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.