Culture of Zwangzug

The culture of Zwangzug is diverse: the nation prides itself on being intellectual, which includes respect for the humanities and arts. This lists various attributes of the national psyche.

The Arts

Music

Music is widely appreciated throughout Zwangzug. Its national anthem is, appropriately, Anthem by Tim Rice, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, though a "meta-anthem", is an increasingly popular way representing the country, especially at sporting events. Other popular music is that of Red Knight and Benny Angle.

Visual

Zwangzug does not have a strong tradition of visual arts. Its most famous visual artist is most likely Maurits van Huys, who based much of his work around fractals.

Language

English is the de facto official language of Zwangzug, though there is much good-natured controversy between two dialects: "descriptive" (verbose) and "algebraic" (compact) speakers, or notators.

One difficulty is the terminology for residents of the country. Descriptive notators generally accept "Zwangzugian", though pronunciation is difficult. Algebraic notators prefer "peons".

Literature

Many works of literature have been produced in the nation: the list of its donations to the World History Library provide some sense of what contributions are considered its greatest. The Ashahnemas are particularly noteworthy: the collection of legends and folktales, while originally (and to this day, among the nation's indigenous peoples) orally passed down, are still a staple of many children's fairy-tale knowledge. Themes presented throughout the stories include self-sacrifice for an undefined ideal, intelligence triumphing over physical strength, and the collective wisdom of the people as compared to despotism.

Religion

Zwangzug is a secular state, and religion is not discussed on public land. The majority of residents are nonreligious, but some follow Ketrianism (a religion practiced nowhere else) or world religions. Stereotyping of the religious as opposed to reason and thought led to reporting of religious affiliation much lower than governmental projections, but the nation's consistent efforts for more tolerance of the religious have done a great deal to reduce that stigma. As opposed to some other socialist (or communist) nations, religion is not considered the "opium of the people" (a negative that government is mandated to eradicate).

Statistics indicate that about 26% of the nation is religious. Of these, about 13% are Ketrian, 8% Christian (of these, Lutheranism is the most common denomination), and 2% (each) practice Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. A lesser percentage practice religions such as Violetism.

Lately, there has been a rise in what has been called "organized atheism": that is, parody religions such as Pastafarianism or Frisbeetarianism that have organized services, hymns, and sermons. Adherents of these "faiths" are counted as atheists for record-keeping purposes. They are, however, some of the fastest-growing organizations in the country.

Holidays

Zwangzug follows the Gregorian calendar, though it reckons years from a different starting point (its year zero is 512 CE). Its two major holidays are April 4 (Intellectual Freedom Day) and October 19 (Establishment Day).

Media

The internet serves as the main media source for Zwangzug: its TLD is .zz. However, there are still other outlets, such as the single television channel Zwangzug Broadcasting. (Television never established a niche in the nation, sandwiched too closely between the rise of radio and the internet. The concept of televised news was viewed with suspicion, and televised sports nearly oxymoronic.) Radio remains popular.

Newspapers

The printed word is pervasive. Zwangzug's two main newspapers are the Merano Regency (descriptive) and the Bangkok Scoresheet (algebraic). Out of respect for trees and mounting expense, a third newspaper recently switched to all-online publication. Taking a prefix to denote that, it is now known as the e-Lipogram.

Sports

The people of Zwangzug will be first to assert that sports transcend athletics. However, the Zwangzug Athletics Organization does coordinate the country's athletic programs.