German Culture Vs American Culture Essay

Culture is part of special traditions and rites of passage. In this paper I am going to write about American culture compared to German culture. To do this I interviewed Michael Heidenreich, who was born in Berlin, Germany in 1943.

Another huge part of my life that comes from my German heritage is the foods that my family and I eat. Germans eat a lot of meats. The main meat that my family and I have is pork and sometimes steak. Pork is a very common food in Germany. We even have sausage occasionally. My whole family sits at the dinner table while my father and grandpa cook our dinners. Another thing that the adults do is drink beer on special occasions. My cousins and I are under age so we obviously can’t have

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die…” (KJV, Ecclesiastes 3:2)

Many of the customs followed by Americans come from the upbringing of the individual. As adults, Americans may form their own special customs that will be unique for their family. The greetings and visiting customs may vary from family to family, but generally most Americans have a simplistic approach.

In the last few centuries, Europe has experienced major changes both in its population makeup and number. Be that as it may, in the last two decades, it has been faced with an unprecedented decline in population growth while struggling with the issue of an aging population. Indeed, from Helsinki to Lisbon, the birth rate has fallen dramatically in recent years. It has fallen so much so that most countries have put together some form of policies to help mitigate what is perceived as a serious demographic crisis in european capitals. Those policies have yielded different results. While some countries like France are now experiencing a slow growth rate as a result of those policies, others in the likes of Germany are forced to still deal with an ever declining population. In this paper, I will be analyzing, comparing, and contrasting the policies in both countries.

WWII: was it destiny, devastation, or a devious mind? WWII had a big effect on the United States population. If we would not have had WWII, our un-employment rate would be higher. Without WWII, the culture in the United States would be less diverse than it is today. In conclusion the world as we know today would not be the same if WWII had not occurred; it played a major role in the changing of population, economy, and culture in the United States.

They conformed to the “American Culture” and tried to focus on having a new and improved life with tons of opportunities. They also brought some traditions and ideas over with them from Germany. The main traditions were going to church – ended up by changing their religion to Catholic -, eating as a family during mealtimes, and speaking German around the house while learning English. To this day, that side of my family keeps most of those traditions, except for speaking the German language. My mother and grandmother were raised Catholic as well, but it changed at me. I have never gone to church and I do not plan to because I am Agnostic. Every night my family gathers around the dinner table and eats together. That is a rare thing now days because most families have mixed up schedules. I plan on keeping that tradition with my future

The festivities last for a whole month: from December 6th, the feast of St. Nichols, until January 6th, the feast of the wise men. Similar to the American Christmas traditions, Christmas trees are a large part of the holiday celebration. In Germany, unlike America, the Christmas tree is secretly brought into the house the night of Christmas Eve and is decorated by the mother. Trees are most famously decorated with hand blown glass ornaments and tinsel. Another German tradition unlike America’s is that presents are usually exchanged and opened on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas Day. Germans also celebrate Zweiter Weihnactsfeirtag the day after Christmas. Zweiter Weihnactsfeirtag directly translates to Boxing Day, the holiday also celebrated in Canada. Though unlike Canada, where Boxing Day is a time for shopping and finding discounts, in Germany, Boxing Day is like a second Christmas. Families spend time with their grandparents and godparents. Things like board games, watching TV, and other typical bonding activities are done. This day, for the Germans, is a quiet day to relax and prepare for the rest of the Christmas

Although Canada and the United States share the same continent, they are divided by their unique ideas and views. After WWI ,Canada broke its ties with Britain and new independent nation was born with a unique culture. This new culture developed through the Canadian citizens. As a Canadian citizen, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie helped achieve autonomy from Britain and solidify national unity at home. Canadian inventor ,Fredrick Banting ,maintained his culture as Canadian and contributed to the world through his invention of insulin. Many artists, authors, actors , actresses and athletes have played their part in Canadian culture. During the 1920s and 1930s, Canada asserted independence from Britain and the United States to develop

When comparing cultures, one must form a definition of what culture is. Culture can be easily defined as the social behavior and normality’s found in human societies. It can also be easily made up of a composed arrangement of educated conduct and thought designs. Culture is a sorted out framework since it includes many parts. Throughout the world, there are many cultures that are both very different and also very similar. "Culture encompasses religion, food, what we wear, how we wear it, our language, marriage, music, what we believe is right or wrong, how we sit at table, how we greet visitors, how we behave and one million other things." (Cristina De Rossi.)

Between 1790 and 1920 it was a tough time for the Indians. During that period Native Americans were forced to convert to the European-American Culture. Their whole life changed, the way of living, religion, and especially their children’s future. It was wrong of Americans to convert natives into a different society that they saw fit and not letting them express their own culture and treating them as an unworthy society.

According to TRADITIONS.EDU ‘’germans take pride in their traditional celebrities whether they are patriotic eu such as Tag Der Deutschen Einheit (day of german) religiously based such as Allerheiligen (all saints day) and Allerseelen(all souls day) are known as holidays.’’For weddings the bride will carry salt and bread as an omen for good harvest and the groom should carry grain for good luck and good health.For birthdays drinks are served while the cake is being cut and severed, before being eaten the candles will be lit and then they will celebrate and people will sing HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you.For a funeral in germany it will take you 3 to 4 days to plan and do what you have to do and you have to dress very

There is a lot of Christmas traditions in this world. Every American family celebrates Christmas in a different way! My family's celebration of christmas is an example of a typical American Christmas. My sisters go to a private school (Immanuel Lutheran School). Every year they put on this Christmas Program at our church, and like always it turns out adorable with the cute songs they sing to the intriguing way they act out their parts. Being an American means you get to celebrate different holidays in some places you’re not even allowed too,we have freedom in America.

Both countries view family as a key aspect of their life. German have a strong bond with family. For example, everybody goes back home for reunion at Christmas and Easter. Family would spend time together for enjoying the long holiday. Chinese also emphasize family gathering and reunion, just as German do. During the Spring Festival, a number of Chinese would travel from the city they are working at back to their hometown in order to celebrate and gather, given the fact that the Spring Festival is the most important festival to Chinese.

The United States of America being the third largest country in the world with more than 315 million inhabitants, consists of multicultural societies with ethnically diverse population. Since there are a lot of foreigners, the US culture has evolved in such a way accepting and tolerating other foreign cultures. US is very much influenced by protestant work ethics according to which people believe in themselves and their efforts to attain the goal of self-actualization and success. The rich diversity in the culture brought by foreigners, prevailing values of protestant ethics, hard work etc. have helped US to emerge as a superpower in the past years. Nearly every religion had its impact on US culture in one way or the other. The