Colors of Oahu Island - traditions, festivals, mentality and lifestyle

While communicating with locals, remember that they don’t feel the difference between days and seasons. Time plays no role here. Perhaps, the reason is that there is almost no change of seasons on the island. There are only three winter months on Oahu which differ only with the rain intensity. There is no cold weather and no monsoons. However, locals’ perception of time and weather can be connected with religious reasons.

Whatever, if you’ve agreed with a local that he will take you to someplace on a certain day, you can not find him at the appointed time at the meeting place. But he can offer to take you to that place in two days because there is almost no difference between tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. When going to Oahu, remember that it is forbidden to bring food and animals here. You can even get a prison sentence of 5 years or a large fine if you’ve decided to bring a snake to the island. When planning a trip to the island, you should know that you can suddenly become allergic to vog gas emitted by the constantly erupting Mauna Loa volcano. The locals feel comfortable with it.

On Oahu you will find yourself surrounded by locals in bright clothes. Men really love colourful shirts, but women wear muumuu- bright and sometimes quite shapeless dresses. However, there are also quite elegant and tight-fitting muumuus. In general, wearing national clothing will help you feel at home and will increase the favour of the locals, so feel free to give up the usual costumes and t-shirts. Hulu dance is one more important part of local culture. If you can’t master hulu by yourself, don’t be upset. You can visit theatrical shows, admire how local people perform the dance and learn some movements. The dance has existed here for more than a thousand years and it has many varieties. Some of them you can dance only during religious ceremonies, some can be danced only by royal people and the others are allowed to everyone. Copyright www.orangesmile.com

You can come to Honolulu March Festival and admire locals dancing hulu. The festival lasts for three days, from Friday to Sunday and it includes dances, art performances, master classes, costume performances and many different events. The festival is dedicated to the culture of Hawaii and most of its events are free to enter. Okinawan Festival is one more interesting event. It will introduce everyone to the life and customs of neighbouring Japan. Honolulu hosts quite a prestigious film festival the HonoluluFilmAwards, a marathon and a festival of local coffee.

In general, locals love festivals and holidays. They celebrate the majority of the important dates of different Nations. The islanders celebrate traditional American Thanksgiving, Columbus Day, Independence Day, Christian Easter, Christmas, New Year's day, and even Japanese Girls’ Day and Boys' Day. Of course, they don’t forget about local holidays. For example, there are large celebrations on the date of birth of Kamehameha I, who united the archipelago. The celebrations include large-scale festivities, carnival and canoe races, as well as during the day of Kuhio Prince. Locals also celebrate the Day of entry of Hawaii into the United States and the Chinese New Year.

The language of the locals is also interesting. Only a few people here think about geographical coordinates. For example, the sun goes "over the mountain" or "over the sea". Moreover, all of the borrowed words are changed in their own way. For example, Manula Loa is quite a long mountain. In English, it is Mountain Long. You are likely to be called haole here, like all white tourists. The famous Aloha, for example, has a huge number of meanings depending on the phrase - Hello/goodbye/make friends/love and many other pleasant feelings. In general, the inhabitants of the island are very relaxed people, they prefer to fully enjoy life and do not consider themselves fully Americans.