Culture

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//"Himno Nacional de Costa Rica" - Costa Rican National Anthem//

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Costa Rica is full of customs and traditions that keep this nation alive. From education to sports, these natives believe strongly in every tradition this country has to offer.

**Education** [[image:school.jpg width="320" height="177" align="right" caption="Costa Rican high school students" link="@http://teacherontwowheels.com/%20200802/13/%20kamuk-school-yay/"]]
__**Education in Costa Rica:**__

Everything in San Jose makes clear that Costa Ricans are a highly literate people : the country boasts of 93% literacy in those 10 years or over, the most literate population in Central America. Many of the country’s early fathers like the first president, Jose Maria Castro, were former teachers who were concerned about the education in Costa Rica. In 1869, the country became one of the first in the world to make the education both free and obligatory, funded by the state’s share of the great coffee wealth. In those days only one in ten Costa Ricans could read and write. By 1920 the 50% of the population was literate and by 1970s 89% were able to read and write.(infocostarica.com) Ticos also have a very high level of education, and the literacy rate is 96% (infocostarica.com)

Elementary and High schools are to be found in every community. Students are not required to pay for assistance, a nominal charge of around $20 per year applies. Elementary school has 6 year levels, where as high school has 5 year levels. Each is divided in two cycles, and upon completion of each cycle, students are required to pass tests on all subjects studied during those years. The most notorious of these tests are the Bachillerato Tests, which are required to get the high school diploma needed for admission to Universities. (infocostarica.com)
 * = **The University of Costa Rica (UCR)**, the largest and oldest university, enrolls some 35,000 students, mostly on scholarships, but even paying full tuition is not hard as it rarely surpasses $200 a semester. The main campus is in the northeastern San Jose community of San Pedro but the UCR also has regional centers in Alajuela, Turrialba, Puntarenas and Cartago. ||= [[image:http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/%7Elegneref/landscap/neotrop/costaric/jpg/cr28.jpg width="312" height="208" caption="University of Costa Rica " link="@http://www.faculty.ucr.edu/%7Elegneref/landscap/neotrop/costaric/jpg/cr28.jpg"]] ||

Ethnicity
white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% (kids.yahoo.com)

**Language**
__Spanish__ is the official spoken language of this Central American nation; English is also spoken. Table Info
 * < ** English Translation ** ||< ** Native Lingo ** ||< ** //Pronunciation// ** ||
 * < very expensive ||< **carititico** ||< //kah-ree-tee-tee-koh// ||
 * < shoes ||< **cachos** ||< //kah-chos// ||
 * < money ||< **harnia** ||< //ah-ree-nah// ||
 * < mouth ||< **jeta** ||< //heh-tah// ||
 * < How Cool! ||< **Queé** ||< //keh-chee-vah// ||
 * < See ya! ||< **Los vidrios!** ||< //los vee-dree-ohs// ||

**Religion**
The main religion in Costa Rica is //Roman Catholicism// which amounts for about **76.3%** of the nations population.

Other religions that are popular among natives include: Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2% (kids.yahoo.com)

**National Holidays**
Information in the table was gathered from infocostarica.com
 * January 1st || New Year’s Day, celebrated with a big dance in San Jose’s Parque Central ||
 * March 19th || St. Joseph’s Day, patron saint of San Jose and San Jose province. ||
 * Easter || Holy Week, Semana Santa. Dates vary annually but businesses will often close for the entire week preceding Easter weekend. ||
 * April 11th || Juan Santamaria Day. Public holiday to commemorate the national hero who fought at the battle of Rivas against the American invader William Walker in 1856. ||
 * May 1st || Labor Day. Dia de los Trabajadores. ||
 * June || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Corpus Christi ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">June 29th || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">St. Peter and St. Paul’s Day ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">July 25th || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Guanacaste Day. To mark the annexation of Guanacaste from Nicaragua in 1824. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">August 2nd || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Virgin de los Angeles Day. Patron saint of Costa Rica. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">August 15th || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mother’s Day and Assumption Day ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">September 15th || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Independence Day, with big patriotic parades celebrates Costa Rica’s independence from Spain in 1821. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">October 12th || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dia de la Raza (Columbus Day). Limon province only, marked by carnival, which take place in the week prior to October 12. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">November 2nd || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">All soul’s Day ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">December 8th || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">December 25th || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Christmas Day. Family-oriented celebrations with trips to the beach. Much consumption of apples and grapes. ||

**Music**
Music is very popular among Latin American cultures. Costa Ricans enjoy Latin, American and British contemporary rock, and have a special affinity for tunes from the 70's and 80's. However, when it comes to dancing, most prefer the traditional Latin rhythms of salsa, merengue, cumbia, lambada and soca. ( costarica.com)

**Food**
To generalize a Costa Rican meal, one would certainly have to talk about black beans and rice (//gallo pinto//). This simple, standard dish, often referred to as //comida tipica//, is the backbone of Costa Rican cuisine.(visitcostarica.com)

**Sports**[[image:Costa-Rica-soccer_newsfull_h.jpg width="220" height="172" align="right" link="@http://www.ticotimes.net/%20NewsNews-Briefs/%20Suspect-a...y-17-2011"]]
Some of the sports that can be practiced are tennis, running, sport fishing, trekking, boxing, motocross, swimming, baseball, basketball, diving, snorkeling, and of course surfing.

The national game of Costa Rica is undoubtedly, **soccer**! Sports in Costa Rica form an integral part of the Costa Rican social life.

**Art**

 * The craft of the Chorotega pottery makers support their entire village and all family members learn the craft.

Collecting the sand for the clays to make the pottery requires a rigorous journey by bus and foot to three different mountains, the finest sand being found at the opening of the iguana nests there. Three different colors of sand are used for the clays - tan, red ochre, and black. Black sand is the most difficult to obtain, so it is not always available. The sand is then mixed in large mortars with pestles to turn it into clay. || ||

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1. In the U.S. we celebrate Mother's Day in the month of May. When do they celebrate Mother's Day in Costa Rica? a. July 25th b. August 15th c. August 2nd
 * <span style="color: #404040; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Questions: **

2. What language do Costa Ricans speak? a.French b. Spanish c. Costa Rican d. only English

3. What religion is most commonly practiced in Costa Rica? a. Roman Catholic b. Protestant c. Evangelical

Answers: //(highlight for answers)// 1. b 2. b 3. a

<span style="background-color: #800075; color: #20b720; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 190%; text-align: center;">**~Fun Facts~**

<span style="background-color: #00ff47; color: #800080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">Did you know?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;"> Costa Rica was one of the first countries in the world to make education free and required for all children.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;"> Costa Rica has more than 1,250 types of butterflies. That's about 10% of all known butterfly species. Farms in Costa Rica breed the insects and sell them to zoos.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;"> Many butterflies have markings on their wings to protect them from hungry animals.

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__References__

Costa Rica. (n.d.). //Costa Rica Travel Information & Tips//. Retrieved April 30, 2011, from http://www.infocostarica.com/culture

Costa Rica Art. (n.d.). //Costa Rica Art//. Retrieved April 30, 2011, from http://www.costaricaart.com

Costa Rica Food. (n.d.). //Viva Costa Rica//. Retrieved April 28, 2011, from http://www.vivacostarica.com/costa-rica-information/costa-rica-food.html

Costa-Rica map, flag and country information on the Yahoo! Kids World Factbook. (n.d.). //Yahoo! Kids//. Retrieved April 30, 2011, from http://kids.yahoo.com/reference/world-factbook/country/cs--Costa-Rica#people

Costa Rican Music. (n.d.). //Costa Rica Culture- Home//. Retrieved April 30, 2011, from http://www.costarica.com/culture/costa-rican-music/

TIME. (n.d.). Time for Kids-Around The World-Costa Rica. //Time For Kids-Classroom//. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/teachers/aw/wr/main/0,28132,1597311,00.htm