Why do people in Japan prefer sitting on the floor to eat and sleep?

 My mother is Vietnamese, so I spent a great deal of time in Vietnam visiting family. Eating on the floor is completely common there.

My view is that simplicity is the core reason. If you can eat comfortably on the floor, you can fit far more people into a living room to share a meal together without needing to invest in a large, space-consuming table.

It is also likely that this practice has deep historical roots across Asia, partly because many Asians tend to have naturally more flexible legs than their Western counterparts.

The vast majority of them myself included, being only 50% Asian are able to perform what is known as the Asian Squat: that particular seated position where the body crouches low but the buttocks never touch the ground.

One source notes that 100% of Asians can perform the Asian Squat, compared to just 13.9% of Americans and among those Americans, 9% had Asian ancestry.

Asians use this position constantly while sitting on chairs, while using the toilet, almost everywhere.

The same logic applies to sleeping on the floor. It is enormously practical during family gatherings: no need for numerous sofas or spare beds. A few large bamboo mats and some cushions are all that is required.

Edit: I am not suggesting Asians are in any way superior to Westerners I was simply noting something I had observed. After looking into it further, the ability to perform the Asian Squat appears to stem from the fact that Asians spend so much time sitting on the floor from an early age, which gradually lengthens the calf muscles and makes the position accessible.

In theory, anyone can develop this ability. Asians simply benefit from a lifetime of circumstance.

How did ceremonial traditions change when India became a republic?

 For three years after independence, India’s head of state was still King George VI. When the nation finally became a republic in 1950, an empire's worth of royal tradition had to be erased.

The most immediate change was the purge of royal symbology. The office of the Governor-General was abolished. The British crown was scrubbed from military uniforms, official seals, postal stamps, and coinage, replaced almost uniformly by the Lion Capital of Ashoka. The armed forces dropped their royal prefixes—the Royal Indian Navy and Royal Indian Air Force became simply the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. The oaths of allegiance taken by government officials, soldiers, and judges were rewritten to pledge loyalty to the Constitution of India rather than the reigning monarch.

The physical spaces of power were also repurposed. The Viceroy's House in New Delhi, built to project imperial dominance, was renamed Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential Palace). Its central Durbar Hall, which once housed the viceregal throne under a canopy of crimson velvet, was stripped of its imperial statues and used for the swearing-in of Dr. Rajendra Prasad as India's first President. Rather than occupying the opulent Viceroy's apartments, Prasad chose to live in the guest wing, a tradition of modesty maintained by his successors.

The ceremonial calendar shifted to reflect the new republic. "God Save the King" was officially replaced by "Jana Gana Mana" as the national anthem. The British honors system, including knighthoods and peerages, was abolished; four years later, the government introduced civilian awards like the Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan. Even the military's Beating Retreat ceremony, a 16th-century English tradition, was gradually Indianized as bands introduced Indian classical ragas alongside Western martial music. The President's Bodyguard, an elite cavalry regiment raised in 1773, retained its horses and scarlet tunics, but swapped the King's cypher on their pennants for the emblem of the new republic.

First Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President Rajendra Prasad bid farewell to outgoing Governor-General C. Rajagopalachari in 1950, marking the end of the British Dominion era. Photo by President's Secretariat is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

What customs and traditions does Russia have?

 A major Russian tradition is suffering. In my country, suffering is endless. Let me give you an example.

For most people, local trains are too expensive, and towns with populations under 500,000 don't have airports. Highways are either extremely dangerous with only one lane in each direction, or they don't exist at all. In countries that like to compare themselves to America, railroads are still king.

For Russians, hardship is the norm. Passengers with luggage have to climb the steep stairs of pedestrian overpasses without ramps, and do the same when descending. The most enjoyable time is winter, when the roads are frozen and there isn't a day that goes by without elderly people slipping and falling.

If only there was a pedestrian overpass. I remember when I was a child, my grandmother and cousin climbed between the passenger cars of a freight train to get to the correct platform. That was the only way to get to the right platform.

The platforms are considerably lower than the train doors. Boarding a train with luggage is a difficult task for Russians.

If only there was a platform. I remember as a child, on a train to Moscow, my grandmother and cousins ​​were leaning over with their feet sunk into the gravel, their hands reaching out to grab onto the handrails of the carriage, all while the conductor urged them on, "We'll be departing in one minute!"

Then, in an open-plan sleeping car, I enjoyed the "comfort" of eating chicken, drinking vodka, and playing cards with 70 rough-and-tumble Russians.

In the early morning, a rural landscape and abandoned factories stretch out beyond the window, the conductor collects the bedsheets, and announces that all toilets will be closed 40 minutes before arrival.

No one is allowed to urinate or defecate on the train tracks in the capital city of their homeland.