Holidays

There are many festivals celebrated annually in Pakistan - which may or may not be observed as national public holidays - e.g. Pakistan Day (23 March), Independence Day (14 August), Defence of Pakistan Day (6 September), Pakistan Air Force Day (7 September), the anniversaries of the birth (25 December, a national holiday) and death (11 September) of Quaid-e-Azam, birth of Allama Iqbal (9 November) and the birth (30 July) and death (8 July) of Madar-e-Millat. Labour Day, (also known as May Day), is also observed in Pakistan on 1 May and is a public holiday. Several important religious festivals are celebrated by Pakistani Muslims during the year; the celeberation days depend on the lunar Islamic calendar. Ramadan, the ninth month of the calendar, is characterised by daytime fasting for 29 or 30 days and is followed by the festival of Eid ul-Fitr. In a second festival, Eid ul-Adha, an animal is sacrificed in remembrance of the actions of Prophet Abraham (Arabic: Ibrahim) and the meat is shared with friends, family, and the less fortunate. Both Eid festivals are public holidays, serving as opportunities for people to visit family and friends, and for children to receive new clothes, presents, and sweets. Muslims also celebrate Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi - the birthday of the prophet Muhammad - in the third month of the calendar (Rabi' al-Awwal) and mark the Day of Ashurah on the 9th and 10th days of the first month (Muharram) to commemorate the martyrdom of Husayn bin Ali.

Zorastrians, Parsis, Bahai's, Nestorians, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Christians in Pakistan also celebrate their own festivals and holidays. Sikhs come from across the world to visit several holy sites in Punjab, including the shrine of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, at Hasan Abdal in Attock District, and his birthplace, at Nankana Sahib. There are also several regional and local festivals, such as the Punjabi festival of Basant, which marks the start of spring and is celebrated by kite flying.

Genetics

About 85% of Pakistanis are Caucasoid by race, 10% Australoid-Negroid, and 5% Mongoloid in the overall genetic composition. The majority of Pakistanis are of average height. Pakistan is notable for having several individuals in the guiness book of world records (Alam Cheema) for the tallest man in the world. Most Pakistanis have brown skin, dark hair and eyes, however coloured eyes do occur in small portions of the population (namely the northern regions bordering afghanistan) among the Kalash, Tajik and North Western Pashtun tribes. The typical Pakistani can range from dark brown skin similar to south Indians, to light brown skin similar to North Indians. Though Indic people (or Indo-Aryan people) make up the large majority of Pakistan's population, such as Punjabis and Sindhis (numbering together around 128 million people), a significant minority of people inhabiting Pakistan's Northern and Western regions are Iranic (Pashtuns, Baluch) and share affinities with ethnic groups in Iran and Afghanistan. While the racial features of each ethnic group in Pakistan are not uniform, Pashtuns of North-Western Pakistan are the most Caucasoid, phenotypically, followed by the Kashmiris, then by, Baluchis, Sindhis, Punjabis, and Seraikis etc. The Australoid-Negroid people live along the Makran coast and are significant minority known as the Sheedi who came from East Africa in the 15th century. Mongoloid people also inhabit Pakistan and are of Mongolian origin.

Cultural traditions

Pakistanis have a distinct culture, traditions and customs. Shalwar kamiz is the dress commonly worn, both by men and women in Pakistan. Pakistani food is rich in meat (including beef), whereas wheat is the main staple. Pashto, Punjabi, Balochi, Sindhi, Kashmiri, etc. music and dances are distinctly unique with their own melodies, instruments, patterns and styles. Pakistani arts in metal work, tiles, furniture, rugs, designs/paintings, literature, calligraphy, etc. are distinct and diverse. Pakistani architecture is unique with its Islamic styles. The manners and lifestyles are guided by a blend of Islam and local traditions. In comparison both Pakistanis and the Indians definitely have distinct cultures of their own. Some Indian women wear Shalwar kameez, which is due to Persian cultural influence which is more strong in Pakistan. Many Pakistani food dishes are shared with Indian cuisine (like naan, tikka, kebab, biryani/pulao, etc.). There is barely any Hindu architectural influence in Pakistan (Gandhara is Graeco-Buddhist and Harappan is distinct),. The lives of most Pakistanis are shaped by Islam, whereas the lives of most Indians are shaped by Hanadic-Hinduism.

Social Culture

The direct translation of Pakistan's name means Land of (the) Pure, implying spiritual purity.^{[citation needed]}

• Hospitality, many tourists and travellers to Pakistan are often surprised at the hospitality that Pakistani show to guests and tourists. In many of the traditional cultures of Pakistan, hospitality is considered a Farz (obligatory) and anyone found to be a poor host is shunned socially.
• Consumption of alcoholic beverages by Muslims is officially illegal in Pakistan. Only non-Muslim Pakistanis and non-Muslim foreigners are allowed to consume alcoholic beverages (receiving government issued license). However, State and Christian/Parsi owned breweries operate in Pakistan, such as theMurree Brewery and Quetta Brewery, which produce all sorts of alcoholic beverages and earn considerable revenue for the government. Despite all the restrictions, there are reports that underground alcoholic activities exist and have thrived ever since the law banning Alcohol consumption was passed in the late 70's.

Globalization

Pakistan ranks 56th in the world on the Kearney/FP Globalization index. Their position on this index fell 10 spots from 2004 to 2006. Many multinational restaurant chains have established theirfranchises in major cities and towns in Pakistan.

A large Pakistani diaspora exists in the West and the Middle East. Whereas Pakistanis in the United States, Canada and Australia tend to be professionals, the majority of them in the United Kingdom,Germany and Scandinavia originally came from a rural background belonging to the working class. These emigrants and their children influence Pakistan culturally and economically, keeping close ties with their roots by travelling to Pakistan and especially by returning or investing there.

National Dress

The national dress of Pakistan is Shalwar Qameez (Urdu: شلوار قمیض ) for both men and women. It consists of a long, loose fitting tunic with very baggy trousers. The dress is believed to be an amalgamation of the dresses worn by the ancient Turks, Persians and Afghans (Pashtuns) who have left their impression on the people and culture of Pakistan.

The men's version consists of solid, masculine colours and is almost always accompanied by collar and buttons (similar to polo shirt). Men often wear an outer waistcoat over the shalwar kameez. The women's version almost never contains collar and buttons but is often embroidered and consists of feminine colors and may feature lace or flower patterns.

In the summer, a light, cotton version is often worn, while during the winter, a heavier, wool version is worn.

The sherwani or achkan with karakuli hat is the recommended dress for male government employees and officials, as it is not specifically associated with any of the provinces. Most male government officials wear the formal black sherwani on state occasions.

Popular media

Television

Traditionally, the government-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) has been the dominant media player in Pakistan. The PTV channels are controlled by the government and oppositional views are not given much time. However, the past decade has seen emergence of several private TV channels (news, entertainment) such as GEO TV, AAJ TV, ARY Digital, dunya TVIndus Vision, HUM, MTV Pakistan and others. Traditionally the bulk of TV shows have been plays or soap operas, some of them critically acclaimed. Various American, European, Asian TV channels and movies are available to a majority of the population via Cable TV.

Radio

After independence, Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) was the sole radio channel in Pakistan during 1947. The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation was formed on 14 August 1947 when Pakistan became independent. It was a direct descendant of the Indian Broadcasting Company which later became All India Radio. At independence Pakistan possessed three radio stations at Dhaka, Lahore andPeshawar. A major programme of expansion saw new stations opened at Karachi and Rawalpindi in 1948, and a new broadcasting house at Karachi in 1950. This was followed by new radio stations atHyderabad (1951), Quetta (1956), a second station at Rawalpindi (1960) and a receiving centre at Peshawar (1960). During the 1980s and 1990s the corporation expanded its network to many cities and towns of Pakistan to provide greater service to the local people. Today, there are over a hundred radio stations due to more liberal media regulations.

Cinema

An indigenous movie industry exists in Pakistan, and is known as "Lollywood" as it is based in Lahore, producing over forty feature-length films a year. In contrast, Indian movies are popular in Pakistan despite a ban since the Pakistan-India War in 1965. However, due to the massive film piracy industry in Pakistan, Indian Bollywood films and American Hollywood films have made it to Pakistani movie shelves and home videos for over thirty years. The Lollywood industry used to produce many Urdu films however as Lahore became the headquarters of the film industry, slowly the number of Urdu films decreased with the same rate of Punjabi language rising.

The film industry suffered badly during the rule of the military dictator Gen. Zia, who forced women to cover their heads even on government controlled Pakistan TV. The number of films produced per year also declined due to several other factors including the wide spread use of VCR and DVD players since even most patriotic Pakistanis like to watch Indian movies over their own. Today, Lollywood has totally collapsed and once busy film producing studios have been turned into more profitable business ventures. Most of cinema houses too have been turned into commercial business plazas.

Pakistan also has another film industry based in Peshawar, North West Frontier Province that produced Pashto language films. As demand for films has increased, Karachi has its own version of film festivals, which includes the Kara Film Festivals where many film producers, actors and film staff get together to celebrate achievements in the industry. Under the fear of Taliban and religious extremists, the film industry in Peshawar has come to a standstill today. The Northwestern province of Pakistan has its own culture which is very restricted and even in good old days the buses will turn off entertainment programs upon entering into this province.