration is respecting parents.

Respecting parents, teachers, elder people, and peoples’ thoughts wherever they are brings about solidarity in Iran, as Iranians are very warm-blooded and hospitable and apparently family plays an essential role in their lives.

People’s speech says a lot about the culture of a nation, because culture has a lot of effects on a language. In this regard the Persian language proves its intense care about addressing others in a decent and polite manner through the choice of words it offers.