1 hour ago
5
There are fundamentally 2 ways Americans reply the question of what feels uniquely American. First, determination are the things radical love: autumn festivals with maize mazes, Thanksgiving feasts, Fourth of July fireworks, and backyard barbecues. Then determination are the things radical bring up with a small much side-eye: endless predetermination cycles, the healthcare system, and the precise American wont of "stealing traditions from others and making them our own."
That divided came up successful a thread connected r/AskAnAmerican, wherever u/No-Cry-9989 asked which traditions, customs, oregon habits radical see purely American. The answers ranged from comic to oddly saccharine to painfully accurate, with plentifulness of statement implicit whether thing tin truly beryllium called "American" erstwhile truthful overmuch of American civilization is borrowed, remixed, oregon rebranded from determination else. Here are the answers that stood out, for amended oregon worse:
1. "Fall festivals, with maize mazes and sh—."
2. "I've been to 45 countries and person ne'er ridden connected a boat, had a cookout, camped by a lake, and changeable guns successful the aforesaid time arsenic regularly arsenic I bash here. I besides person never, successful my 40 years of life, walked to a market store oregon country store. Always successful the car."
3. "College shot and each that goes with it — marching bands and related traditions."
5. "Craft breweries, backyard BBQs, smoking meats, going to weapon ranges, assemblage sports, fraternities, classical car shows, and days-long roadworthy trips."
7. "Baseball and tailgating."
8. "Knowing that I volition person to enactment until the time I dice portion being milked by the healthcare system."
9. "Cheap state and elephantine trucks."
10. "They're not created anymore, but effigy mounds and cliff dwellings, specified arsenic you'd find astatine Mesa Verde oregon Canyon de Chelly. Disneyland. Saguaro cacti."
11. "Pumpkin spice lattes."
13. "Powwows and frybread."
14. "Frying everything. I had fried brew astatine the Texas State Fair once."
15. "I'm astir to ticker 900 miles of oval racing successful 1 day, truthful astir apt that."
17. "Outgoing personalities. A willingness to speech to anyone astatine immoderate time. Mundane tiny talk. A wide 'life is good' affirmative attitude. Very casual attire. Everywhere. And American football."
18. "The modern, commercialized Halloween. Other countries are starting to follow trick-or-treating and pumpkin carving, but it's inactive thing similar successful the US."
19. "Commercialism. Video crippled culture. Hip-hop. Social media. Fast food."
20. "Thanksgiving is simply a North American vacation — I cognize y'all observe it, too, Canada! — but it is good and genuinely a vacation that separates america from our European counterparts. It's a time dedicated to thankfulness and a time to punctual ourselves of the privileges and blessings we possess. In our house, nary 1 is allowed to beryllium unsocial connected Thanksgiving. We'll navigator up a monolithic feast. A ham, a turkey, casseroles, deviled eggs, and baked taters are a fewer of the delights you'd travel crossed astatine the table, but there's ALWAYS capable for everyone. It's customary for everyone to spell astir the array and accidental what they're thankful for."
21. "I mentally disagreement this worldly into 'kitschy modern crap' and 'long-standing stuff.' Not wholly mutually exclusive, but different. Hallmark movies and the Slurpees are successful the archetypal category. Gospel euphony and sermon civilization are successful the second."
22. "Fireworks connected the Fourth of July, cookouts, BBQs, Cajun food, Mardi Gras, warring for the underdog, hating bullies, and being affable to strangers. Freedom."
23. "Stealing traditions from others and making them our own."
24. "I cognize the words are French, but Mardi Gras. The large Mamou benignant with a batch of gumbo, the NOLA benignant with parades, balls and king cake, oregon the small-town mentation with costumes and themes. Kind of similar Junkanoo and J'ouvert, but inactive different."
25. "Quilting is an American creation form. Some places, specified arsenic Wisconsin and Indiana, person immense painted quilt squares connected the sides of their barns. I'm definite different parts of the state bash arsenic well. Quilting bees, quilting circles...it whitethorn not beryllium an every-American activity, but everyone has apt been touched by it, and determination are monolithic quilt shows each twelvemonth with immoderate truly spectacular works of cloth art."
26. "Jazz and jazz culture. Blues, stone 'n' roll, bluegrass, and American folk, similar Woody Guthrie."
What's the 1 happening you see 100% American, for amended oregon for worse? If you're from different country, what's the happening that screams "America" to you that we'd ne'er adjacent deliberation to question? Drop your thoughts successful the comments below!
Note: Responses person been edited for length/clarity.
English (US) ·