Cantonese culture comprises of a small group of people living in the region of Southern China which is known as Canton. They are particularly famous for language, cuisine, martial arts, and even entertainment.
These Cantonese people currently live in Hong Kong and Macau. They have varieties of traditions that they have been following for so long time. These traditions make up the Cantonese culture. Some of these cultures are listed as under:
1. Dim Sum for every occasion:
Dim Sum is such an important food in Canton and people eat Dim sums as part of social gatherings and during occasions and parties. They have dim sums over a leisure brunch as well.
These are tea and bite-sized dishes served in round bamboo steamers for keeping them soft and warm. Some of these typical dishes are chai siu bao which are steamed buns with fillings of barbeque pork.
Some others are siu mai and Cheong fun and various types of spring rolls. These are pork dumplings and stuffed rice noodle rolls, etc.
2. Lunar New Year:
Wong Tai Sin is a 4th century Taoist Deity who is not well known in Mainland China but it inhibits Hong Kong and some places of Overseas China. One of the biggest temples of Hong Kong is Wong Tai Sin founded in 1921.
The temple remains crowded almost at all times but mostly during the Lunar New Year with Wong Tai Sin’s birthday falling on the same dates.
Many locals come to this temple for worshipping the deity for bringing good luck and getting their fortunes told.
3. Cantonese Slang:
The main aspect of the Cantonese culture is their language which is full of colorful slang and colloquial sayings that become the main hold of the identity’s culture and identity.
Cantonese is the official language spoken in semi-autonomous regions of Macau and Hong Kong. While in Guangdong and Guangxi, Mandarin is the official language that is spoken and Cantonese is not used much in everyday lives.’
4. Significance of soup
Now soup seems like such a basic dish but in the Cantonese culture, these soups have their own significance.
These soups are prepared for hours and it is simmered using of all ingredients like meat, vegetables, a dash of salt and so many essential herbs that can be put in the soups. You will find so many versions of soups that choosing one seems like an impossible task.
The Cantonese soup is served before other dishes and starts with the main course dishes. Moisture is one thing important in Canton as the summers are scorching hot.
5. Leung Cha
Leung Cha is a herbal tea prepared using medicinal herbs used for cooling as per the Cantonese culture. During the summer months, all the people need to remain energized for clearing the excess heat from the body.
They drink Leung Cha for that purpose also called “Cold tea”. It also helps in treating illnesses like a fever in many cases.
These are peculiar traditions in the Cantonese culture. You can find these whenever you are in Canton.
