John Monzon

Grade 11 Stem-St. Alypius

Understanding Culture and Society
Province: San Carlos, Pangasinan
My province is Pangasinan, San Carlos City. It is the province of my mother. It is the
most populated city in Pangasinan and the entire Ilocos Region. According to the 2015 census,
it has a population of 188,571 people. San Carlos was already known a prosprerous
community since pre-colonial times. It was formerly part of a town called "Binalatongan".
Binalatongan was the capital of Luyag na Caboloan, an ancient kingdom , which includes
the present-day provinces of Tarlac, Zambales, Nueva Ecija, La Union, Pangasinan, and
Benguet) ruled by King Ari Kasikis. The city is also called the "Mango-Bamboo Capital of
the Philippines", San Carlos has the largest number of mango trees - their fruits are among
the most flavorsome in the country - and a thriving bamboocraft industry. An agro-
industrial city, San Carlos also engages in livestock raising, crop production, inland fishing,
pottery, food processing, tourism, commerce and trade, small-scale manufacturing, and
flour-making. San Carlos is said to have an ideal investment potential because of its large
land area, big population and strategic location, being in the center of Pangasinan. In the
province of my mother they have many foods like the dagupan bangus (also called milkfish),
pakbet, bagoong isda, alaminos longganisa, kaleskesan, bagisen, pigar-pigar, pakasyat,
tsokolate tableya, tupig, binungey and etc. Their belief or practice is similar to Shamanist
or animist beliefs and rituals. They worshipped a pantheon of anito ("spirit" or "deity").
In the history of Pangasinan most of the people there are main job is being a fishermen,
because they are surrounded of bodies of water that’s why it cannot be denied that most of
them are fishermen. The beliefs of people in Pangasinan is they believe that kulam “curse”
is real that’s why they need to be careful when they met strangers so that it can be avoided.
Another one is if the kajyanak (newborn) has physical defects, he is given a hair washing
rite presided over by a folk healer. If the defect is not healed, the family accepts the baby's
condition and views it as a sign of good luck. Aside from that they belive that Courtship
begins with a series of casual conversations and visits to the girl's home where the boy gets
to know the girl and her family. Long courtships are expected to give both parties a chance
to be sure about their own feelings for each other. The boy sends love letters to the girl
regularly as constant reminders and declarations of a willingness to continue the amorous
pursuit. The harana (serenade) is also one way of expressing love. The boy asks a group of
friends to join him, on a moonlit night, in waking up his beloved maiden with love songs.
They also believe that relationship, once formalized, is carried out with utmost discretion.
The girl is expected to remain modest and chaste. Tradition strongly requires that the
woman maintain her virginity until marriage. Otherwise, she will have to face such grave
consequences as being ostracized by the community or disowned by her family. In
Pangasinan they have festivals like the Mango-Bamboo festival it is a yearly week-long
festival every April 20-27 in San Carlos City, Pangasinan It is made to advance the real
John Monzon
Grade 11 Stem-St. Alypius
exchange of the town which is bamboo furniture and items, and the best "carabao" mangoes
you've ever tasted. That’s all that I know in my province of my mother. Merry Christmas
and Happy New Year po 

Understanding Culture and Society

Country: Shanghai, China
Shanghai, China is located in the southern estuary of the Yangtze, and the Huangpu
River flows through it. With a population of 24.2 million as of 2018, it is the most populous
urban area in China and the second most populous city proper in the world. Shanghai is a
global center for finance, innovation, and transportation, and the Port of Shanghai is
the world's busiest container port. Originally a fishing village and market town, Shanghai
grew in importance in the 19th century due to trade and its favorable port location. The
city was one of five treaty ports forced open to foreign trade after the First Opium War.
The Shanghai International Settlement and the French Concession were subsequently
established. The city then flourished, becoming a primary commercial and financial hub
of the Asia-Pacific region in the 1930s. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the city was
the site of the major Battle of Shanghai. After the war, with the CPC takeover of
mainland China in 1949, trade was limited to other socialist countries, and the city's
global influence declined. The language spoken in the city is Shanghainese, a dialect of
the Taihu Wu subgroup of the Wu Chinese family. This makes it a different language
from the official Chinese language, Mandarin, which is mutually unintelligible with Wu
Chinese. Modern Shanghainese is based on other dialects of Taihu
Wu: Suzhounese, Ningbonese, and the local dialect of Songjiang Prefecture. Shanghai was
formerly a part of Jiangsu province and still shares strong cultural similarities with
Jiangsu although mass migration from all across China and the rest of the world has
made Shanghai a melting pot of different cultures. It is geographically a part of the
Jiangnan region and as such, Wuyue culture dominated Shanghai but the influx of
Western influences since the mid-19th century has generated a unique "East Meets
West" Haipai culture. Shanghai cuisine emphasises the use of condiments and meanwhile
retaining the original flavours of the raw ingredients materials. Sugar is an important
ingredient in Shanghai cuisine, especially when used in combination with soy
sauce. Another characteristic is the use of a great variety of seafood and freshwater
food. Some of them are the Xiaolongbao, it is a type of steamed bun made with a thin skin
of dough and stuffed with pork or minced crabmeat, and soup. The delicious soup inside
can be hold up until it is bitten, another one is the Shengjian mantou, it is a type of small,
pan-fried steamed bun which is a specialty of Shanghai. It is made from leavened or semi-
leavened dough, wrapped around pork (most commonly found) and gelatin fillings that
John Monzon
Grade 11 Stem-St. Alypius
melts into soup/liquid when cooked. There are many different religious groups found in
Shanghai; Confucianism, Daoism (Taoism), Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and
Popular Folk Religion. Daoism and Buddhism have the biggest following in Shanghai,
while Shanghai also boasts the largest Catholic presence in mainland China.