Customs and Traditions of Mexico

Customs and Traditions of Mexico

Mexico is a hot and sunny South American country with an extremely cheerful and sociable population and a strong family cult.

Mexicans are kind, cheerful and cheerful, they love to talk and listen to gossip. They are hospitable towards foreigners, although they are wary of the American style of communication and the Spaniards. Ardent patriots are very fond of holidays and arrange them for a variety of reasons.

Good nature in communication is manifested at least in the fact that the people of Mexico are accustomed to accompanying almost any conversation with a wide smile. It is also customary (especially in provincial areas) to greet everyone, even strangers, for example, when entering public transport.

Mexico has true freedom of speech. And residents communicate with each other without any special restrictions. However, with unfamiliar people or visitors, Mexicans are very polite and follow all the rules of etiquette.

Most of the inhabitants of the country are very clean. It is believed that clothes should be neat, new and always clean. It is customary to wear a tie to business meetings.

Abortions are prohibited or strongly discouraged here. Therefore, in many families, three or more children is the norm. There is a special attitude towards children here, they are pampered in every possible way and they allow a lot. In addition, in Mexico there is a cult of motherhood, a mother is a sacred concept for a Mexican. Mother’s Day is widely celebrated on May 10th.

In general, a Mexican woman has a status that is not equal to that of a man. Thus, there are few women in business, although there is a tendency to increase their influence. The head of the family is also a man.

In their free time, Mexicans go to the cinema, take their children to the circus, or go in for golf, football, horseback riding, hunting, diving, etc. Only tourist centers are famous for their fun nightlife.

Showing off your material wealth is usually not accepted, but a Mexican car must be expensive. In business, Mexicans value punctuality, but in informal communication, time is not of great importance.

Population

According to Countryaah, the total number of inhabitants of Mexico is about 112.5 million people. As for the modern ethnic composition, it consists of white descendants of immigrants from Europe (about 5%), mestizos, who call themselves “Mexicans” (63%), Indians (30%), as well as 2% of representatives of other groups (Asians, mulattoes and African Americans).

77% of Mexicans live in cities, 84% own their own living space. At the same time, there are very few apartments, there are much more areas that consist entirely of private houses.

Language

The official language of this country is Spanish ( Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world), but English is also widely used. In the shops and restaurants of the resort areas, you can also often hear French and German spoken. The dialects of local ethnic groups are used much less frequently: Nahuatl, Otomi, Zapotec, etc.

A foreigner should know Spanish, especially if he is going to do business in Mexico. So he will achieve much greater success with his Mexican partners. True, you should be careful with some Spanish phrases or curse words, local residents may perceive this as a disrespectful attitude of a foreigner towards them.

Religion

The main religion of Mexico is Christianity, about 76% of the population adhere to Catholicism. In addition, among Mexican residents there are representatives of Protestantism (6.3%), which include Pentecostals and Jehovah’s Witnesses, and about 0.3% of the population professes other religions. Check agooddir for recent history of Mexico.

3% of Mexicans consider themselves to be atheists, and about 13.5% – to undecided with religion. Among the inhabitants of the country, visiting the church on Sundays has been instituted. Despite the influence of religion, divorces, civil marriages and illegitimate children are not uncommon, although they are not very approved by society.

Behavior rules

When meeting, an intermediary in the form of a mutual friend is most often used. You should introduce yourself in detail, after which hugs are laid. Business cards are widely used. Titles (señor) and the polite pronoun “you” are often used when addressing. If the communication between the satellites takes place on “you”, then they also talk to each other and those accompanying them.

There are two types of appeals to women: señora – “married woman” and señorita – “girl”. If the woman’s marital status is unknown, it would be more polite to address her as a señorita. A woman has the right to expect that a door will be opened in front of her, a cigarette will be lit, etc., this is quite natural.

The greeting is made in the form of a handshake or a kiss on the cheek. Greeting a woman in informal communication, they do both at the same time. Communication is open, with frequent pats on the back, etc.

Exuding copious compliments is considered a common courtesy in Mexico, and discourteous behavior can cause great offense. Gratitude is also usually expressed at length and excessively. Mexicans don’t like harsh denials or rejections.

It is customary for Mexicans to discuss extraneous topics for a long time during a conversation (both direct and telephone) before moving on to the main thing.

Residents of the country consume alcoholic beverages very moderately, especially in cities. It is undesirable to appear drunk in a public place. However, smoking is usually not restricted in any way.

On a visit, you need to remember that in Mexican houses they do not take off their shoes, regardless of the weather outside. Gifts are frequent, and quite rich ones, but not at the first meeting. Flowers as a gift are always approved, but the bouquet must be large, with at least a dozen flowers.

At the table, Mexicans behave in a very civilized manner, comply with etiquette requirements. The right to wine tasting is granted to the guest. It is better to say toasts in Spanish, this will endear the hosts to the guest. Foods such as tortillas or tortillas are eaten with the hands; attempting to use cutlery in this case will be regarded as snobbery.

National Mexican holidays

January 1 – New Year;

February 5 – Constitution Day;

February 24 – National Flag Day;

March 21 – Benito Juarez Day;

March-April – Easter;

April 30 – Children’s Day;

May 1 – Labor Day;

September 16 – Independence Day;

October 12 – American Discovery Day;

November 20 – Revolution Day;

December 12 – Day of the Virgin Mary of Guadalupe;

December 25 – Christmas.

Customs and Traditions of Mexico

Comments are closed.