Tradition

[Lindgren]

I have always wanted to know what kinds of Traditions there are around the world so please take a few mins to post some about the Traditions in ure hometown? family? country? Traditions you know of and so on .. here in sweden i dont know about all but the holidays are all the same every year i would say and we got some crusing from time to time and every year its a huge meeting whit cars from all over the world i think, in västerås .. and in my hometown Gävle we have this huge christmas goat , made of hay ^^ .. it have burned down every year since 1966 till 2006 that is cus now they spray something on it so it wont catch fire if someone trys to light it so i guess its not a Tradition after all .. it did make it into the guiness world record book a few times tho ^^.


-
- power big meet. ( im not a car guy btw )

[Cooney]

Thanksgiving (American version)

Hmm, I think one of the biggest and most specifically "American" traditions in the USA is probably the holiday we call "Thanksgiving." Literally, it is supposed to be a day of "giving thanks" for the people and things we love.

It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November each year, and is not religious in nature. While many people use it as a time of religious thanks, the tradition behind the current holiday is traced to stories, some true some not, about the colonization of America by Europeans. The classic primary-school version generally references a group called the Pilgrims who arrived in America at a place called Plymouth Rock. They didn't know how to survive off the land, but a native American named Squanto taught them how to fish and farm, and as a result, they had enough food to live. To "give thanks" for this, the governor of the colony invited Squanto's tribe to a huge feast, made of all the foods they had been taught to grow and catch. The feast went on for days, and everybody gave thanks for what they had. The holiday continued for some time, disappeared for a while, and then came back in the mid-1800's.

Today, most people see Thanksgiving as a time to be with family and friends, and eat huge quantities of food. It's an even bigger travel holiday than Christmas is, with extended families coming together from thousands of miles apart to be together for a formal meal. The traditional dinner is a Turkey, accompanied by cranberry sauce, a breadcrumb stuffing, gravy, and sweet potatos. The traditional desert is Pumpkin Pie. Traditional colors are those of autumn - orange, brown, and yellow, and traditional decorations will include leaves and pictures of turkeys, and one of the most widely held (though recent) activities has been to watch American football on TV. It's the closest thing the US has to a harvest festival.

Thanksgiving also has a longer vacation from work associated with it than any other holiday in the US. We don't get a lot of vacation days here in the US relative to most European countries, and a normal national holiday will garner one extra day, generally a Monday, to give you a three day weekend. Thanksgiving will give two, and sometimes even three, days off (Wednesday through Friday) giving you a five day weekend to travel, feast, and celebrate.

Obviously these things might vary from family to family, especially the food, but I think it's safe to say that these are the "traditional" versions of events.

[Cooney]

Independance Day / Fourth of July (American version)

The Fourth of July is the USA's Independance Day, and is a giant summer party. For many people, it kicks off the beginning of the real summer outdoor and travel season, which continues through July and August.

The colors are Red, White, and Blue, our national colors, and it's one of the few remaining refuges of patriotism without politics attached. It's the day where everybody, from all walks of life, cheers for the country we love. The symbol is the American Flag (the "Stars and Stripes" we call it), which will be absolutely everywhere you look. In my city, and in others I've seen, there are crews of people who go out in the middle of the night on July 3rd and put little American flags in the yards of every home and outside every business.

The Fourth is a day to get together with your neighbors and have an outdoor barbecue, and get to know the people around you who you don't see much. Street-fairs are common, with live music acts, arts and crafts, and food. In cities, these can be truly massive, with tens of thousands of people from all over the community, and there tends to be a feeling of celebration and community-sharing.

Sometimes these events will also feature air shows, with stunt-planes and military aircraft showing their stuff. Everything, though, is really just to get people together for one thing. Fireworks. Fireworks are definitely the main attraction at any Fourth of July event, with local governments usually sponsoring a single large show for their area (though many people also buy their own fireworks, sometimes illegally). A fireworks show from a large city or community will tend to be fairly long (30 minutes or so) and will be choreographed with music, broadcast over the radio. It's kind of like New Year's Eve on steroids.

These things are so prevalent, that other countries with large American tourist populations sometimes put on shows as well. I saw Fourth of July fireworks in Oxford, England, while in college, as well as in Bermuda when I was there on vacation as a child, put on for the benefit of the local Americans, and anybody else who wants to party.

In many ways, July 4th is the biggest party of our year. While Thanksgiving is more of an event for those close to you, the 4th is a whole community celebrating together.

[lefty12357]

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it's simple and not commercialized. I thought I would mention something that is peculiar to the region I live in.

In St. Paul, Minnesota (the city I was born and grew up in) we have a Winter Carnival. King Boreas and the Queen of Snows reign over the Carnival establishing the kingdom of winter. At the end of the carnival The Fire King Vulcanus Rex does battle with Boreas and wins, thus ending the reign of winter over the land. Vulcanus Rex has his followers called his Krewe. In the sixties, these guys would dress up in red outfits and drive around St. Paul in an old fire truck. They would smear black coal powder on their faces. When the saw a woman walking down the street, they would jump off the fire truck and rub their faces against hers, thus leaving her face black! Can you imagine getting away with that now days !?!?!

Usually an Ice Palace is built out of blocks of ice cut from the local lakes. (We have 15000 lakes in Minnesota and plenty of ice). There is a contest with prize money to find a Madallion which is hidden somewhere in the city. There are ice sculpture contests, Torchlight Parade and many other activities, and it is usually bitter cold. A great time to be outside.

http://www.winter-carnival.com/history/the_legend/

[Youpidou1]

Originally Posted by Cooney

Independance Day / Fourth of July (American version)

The Fourth of July is the USA's Independance Day, and is a giant summer party. For many people, it kicks off the beginning of the real summer outdoor and travel season, which continues through July and August.

The colors are Red, White, and Blue, our national colors, and it's one of the few remaining refuges of patriotism without politics attached. It's the day where everybody, from all walks of life, cheers for the country we love. The symbol is the American Flag (the "Stars and Stripes" we call it), which will be absolutely everywhere you look. In my city, and in others I've seen, there are crews of people who go out in the middle of the night on July 3rd and put little American flags in the yards of every home and outside every business.

The Fourth is a day to get together with your neighbors and have an outdoor barbecue, and get to know the people around you who you don't see much. Street-fairs are common, with live music acts, arts and crafts, and food. In cities, these can be truly massive, with tens of thousands of people from all over the community, and there tends to be a feeling of celebration and community-sharing.

Sometimes these events will also feature air shows, with stunt-planes and military aircraft showing their stuff. Everything, though, is really just to get people together for one thing. Fireworks. Fireworks are definitely the main attraction at any Fourth of July event, with local governments usually sponsoring a single large show for their area (though many people also buy their own fireworks, sometimes illegally). A fireworks show from a large city or community will tend to be fairly long (30 minutes or so) and will be choreographed with music, broadcast over the radio. It's kind of like New Year's Eve on steroids.

These things are so prevalent, that other countries with large American tourist populations sometimes put on shows as well. I saw Fourth of July fireworks in Oxford, England, while in college, as well as in Bermuda when I was there on vacation as a child, put on for the benefit of the local Americans, and anybody else who wants to party.

In many ways, July 4th is the biggest party of our year. While Thanksgiving is more of an event for those close to you, the 4th is a whole community celebrating together.

One of the most annoying problemson the 4th of July, is around my town. Kids who are 15-16 who are still outside at midnight setting off bottle rockets and roman candles. I can't sleep haha.



In all seriousness the last week of September is the Festival of San Genaro. In Little Italy. New Yorkers gather on Maubary Street(Little Italy) and take up eating postitions haha! I call it an Italian holiday but everyone enjoys it. You can go around and get various Italian foods and deserts. Last time I ate a sausage and pepper sandwich, and later bought an Italia Jacket which the pro soccer players use. Then I proceeded into my favorite coffee shop and ordered myself an Espresso and a BIG Cannoli. I made a whole day out of it me and my friends I suggest everyone try it. I think nI love this because I am Italian. I think it is a trait.

[Fish]

Two of my favorite non-Alizée things are barbecue and bluegrass, and they go hand in hand together. I'm not that far from the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, and up there they often hold festivals celebrating the two.

Winners of barbecue festivals from all over will come to the other ones and sell their cooking, and there will be a few stages with some folk bands/artists playing at any given time.

[GianGian]

I presume you all know the Carnaval thing.

[ajaccio corsica]

hi
bothering alizée downtown ajaccio would be pretty dangerous, according to trustable sources her grand ma/bodyguard hides a polpu inside her hand bag
she might use it to slap some faces
this is one of our local traditions: our grand mas hide polpu in their hand bags
cheers

[The Swede]

Polpu? Is it some kind of self-defence-stick or something?

[ajaccio corsica]

hi
yes, exactly lol
cheers