🐱Summary
This article explores how culture influences the way people feel and express sadness. The story begins with Helen, an Englishwoman whose baby sister died when she was three. Despite moving to Denmark, one of the happiest places in the world, her sadness remained. This made her reflect on how British culture discourages emotional expression, especially sadness.
Cultures express grief differently. For example, in Spain, sadness might be shown through passionate flamenco dancing, while in Japan, crying can be seen as shameful. In India, families may even hire professional mourners to express grief. In contrast, British men have traditionally been expected to suppress their emotions.
English has a rich vocabulary for sadness, including melancholy, grief, and being fed up. Sadly, cultural repression still influences how people (especially British men) process emotions, sometimes turning to alcohol instead of open conversation, which can worsen depression.
English has a rich vocabulary for sadness, including melancholy, grief, and being fed up. Sadly, cultural repression still influences how people (especially British men) process emotions, sometimes turning to alcohol instead of open conversation, which can worsen depression.
The colour most associated with sadness is blue, as in the idiom “feeling blue.”
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🐼 Reading Comprehension Questions
1. What is the colour most associated with sadness in English?
2. What is the difference between “melancholy” and “grief”?
3. What’s a healthier alternative to drinking alcohol when feeling sad, according to the episode?
4. How do people in Ireland traditionally express melancholy?
🍓
When Helen was three years old, her new-born baby sister died suddenly. Looking back at that sad time, Helen remembers making a big decision – she wanted to be happy. She became a bestselling author and wrote a book called, The Atlas of Happiness. She got married, and even moved to the famously happy city of Copenhagen in Denmark.
She wondered whether her feelings were somehow connected to being born in England, into a culture where, traditionally, expressing your emotions was discouraged.
In English there are many idioms which describe being sad, including down in the dumps, meaning that you feel miserable and depressed. Also, emotions are often associated with colours, for example you might go red with anger, or turn green with envy.
Around the world, cultures express emotions very differently. In Spain, flamenco performers express their emotions with colourful displays of song and dance, whereas in Japan, crying is considered weak and shameful.
Everyone is fed up of Covid.
The uniquely British idiom, to keep a stiff upper lip, means not to show your feelings when you’re upset, even though it is difficult not to. Hiding you feelings or bottling them up is definitely won’t make you happy, but making friends and learning something new might
🐼 Reading Comprehension Questions
1. What is the colour most associated with sadness in English?
2. What is the difference between “melancholy” and “grief”?
3. What’s a healthier alternative to drinking alcohol when feeling sad, according to the episode?
4. How do people in Ireland traditionally express melancholy?
🍓
When Helen was three years old, her new-born baby sister died suddenly. Looking back at that sad time, Helen remembers making a big decision – she wanted to be happy. She became a bestselling author and wrote a book called, The Atlas of Happiness. She got married, and even moved to the famously happy city of Copenhagen in Denmark.
She wondered whether her feelings were somehow connected to being born in England, into a culture where, traditionally, expressing your emotions was discouraged.
In English there are many idioms which describe being sad, including down in the dumps, meaning that you feel miserable and depressed. Also, emotions are often associated with colours, for example you might go red with anger, or turn green with envy.
Around the world, cultures express emotions very differently. In Spain, flamenco performers express their emotions with colourful displays of song and dance, whereas in Japan, crying is considered weak and shameful.
Everyone is fed up of Covid.
The uniquely British idiom, to keep a stiff upper lip, means not to show your feelings when you’re upset, even though it is difficult not to. Hiding you feelings or bottling them up is definitely won’t make you happy, but making friends and learning something new might