Stereotypical Georgian traits include manners known as Southern hospitality, a strong sense of community and shared culture, and a distinctive Southern dialect. Georgia's southern heritage makes turkey and dressing a traditional holiday dish at both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Georgia is known for its rich history of art, music and literature. Food and wine are central to Georgia's cultural traditions and are part of the Georgian lifestyle.
Here are several highlights of Georgian culture. The arrival of the New Year is one of the most important celebrations in Georgia, and it is celebrated twice. Once on January 1 and then on the 14th, what is known as the “Old New Year”, according to the Julian calendar. January 2nd is Bedoba, which means “lucky day”.On this day, it is believed that whatever happens is what the rest of the year will be like so that everyone avoids working and maintains as cheerful an attitude as possible to set a good precedent for the next 363 days.
As in many other Orthodox countries, Georgians celebrate Christmas on January 7th, which is equivalent to December 25th in the Gregorian calendar. On the 7th, many people take part in a parade called “Alilo”. They dress up and carry flags as they walk the streets to celebrate. Georgians are said to be among the most hospitable people on Earth.
They truly believe that guests come from God, and they have strong traditions of chivalry and codes of personal honor. This is a budding tradition, but now in its eighth year, the New Wine Festival in the capital, Tbilisi, allows Georgians to celebrate something they consider to be an integral part of their history and culture: wine. The traditional Georgian method of winemaking, qvevri, was included (in 2001) in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Humanity (UNESCO). The Master in Regional Studies of Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia (REECA) is a two-year program that offers advanced training in the history, politics, culture, society and languages of this region.
The ancient culture of the republic is reflected in the large number of architectural monuments, including many monasteries and churches; in fact, Georgian (together with Armenian) architecture played a considerable role in the development of the Byzantine style. Several Neolithic sites have been excavated in the lowlands of Calcutta, in the Khrami River valley, in central Georgia, and in South Ossetia; they were occupied by settled tribes that were engaged in livestock and agriculture.
