Culture of Albania

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Dances

Main article: Albanian dances

Dress

Main article: Traditional Albanian clothing

Education

Main article: Education in Albania

The education system in Albania is secular. The literacy rate for the total population, age 9 or older, is about 94%. Elementary education is compulsory (grades 1–9), but most students continue at least until a secondary education (grades 10–12). Students must successfully pass graduation exams at the end of the 9th grade and at the end of the 12th grade in order to continue their education. There are about 5000, mostly public, schools throughout the country and the academic year is divided into two semesters. The school year begins in September and finishes in late May or early June.

Folklore

Main article: Albanian folklore

Albanian myths can be divided into two major groups: legends of period and pads and historical legends. Some of the best known legends are: Rozafa, Besa e Kostandinit, Gjergj Elez Alia, Ymer Agë Ulqini, Cikli i Kreshnikëve.

Fine arts

Main article: Albanian art

Music

Main article: Music of Albania

Literature

Main article: Albanian literature

Sport

The most popular sport in Albania is soccer and the most followed sports event is the World Cup. As of February 2011^[update], Albania was ranked 50th by FIFA. Other played sports include basketball, volleyball, and gymnastics.

See also: List of football clubs in Albania

Weddings as part of Albanian culture

Dress of Muslim shkodran bride

The dress of the Muslim bride is characterized by its elegance and transparency, in that of the Catholic one can see full colors. The Catholic bride's dress is characterized by its picturesque effects and harmony.

There are two types of Muslim wedding dresses. One is worked on a "shajak" (large piece of wool) and with floral motives worked with "gajtan" (kind of rope) black cotton, sometimes mixed with green. The other one is worked in the same material but with red color. Different from the first here the motifs are enriched with full colors. The difference between this two dresses that at the first dress the motifs occupy all the area, at the second it occupies a little part in the front and back. These dresses have a belt worked with gold and grain necklaces in red, rose, orange creating all together a warm surface. Here the motifs are very small.

This gallery of costumes, richness of colors, sentiments are a big experience of lots of years of a population like ours, not only for the ability to conserve alive the tradition, inheriting it generations after generations, but also for conserving the high technique of elaboration or the high artistic level.

Dress of Catholic shkodran bride

The dress is tripped from the transparent white, shiny, soft, which spreads all over the body, and is intended to suggest tranquility and a warm purity. This game is achieved through the white of the base material and the gold thread over. This dress is composed by the "barnaveke": some kind of very long pants which seem a skirt. In the upper part is worn a shirt and over it a "jelek" (waistcoat).

Paja

Ritual songs name various elements which contain "pajen" of the girl, which are the goods parents give to the daughter to wear, to furnish the house, gifts for her husband and the intimate cousins. The preparation of the "paja" for the parents of the bride is a pleasure which means also accomplishing the obligations toward the daughter. This is also an expression of the love of parents, but is connected with the economical conditions of the family.

Dhuntia

"Dhunti" in Shkodra means the gifts that the groom prepares for the bride during the engagement, mainly clothes, jewelry, gold ornaments and tricks, which are sent to her a few days before the wedding. In addition to those received by the family of his father, the bride takes many gifts from the groom and his family. "Dhuntia", which had a considerable monetary value, was prepared with great care by the family of the boy, because in some way embodied respect and love for his young bride, to whom these gifts were made, love for their son that he married at the same time was also a representation of the family in its economic and aesthetic. In "dhunti" there were enough clothes and items for use at all times, in joy and in sorrow, which expressed particular attention to the role of women.

Kole Idromeno and "Dasma Shkodrane"

In 1924 Idromeno drew the picture Dasma Shkodrane ("Shkodra wedding"), which immediately became known to the general public and was an accurate description of the original customs of the country. The environment is characteristic of Shkodra, the houses enclosed by high walls, windows, trees, chimneys, and minarets.

See also

• Albanian language
• Albanian folklore
• Cinema of Albania
• Albanian art
• Albanian music
• Albanian rock
• Albanian comics
• Tourism in Albania
• Cuisine of Albania
• Music of Albania
• Religion in Albania
• wikiquote:Albanian proverbs
• List of Albanian writers
• Radio Televizioni Shqiptar
• Albanian sworn virgins

External links

• Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth, and Sports of Albania
• The History of Albanian Literature (Website in English)
• Cultural Heritage of Albania Brochure
• National Library of Albania
• Books about Albania and the Albanian people (scribd.com) Reference of books (and some journal articles) about Albania and the Albanian people; their history, language, origin, culture, literature, etc. Public domain books, fully accessible online.