İn one of the threads, our triple magnificent friend AEnigma was debating and as usual saying sentence irrelevant to that thread ' lol'
but it kept knocking in my head,at first i thought 'get out here,what is there to know' ,then,she was right, we really dont know.

İts about the West and Westerns.

She said, we 'Easterns' dont know the West,and we judge them.

And amazing as it is,she is right.
To us the West is a whole,we judge it as a whole,we know it as a whole too.
We dont distinguish a nation from another,we dont distinguish a traditions from another.

İm sorry to say that,but we dont even know that you have Traditions

We see you in the Media,your Media,and we judge you from there.
You've melted with each other,and every nation lost its identity in one identity is the WEST
Maybe only few we know they have there own taste,because they have same hot blood ,the Mediterraneans
'İtalian and Greeks'
But thats it.

İn the Engagments thread,i was amazed to know that in UK they weren't used to wear the golden bands,i thought all are same,exactly as teaship had said ,wearing a golden band in the left hand,and the bride get the ring too

But then she was talking about USA,not UK, then there is a difference after all.

So can you tell us about you ?
Can you tell us about your Traditions and your differences?
Can you tell us about American, Britsh ,French ,or Germans and how different they are from each others ?
How do they deal with strangers,hospital?not hospital.....ect
Each talk about his nation as he live in,goods and bads

Can you share with us another picture than the Media is telling us about you ?

At least can you tell us its not common nor true that you use the F**k word,and Sh*t words in your conversation with anyone normaly ?

Canli, I think there are as many differences between the people in 'western' countries as there are between people in 'eastern' countries. And even within countries itself things are not the same. My very tiny country has several different cultures, people in the north (mostly protestant) do other things than those in the south (mostly catholic) - only 200 kms away from each other.

Second, what is east and what is west? Is Japan west? Geographically for me it's not, but they always say its a western country. Well it is very very different from mine. The same for let's say Peru, geographically it is west but I don't feel much resemblance. I think the ideas people in eastern countries are as true or as wrong as those of people in western countries. We're all human, aren't we?

About the swearing stuff, some people here do - even in normal conversations - though not the words you gave as an example, because we don't speak English in daily life. And yes, sometimes I do too...

Oh Canli - what an enormous subject! I can try to answer you briefly from my point of view, but can only keep it brief for now.

There is no one country I have travelled to that has the same culture and traditions as the UK. When I have travelled to the US, for example, the lifestyle and culture is completely different and although we may look the same and speak the same language I would still feel like a "foreigner". In the EU countries this difference increases and cultures, lifetyles and of course language differ completely. It is no different for me travelling to Turkey or Egypt than it is for me travelling to Spain or France. Each country is its own identity, culture, and social behaviour.

It is rather remarkable that a Europe full of proud, individualistic States can have done such a good job of joining together inside the EU. They have a history of war going back centuries. European countries all zealously guard their own unique identities – even Scotland and England have different legal systems – and the only way to make that all work is with clear rules - but we are VERY different.

It would take such a long time to answer your question!! However, I will just pick out the things you mention for now. Swearing is not so common place as you might imagine. Indeed, a colleague of mine was recently given a written warning from our boss (local government) for using the 'F' word while working near a member of the public!! It depends on which REGION in the UK you live, but where I live it is considered very rude and very few people would swear in their day to day speech, unless they are very angry!! I know there are other areas in the UK where its very common (especially within the under 25 age group). Our television is censored for swearing before 9pm in the evening.

I would say that 50 years ago it would have been so easy to sit and write down an outline of "typical" English culture and traditions - such things like drinking tea, having a "front room" which you kept for visitors and was rarely used for anything else, even when the house was so tiny and more space would be dearly needed! (my mum even now, has a set of cutlery and china tea cups which are kept for "guests"!!), eating fish and chips on a Friday, Sunday Roast dinners, picnics and a strong family culture where grandparents and parents were the LAW! The list is endless. However, like most countries, we have gone through a "westernisation" ourselves and gradually such traditions and cultures are disappearing. We are now a multicultural country and in addition, in the past 10 years, have seen a HUGE American influence on our culture...rap music, fast food, american slang, obesity, celebrity worship, and most influential, the ME culture. Whilst English culture still exists, I think it will decline as the current generation grow older.

Canli, I would suggest that the most important thing to remember is, for every news or magazine article you read about "western" culture that shocks you, it SHOCKS US TOO! Essentially, 99% of people in this world are GOOD. They don't wake up with evil thoughts! They want to be good to eachother, treat eachother fairly, make people feel welcome, comfort those who are sad, feel loved, feel safe in their homes etc. We are all the same, regardless of religion or culture.

The media have a job to do - to look for extremes that will create enough interest to make us part with a few pennies to buy their publication or tune into their programme

...Another thing which I always notice about our culture is how QUIET it is!! We talk quietly, we will form an orderly queue for just about anything and we say "thank you" a million times when being served in a shop!

I love the human noise in other cultures. In Italy or Turkey, for example, the talk is loud - people talk, shout and laugh LOUDLY, cars honk at eachother in impatience...its wonderful

The most charming book ever written about English culture (in my opinion) is Bill Bryson's "Notes from a Small Island". As an American visiting the UK, he see's things which perhaps we dont even notice ourselves about our culture. It was very amusing, interesting and rather sweet .

The U.S. is a Western culture and has been developing long befor the U.S. became a country. Today, we are a diverse and multi-cultured nation.

To much of your surprise our countries early influence was the Britich culture that spread the English language, legal system and other cultural inheritances. The strongest influence on American culture came from other parts of Europe, especially countries from large numbers of immigration such as England, Ireland, Germany, Poland and Italy.

American society features a very diverse culture that has numberous sub-cultures ranging from the Orthodox Jewish community in New York, to Chinatown in many major cities. Yet they all share certain cultural norms and values such as as a belief in the viture of honesty.

There are variations in norms, values and beliefs found accross the U.S. within our legal policies amoung our states. The state of California for example has passed enviornmental reforms and regulations rivaling those of Western Europe. A policy regarding human sexuality further indicating tremendous differences accross the states. California is also knows as the (Hollywood Region). Known for their movie industry and celebraties. Most Californians will admit they live in a very different state among the rest of the U.S. (: Just look at who is their Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. But I happen to like California very much and their laid back attitude.

You will find a variation in the majority of traditions occure due to class, ancestral, religous, regional and other groups of people through out the U.S.

Social Class, I believe is the greatest cultural influence on people in the U.S. American society is commonly divided into three to Five socia-economic classes. Working-Class, Middle Class, Upper Middle Class & Upper Class.
Each of these commonly identified social classes have distinct lifestyles and income remains one of the main indicators of the classifications. Occupation is also one of the prime factors of social class and is closely linked to an individuals identity. The average work week in the U.S. who are full time employed work an average of 42.9 hours. On average you receive 16 vacation days and off major holidays. When we take time off to relax, we use the term vacation, rarely holiday. We use the term holiday for example..Christmas, Thanksgiving..

Food
The types of food served at home vary greatly and depend upon the region of the country and the family's own cultural heritage. Italian, German, Chinese and often German food. German food has had an impact on American food especially the mid-western with potatoes and meat. Dishes such as hamburgers, pot roast, baked ham and hot dogs are examples of American dished derived from German food.

Technology & gadgets
We are facinated by new techology and new gadgets. Many of the new technological innovations were wither first invented in the U.S. or first widely adopted. Examples; the lightbulb, airplane, tranistor, nuclear power, personal computer, on-line shopping, internet & i-pod.

Automobiles - It is considered a necessity for mot Americans to own or drive cars.

Sports - Top three sports American football, baseball & basketball

Education - American educational system children are required to attend school from the age of 5 or 6. Students typically graduate from high school at age eighteen.

I hope Canli this helps you have a better perspective on the American culture. I could be at this for days, but if you have certain questions. Feel free to ask. One last note, you mentioned cursing.. Most people are brought up with morals and you are taught not to curse. It's not appropriate or lady like especially coming from a woman. It's frowned upon in the workforce and daily conversations. You do find people however, that have sailor tonges and use it without thinking.

Also, I would like to mention the media. You are correct, the media distorts alot of information. We see it here on our media and papers about other countries and societies. You start to relate one thing with the other. For example terrorism; people relate this to Muslims. War & greed; relates to America.

When people start to realize you have good and bad all over the world and come together as one, we may just have a chance for a civilized world.

i think there r 2main types cultures on all over the glob with the somediversities.one of em indivdualism designate to rules or life stilies,while the society more important then individual on other main culture.and individualism gets stronger when you go to step by step to west.sure there r big diversities in the same country even,so i think one of the hardest job to be social scientist for find to certain rules as in the natural sciencesand i believe that thats impossible to get a culture2s realities without live it,so i think to read much or study on this culture even not enough for catch to secrets of it,coz how ou can put the many years backround in the most thick book even?

I must say I am quite shocked that this is the "snap shot" of the "west" that you receive!!! Are your media so biased?

GUYS, why dont you understand me ?!

İ dont accuse you of anything,i dont compare between East and West here.
İ dont say you swear ,and we dont swear 'Keith'!!!

İ say what we see in our Media 'movies,..ect' and make us think those things about the West which i ask you to tell us the truth as you live it !

İn another thread,i said,i heared,and read that, they annoye veiled woman and put them into jail in Türkiye.
And Turkish people said its not true.

catwoman, said they miss treat women in Egypt,and she posted a link ,and i said its not true.

So,i got this from the Media,catwoman got this from a media,and a native speaks and says otherwise.

So i want you to say otherwise,from your daily life,not from a stupid Media

Got me ?

Its easy to point out horrible generalizations iof other cultures. Is this how you wish the western world that cant afford to travel to see "your world"?

I agree with you canli, you cannot judge other cultures of what we see on TV. They only show the very best or very worst. Not the real.

To aenigma,

What do you usually do after when family or friends come over for dinner or just to get together?

For us its always karaoke time Even off-key persons(like me) would be singing their hearts out esp. with the help of a few drinks.

Guys,how about Christmas,halloweens,...ect
Do have a special traditions there for each country ? or all are same ?

Why turkey in Thanksgiving ?
You make turkey at dinner at that night, right ?
And is Thanksgiving An American thing,or do you all celebrate it ?
And why its Fourth Thursday in November in the United States; second Monday in October in Canada ?

My parents and I moved from Surheim, Bavaria to a small village town west of Minneapolis a month before my 5th birthday. It was at that time made up of all German immigrants, my family being one of the last German families to immigrate there. Then and to this day, most of our community life revolves around the church and the outdoors. Sundays, you went to mass in the morning (still in German) and afterwards, either my mother or another relative would make sunday dinner for 20-30 people. Was always 2 meats, a ham and a beef roast, several hot dishes (known as casseroles in the rest of america), homemade bread and desserts. The women would be in the kitchen, the men would be in the garage or the backyard and the kids would be everywhere.
During the week, mother would make 3 or 4 meals everyday. We started each day with a breakfast of bread, cheese, eggs and jams before my father went to work. My mother would then start cooking for dinner about 1.00 for the nightly dinner which was always meat, potatos, a vegetable, homemade bread and dessert. We would usually eat this about 17.00. We would then have a small dinner each night before bed (between 10.00 and 11.0, much like breakfast. Bread, cold meats, cheeses and coffee. Most nights, we would have friends over , a neighbor or other family members.
The area was full of lakes and woods, so then as today, our daily life was greatly affected by the outdoors and nature. We fished year round, 3 or 4 days a week in our canoes or off shore. In the winter, we drilled holes in the thick ice and built small houses on the lakes so we could fish in temperatures as cold as -40 and -50. When we werent fishing we were skating and playing hockey.
Holidays were much the same as Sunday dinners except rather than 30 people gathering, it was closer to 60. Christmas and Easter was always ham, with German style sidedishes. And of course our traditional Thanksgiving dinner was Turkey like all other Americans. During the summers, our area of minnesota was one festival after another, almost always with a German Theme. Every town had 2 or 3 festivals in the summer and fall so other than our own, we would go to other towns on saturdays for events such as bayernfest, sommerfest, zummerfest, Stiftungsfest, Oktoberfest.

Canli,
I am new here! HI!
No one ever answered your Turkey question. This is not a dumb question...how would someone know this if they live in another country? Here is the "kid" version of why there is Turkey on Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is when the Native Americans helped the early settlers on the east coast of America. When the Europeans first came to America and didn't know about the native foods etc. (maybe were going to die that winter without help) The Native Americans cooked some Turkey and shared with the settlers and had a big meal, squash, pumpkin, beans, corn. The spirit of the holiday is to give thanks for what you have, even if you only have very little.

Whether the Native Americans made a mistake in helping them is controversial...considering what the settler's, children's, children did to the Native Americans (AKA Indians).

There are so many people of different ethnicities you will see different meals for Thanksgiving. And every day meals as well

The USA is a very multicultural, multiethnic society. On the coasts, New York and San Francisco you see more diversity than in the interior. As I have lived all my life on one coast or another it's difficult to comment on the interior.

New York City has a lot of Europeans as well as an influx of Caribbean and other immigrants. Walking down the street, you hear 20 different languages.

When I travel to other places, like Idaho, or Texas, I'm shocked at the cultural difference. Having spent very little time in those places, it's hard for me to talk about them other than they are very White and I only heard English being spoken. In Boise, ID I only saw one Black in a week. I did see a number of Mexicans, but they seemed to be pretty segregated from the other parts of that society.

CA and New York are less than 50% white. There is a very large Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and other) community as well as Mexican and other Latin Americans, Blacks from the South and other groups from Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria, Eretria or other places in Africa) or Asia (India, Arab, Pakistan, Afghanistan)

California was part of New Spain, then Mexico prior to becoming part of the USA, thus there is a lot of Spanish colonial influence. That Spanish influence was from in large part recently Catholic Spain, thus a large part of the architecture has strong Morrish influence. You will see a lot of Palm trees in CA. In fact it looks so much like the Mediterranean it's hard to realize you aren't there.

The parts I've lived in are very heavily influenced by these different cultures. That is what I really love about where I live, the cultural diversity. I see Pakistani and Indian women with their Shalvar Chamis and Dupatas and the ladies with the saris, Ethiopian women in their beautiful traditional garments as well as other groups in their beautiful traditional costumes.

Merhaba,

I currently live in the state of Arkansas in the US. The home of former president Bill Clinton and perhaps future president (I hope not)Hilary Clinton.

I have lived in 12 different states due to military moves. My parents were raised in Cincinnati, OH. My family traditions reflect the varied cultural heritage of our lives. We eat Polish sausage and kraut, sushi,sashimi, Mexican, Crown Rib Roast with Yorkshire pudding, Corned beef and cabbage, pizza, pasta, stir fry, etc.

A common weekend activity with our extended family would include a barbecue with burgers, fish, chicken or ribs, potato salad, cole slaw, and fresh breads. We would all play croquet, volleball, bacce ball and of gather and share the latest joys and concerns in our lives. We ALWAYS begin meals with prayers.

Winter gatherings might include chili, paella, or gumbo. We watch movies, work on puzzles and snuggle by the fire.

Most of all our family believes that people are more important than things. We believe in helping our family,our neighbors (I make brownies for new neighbors and cook meals for families with new babies or deaths in their family) our church, our community, our schools.

I love my country, but not to the exclusion of others.

in australia, our main holidays are also easter, christmas and new year.

plus we have special ones specific to australia, such as australia day (our national day) and anzac day (rememberance of the australian and new zealand soldiers who fought in gallipoli, turkey).

we don't celebrate thanksgiving or halloween.

for christmas, we have roast turkey and christmas pudding, like the u.k. as aenigma has said previously.

we will also have other foods, such as fish, prawns, mussels, chicken, and many types of salads (warm and cold ones).

christmas is during our summer, so we usually sit outside to have our meal, enjoying the warm weather.

for new year, many people celebrate it in different ways...it can be a get together at someone's house, going into the city centre to watch fireworks, going to a bar or club, or going away from the city into the country.

easter time is a religious time and a more solemn celebration. the main holiday is good friday, to commemorate jesus' death. during easter, we have hot cross buns, chocolate easter eggs, and some families have easter egg hunts. however, along with christmas, it is starting to get a lot more commercialised.

for us here in australia, the 2 main holiday celebrations are good friday and christmas day. on these days most of the stores are closed.

australia is a very multi-cultural country. so not everyone will celebrate the christian religious holidays, such as christmas and easter. but everyone gets the day off still.

we have a large number of immigrants and refugees in australia. there are large populations of asians (mostly chinese and vietnamese), europeans (mostly greeks and italians), middle eastern (mostly lebanese), and africans (mostly sudanese).

and it is wonderful to be able to have all these cultures and the different foods readily available to us. i think we are really spoilt over here in the variety of food that we can get.

in australia, we love our barbecues. during summer it's common for friends and family to get together on the weekends, or even after a day at work during the week, and have a barbecue.

a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/05/news/diversity.php

Interesting research about diversity. The research hoped to prove that diversity is good (I think so!) but instead it shows that we trust our neighbors less, volunteer less, and generally have less community involvement because we are different.

Having said that, I grew up being able to run free in the woods and in the neighborhoods all over the US. We rode bikes, walked and played together with friends. Our mothers knew each other and were comfortable having children over to play. Most mothers were stay at home moms.
Today I see, as a teacher, our students growing fatter as they connect with their friends via technology. Now many families have both parents working. When the children do visit each other they "play" by watching tv, playing inactive games, and yes imming their friends together.
SIGH.

i didnt mean if you got light in it,i guess as long as you have it,you will decorate it lol
İ meant light in the house,outside,and inside
But i guess you do.
Thx Canım

ah, some people decorate their houses with lights. but it isn't common though.

here in melbourne (my city) there are some streets that are well known for having most of the houses decorated in lights with the santa claus and reindeer, or the nativity scene.

some people even go to the extreme and put fake snow on their grass!

but most people just decorate the christmas tree inside with lights.

In America it is very common for people to put lights on their houses. People put whole scenes that often have nothing to do with Christianity but more to do with Saint Nicholas (Turkish), or popular fictional characters such as a snowman, or Rudolph the Red nosed Reindeer.

No one has answered Canli's question about Halloween. Halloween is totally pagan and from my understanding is where people would dress up as 'spirits' to scare away bad spirits that would rise up on that day (October 31st). Some people who are REALLY Christian have a problem with it because it is from Pagan beliefs (I guess). Kids dress up as different characters and go door to door asking for candy, you give them candy. I don't know about this tradition and where it comes from, you will have to ask another American. They say "Trick or Treat" Basically, you have to give them candy or they will do something bad to you (but hopefully they won't). This is my favorite holiday because 1. you get to dress up even as an adult 2. It involves candy.

At a request, I will share a little bit about Poland (though it's not exactly in the West, but as close as it can get .

I think that there are actually many similarities between Poland and Turkey, mainly because they both are combinations of East and West. Both traditions, religion, socially-oriented culture as well as increasingly westernized suburban life style ideals, individualistic, successful, career-oriented women and men who marry late are what makes up today's polish culture. There are both sides of the spectrum: individual rights being more respected, family and career choices are more fair, people easily connect socially, families spend time together and have relatively strong bonds... but also, things like gay and minority rights are 'new ideas' (Poland has been an ethnicly and religiously homogeneous country) and are a basis of discrimination, religious zealousy impinges on divorce and abortion rights, new-found western-style sexism (what I mean by that is judging women purely based on looks, new 'beauty' standards and job discrimination; in communism these ideas are nonexistent, though gender inequality of course exists in other forms).
Generally, the lifestyle is laid back and people are very NON-nationalistic. You can criticize anything you want, though few people criticize the pope John Paul II, he's a national hero much more then Walesa.

Christmas and Easter are the most celebrated holidays, where families always gather together for quite a few days, eat a lot of home made food, connect spiritually (these holidays are much more of spiritual and family holidays then they are in the US).

Food - is just delicious and I think mostly organic. Soups are common, potatoes always accompany meat and salad. There's a lot of meat balls, sausages, something called 'bigos' (boiled cabbage with meat and tomatoes), beets, carrots, pork, chicken and ducks (with the regional specialty being 'the duck soup' and lots of cakes.

Music and film used to try to make people think, now it's becoming more for entertainment (there are positives and negatives of both sides). Education is very difficult and health care is in crisis .
Geographically, there is sea in the north, mountains in the south and a nice lake region in the middle...

I am really enjoying the (positive) posts on this thread. None of us can claim that we dont have preconceived ideas about other countries, and while we can all Google, there is nothing quite the same as learning from other "ordinary" people.

Whilst this is a website about Turkey, we have a wonderful opportunity, as such a mixed bag of ethinic and culturally different people, to share the positive aspects of our lives and traditions in the Off-Topic. Talking to other people is a far better way to dispell racism and ethnic discrimination than any amount of media intervention. It is amazing that, through all our diverse religions and cultures, how similar all our lives really are

I hope more people contribute

I agree with the previous post in that if you have questions ask someone from that culture or religion.
Specifically to Canli, I DON'T want to be represented by George Bush (how embarrasing!) My experience with Turkish people though is they are very aware that many of the American people are different than the government that represents them. (same in Turkey) We are obviously different than the media represents us as well. Rap video's and Mafia movies are not a good way to understand American Culture! It is like watching Old Western movies with John Wayne and expecting to find that in Texas. (Although in parts of Oklahoma it isn't far off!) Also every American's perspective on holidays is changed by the amount their family practices their religion, which religion they practice (there are many), their families ethnicity, what region they are from and more. It is good to talk to lots of different people!

Just a few traditions in the Netherlands:

On April 30th we have every year our ‘Queens day’, a national holiday where people are dressed in orange (Orange is the official last name of our royalty), make fun, terraces are filled to the last chair, a flee market is in every little village or town and the royal family visits two places in the country. There they are ‘treated’ to old-Dutch games as sack-races, ‘koek-happen’ (eating cookies?), well I can’t explain, see for yourself: http://www.bibliotheekdenhaag.nl/agenda/images/koekhappen.jpg (this is our crown prince Willem-Alexander….)

When you have a baby it’s tradition you treat visitors, friends and colleagues on ‘beschuit met muisjes’ (rusk with sugar-coated aniseed). Again, see for yourself – it tastes delicious – pink is for girls and blue for boys: http://doof.nl/archief/beschuit.jpg

When it freezes a lot (more than minus 10 degrees for at least 5 days) we have a large ice skating tour in the northern province of Friesland, called ‘Elfstedentocht’ (eleven cities tour). A route of over 220 km! But because we don’t have that temperature every year, the last one was held in 1997. 16.000 people skated that year this monster tour (and many more wanted but were rejected) while hundreds of thousands people are watching them live.

Traditional food? First the herring. Two kinds: the raw salted ones with onions (yuk!) you have to slide through your throat like this: http://www.hollandcourier.com/wk-24_Ze_zijn_er_nu_echt_de_Hollandse_Nieuwe.jpg and the other one is pickled herring with gherkin (very nice). Other typical Dutch food are the several types of stew: hutspot (hotchpotch), boerenkool (kail) or zuurkool (sauerkraut).

Foreigners always say we are famous for a few things: tulips (actually Turkish….), wind mills, clogs and (Gouda) cheese. But they mostly find our ‘red light district’ in Amsterdam very interesting as well….

We used to be known for tolerance and freedom but, very much to my regrets, that’s becoming less and less. Borders are closing more and more for newcomers out of the EU, regulations for those who want to live here are tightened. Nationalism is growing awfully, we now have a political party in parliament (9 out of 150 ) that wants to send back all foreigners who don’t speak fluently Dutch or are unemployed. We also have Amsterdam, once the gay capital of Europe. Not that all people live there are gay, but there are many bars and tolerance was huge towards other lifestyles. Also that name we lost, fights are almost every week.

To end, some facts: The Netherlands are 1/21 of the size of Turkey; we have two official languages – Dutch and (in the north) Frisian; partly my country is below sea level; in the north there is sea and 5 inhabited islands, in the west there is sea, south Belgium and in the east Germany. My country is quite flat, only in the southeast there are some hills and our only ‘mountain’ of 324 metre high….

Historical view of Halloween

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

In fact I got your meaning. So, despite the fact that we are very much family-oriented, we do cherish individual space. To some extent it is not a good habbit that people adopt and try to stay as "individual" as possible. You will see that in public transport, people choose to listen to their ipods or walkman, to play their NDS(portable electronic games), to watch the LCD TVs mounted on walls, to read...we choose not to look at anyone or express a friendly smile. Most of us don't want to be disturbed or to show friendliness no matter how close we are when squeezing into the train compartments. A typical metropolitan coolness. Isn't it?

Just to add a few things to what Catwoman typed about Poland: we are a nation of almost 40 mln inhabitants, 2 mln of which have emmigrated (mostly to the British Isles but also to The Netherlands and Sweden)ever since we joined the EU. Thus we flood the poor Brits and import more and more of their culture to our country. The process of absorbing American and British culture and lifestyle started even sooner with business investments. Now it seems harder to find a place with typical Polish food than McDonald's or Burger King.

Even our traditional holidays have changed. As it was pointed out we're vastly Catholic, which means we celebrate all kinds of church holidays, plus we have some national holidays like the independence day, the constitution day etc - all very serious and demure. As for more relaxed holidays there's new year's eve. Lots of parties everywhere, people getting drunk, singing aloud, usually the countdown takes place in public and after it people kiss and hug and wish each other happy new year. Then there are...no, not birthdays, we tend to celebrate something called namedays rather than birthdays although it's not a rule. As for me I like celebrating both (two presents a year!). As for "imported holidays" I am not sure I like St Valentine's Day. Not the idea of it but the notion that it got to Poland just because it sells. postcards, flowers, tacky gadgets yuck! Also, I couldn't believe my eyes when last year I saw kids in costumes on Halloween - it's definitely not the Polish way.

You've discussed being loud and crowding. We are not really loud and we're quite reserved not showing too many feelings. Oh, and we hardly ever smile, which also goes to shop assistants who'd rather give you a cold look asking "can I help you?" than a smile.

Men when they meet, they usually shake hands, no kissing (!) unless it is a birthday or nameday (then you kiss three times on the cheeks). A man and a woman would normally just say hello or also shake hands. With friends it's typically the same but sometimes you can see people kissing on the cheek (again, two women or a woman and a men but never two men).

interesting mind sharing going on between the EAST and the westS! im tempted!

Guysss,what's about France,İtaly,Spain,Germany,Norway,Sweeden....ect ?
How about those all ?
Cant you tell us something about yourselves ?

Ok,here is a question was talked about in 'Let The East Talk' thread.
What is your traditions for wedding ?
Do you have Henna night celebration as we do ?
How do celebrate it ?

Weddings in the UK are vile affairs and best avoided. The whole chabang seems to be for the purpose of showing off material wealth, trying to "out do" eachother and getting drunk.

Instead of your "henna night" we have "hen parties" and "stag nights" which seem to following similar patterns of going out with as many friends of the same sex as possible and drinking as much as possible. The bride (if she is particularly tasteless) usually wears stockings, suspenders, something very short and "sexy" and a veil.

The wedding itself is pretty awful too. Most of the day centres around the bride and groom standing very still as the photographer takes over the day. The focus is completely about what you look like, ensuring that the flowers match the exact shade of "blush pink" that you wanted and co-ordinates with the bridesmaids blah blah. The reception is about showing off your "money" (usually on loan) and taste in nice things. People eat, drink and pose for photographs (again) and argue with other members of the family.

Then comes the ubiquitous "evening do" which is best avoided at all costs. It is a truly horrible occasion where everyone gets drunk, dances to horrible euro-songs played by a very untalented DJ or band and all the "good taste" that cost so much money, is forgotten.

The average cost of this truly horrible day is around £15,000-£20,000.

There ARE some old traditions squeezed into this horrible day, like throwing confetti over the couple, wearing a white dress and veil, the wedding cake, flowers etc. but all these have been comercialised and cost so much money, that any charm in them has disappeared.

Many of my friends have tried to do something different on their wedding days and move away from the "traditional" ceremony so that the day is more about the fact they are in love, than getting drunk and showing off. However, it still seems to be the "norm" for most people. I attended two weddings in the US which were almost identical.

I avoid them like the plaque now....

ouhhh....it means i will have to stop loving my gf 15000£ for all those stupid things? oh my god..15000 £ = 42000 YTL!!! you could buy a small flat in south of turkey with that money!!!! i think i will never be able to marry

Aenigma, you put it in such a hilarious way that this celebration seems more funny then sad, but I completely agree with you. I've been to one wedding in the US and it's a nightmare :-S.
From what I remember about weddings in Poland, it's also a big show-off and a huge waste of money, but people seemed to enjoy the party and time together much more. It was more people-friendly.

Your only suppose to get married once, so some people make a big deal about it. I think it also depends on your religion and how big your family is and friends.

I personally love going to bachlorette parties and weddings. Free liquor, free food and dancing. That's my kind of party.

and i hate weddings! a senseless celebration!

Do you happen to like funerals instead?