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The cultural gap across the Atlantic
The Western world (i.e. Europe, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand) could be considered as a single “Western civilisation”. ‘Westernness’ could be defined by people who are ethnically or culturally European, in other words people of European descent or speaking a European language as their mother-tongue.
Europe itself has the greatest linguistic and cultural diversity of the Western world. However, the common history, geography and socio-political evolution of the European continent, as well as the cultural divergences that have occured in former colonies, have resulted in the creation of a common basis for European culture that contrast (sometimes sharply) with the USA or the rest of the Western world.
Here is a summary of my observations on the differences between Europeans and Americans (USA). These are of course the major trends, and exception exit everywhere. Irish and Polish people, for instance, tend to be closer to the American mainstream than to some of their fellow Europeans. Canadians are somewhere in between, sometimes more European, but often closer to their southern neighbors.
Feeling of time & distances
Perception is shaped by our environment. A 100-year old house or church is considered new by Europeans, but old by Americans. I have even heard Americans think that 200 years was “ancient”. For a European “ancient” refers to something that is typically 2,000 to 5,000 years old (related to the Antiquity, not antiques !).
Things are reversed when it comes to distances. Europeans would tend to think that driving 100 km is quite a long way, while for Americans that would be rather near. This is due to the much higher density of population in Europe, and the smaller size of Europe (believe it or not the EU is over twice smaller than the USA). Yet, Europeans travel much more than Americans, inside or outside their own continent. This might be because Europeans are used to go “abroad” since their childhood, European countries being so small, and do not feel the whole experience to be so exceptional. Supposedly Seatlle residents feel the same about going to Canada, a stone’s throw away.
Cars
Almost all Europeans have cars with manual gears, while Americans have a marked preference for automatic ones.
European cars are also very different in style than their American counterparts. American cars tend to be more massive and squarer, because size matters in the States. Americans have a fondness for (very) long limousines as well as pick-up trucks (in the country). Both are virtually unseen in Europe. Europeans like rounder designs of cars. Smaller cars are much more common in Europe, probably because Europe has a more urbanised population and small cars are easier to park in cities (especially on pavements of historical cities where big parking lots are rarer than in the USA).
Washing machines
European washing machines normally have only a cold water inlet (the water brought to adequate temperature inside the machine) as opposed to a hot and cold water inlet in the USA. European washing machines are almost always loaded from the front, as opposed to the top in the USA. Interestingly, Japan decided to follow the American system.
Measure System
All Europeans use the metric system (metres, grammes, litres, Celsius, etc.). Although Americans do learn it at school, the vast majority of them still use the old English Imperial system (yards, miles, pounds, Fahrenheit, etc.) for everyday life.
Date and time system
Europeans write the date in the format “Day Month Year”, whereas Americans use “Month Day, Year”. Americans usually consider that the week starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday, while in Europe it always starts on Monday and finishes on Sunday.
Most non-English-speaking Europeans use the 24h system, as opposed to the 12h system used in English-speaking countries.
Public holidays
Labor Day (1st May) is a national holiday in (most) European countries, but not in the USA. EU countries also celebrate Europe Day (5th or 9th May), although it is not an official holiday (yet).
Social customs
Europeans think of “traditions” like baby showers and bachelor(ette)’s night with strip-teasers as typically American (which they are). This is something most Europeans only see in US series and movies. The same is true of Thanksgiving and, until the late 1990′s, of Halloween (but this last one exported itself well to Europe and East Asia).
Schooling
Schools and universities are free in most European countries. Europeans see university as granted, while American families often have to save for years for their children to attend one. What is more, universities in most countries around the world have entry exams, while only a few European countries do (like the UK).
North Americans have prom night at the end of the last academic year of high school (and sometimes also middle school), while Europeans have no such tradition.
Languages
Foreign-language learning in Europe is now compulsory in every country since primary (elementary) school. Most Europeans learn 2 to 4 foreign languages, for obvious reasons. Americans usually only speak English (+ their mother tongue for immigrants) because they do not need more in their huge country.
Politics
Europeans tend to be more liberal regarding soft drugs, prostitution, alcohol, abortion, or cloning (but interestingly not so for GM food). Americans on the contrary grant greater freedoms when it comes to gun possession, as well as driving a car from a relatively young age (the norm is 18 years old in Europe).
Government system
Americans have a “Congress”, while Europeans all have “Parliaments”.
American politcs is chiefly curtailed to two parties, which would be center-right and right, but lack influential left-wing or green parties. It is rare for a European country to have less than 3 main parties. It is often 4 or 5, which makes politics less bipolar (but often also more complicated to reach agreements).
The American police (FBI) is much more “aggressive” than the police in Europe (car chases, break into houses with guns shouting “police, don’t move, hands on your head !” or such scenes almost non-existent in Europe). Suspects in the US are detained more easily and interrogated more harshly. Americans also go to court much more promptly than in Europe.
The legality of guns in the States also makes daily life and one’s sense of safety completely different from Europe.
Patriotism
Americans put much more emphasis on patriotism than Europeans. Being a patriot is a way of life in the USA. The term is rarely used in Europe.
Few Europeans would mind rational critics of their country’s government, while a good deal of Americans find them offensive or disrespectful (especially from non-Americans). Some Americans go as far as regarding criticism of their government as a personal attack. Europeans are only too happy to hear other people criticizing their own politicians or their country’s problems.
Religion
Americans are much more religious than Europeans. Church going is very popular in the US, where it is seen as an indispensable way of socializing. In Europe the practice has almost entirely disappeared and is mostly limited to the elderly, or special events like weddings or Christmas.
God is often mentioned by American politicians, but almost never in Europe. Mixing religion and politics is taboo in many European countries (notably France), due to the stricter separation of state and religion. There are exceptions, such as Poland or Spain, but even these countries do not appear very religious compared to the USA.
More extremely, a majority of Americans would find offensive for someone to openly claim not to believe in god, whereas the opposite is often true in Europe.
Circumcision
Circumcision is almost unheard of in Europe, as in most of the non-Muslim and non-Jewish world. The practice became very popular in the USA after WWII, and over 90% of baby boys born during the Cold War era (until the 1980′s) were automatically circumcised, with or without their parents’ consent. It is becoming less common nowadays. Nevertheless, a 2002 survey revealed that 79% of American men were circumcised. The prevalence was lower among Hispanic men, and lowest of all in men born outside the US.
Political correctness
Due to their great ethnic and religious diversity, Americans have developed a more acute sense of political correctness, in an attempt to attenuate frictions between the various groups. Europeans still associate very much with their place of birth with their ethnicity, language and culture. In fact, until recently, adjectives for language, ethnic group and nationality would often match (with notable exceptions, like Belgium and Switzerland). In the US (almost) everybody has the same nationality and language, and it is ethnicities and religions that differentiate people first, hence the greater importance for respect toward other ethnicities and religions in the USA.
In Europe the emphasis of respect is put on cultures and languages. Making aggressive jokes about a particular linguistic or cultural group (e.g. calling the French “cheese-eating monkies) because of the importance of cheese in French culture), for instance, is the equivalent of attacking a particular ethnic or religious group in the US. It’s a big no-no. However, making fun of religions is usually quite acceptable in Europe.
Food
Europeans all have a lot of traditional dishes from their region or city. Specialties tend to be very local, so that some pastries can be seen in one town, but not 100 km away.
Europeans eat more varied and balanced meals (especially in southern cultures) and less fast food than Americans (except maybe the Brits). Europeans eat more cheese (not just the French !), more yoghurts, and on average drink more wine and stronger beers than Americans.
Americans consume sweeter food and much more soft drinks than Europeans. US alcohol laws are much tougher than anywhere in Europe (see map of legal age to drink alcohol in Europe below).
Sports
It is interesting how the popularity of sports can be so different between Europe and North America. The most popular sports in ALL Europe is football (soccer), probably followed by tennis, cycling, and Formula 1 (as well as other motor races). In the US, soccer and F1 are far away in the popularity ranking. It is baseball, basketball, ice hockey and American football that attract the crowds and make money. And as much as European sports lack popularity in the US, the reverse is true (except for basketball).
Dating & Marriage
While marriage is increasingly seen as a completely optional “folkloric tradition” in Europe, it is still quite important in the USA (probably because religion is also more important there). Statistically Americans marry much more than Europeans, but also divorce more. Gay marriage, now legal in several EU countries and hardly an issue for debate in Europe (because of the little importance of marriage in Europe nowadays), is still vehemently opposed by a big part of the US population.
Wedding ceremonies are also much more important and formal in the USA. In most of Europe it is limited to an informal family gathering (usually at the bride or groom’s parental home). Marriage traditions do vary considerably between European countries, and even more between families. But in average it is certainly less important than in the States (or in Asian countries for that matter).
Furthermore, there are some strong nationwide American traditions regarding wedding ceremonies, like bringing “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”. There is obviously no equivalent thing at a European level, and most often not even at a national or regional level.
In fact, even the way of dating tends to follow so well-defined rules in the USA. For instance, there are widely followed conventions about sleeping on the 3rd date. Men know they shouldn’t expect to see a woman again if she insists to split the bill (“check” in AmE) at the end of their first date. The way of proposing, or buying an expensive ring are more important for Americans too. In Europe, the way of doing things is more informal and spontaneous, and can varies a lot from one region to another, and even on a person to person basis. Sometimes, that makes Europeans envious of how easy and clear things look in the USA in comparison. The drawback is that it seems too stereotypical, especially if you don’t like the conventions.
Nobility
Europe still has a class of noble people (restored in Eastern Europe after the fall of communism), and many countries will mention the title (e.g. Baron) in official documents. About 1% of family names still have a “noble particle” (uncapitalized “de”, “di”, “von”, “van”, etc.) and it does have a meaning for some people. Europe also has hundreds of thousands of castles reminding people on a nearly daily basis of the time where nobility once ruled over everything.
Military politics
It is prohibited in most of Europe for the military people, or anyone with a professional military history to become a politician. This means that they become politically ineligible. In the USA, the reverse is almost true. It is almost required to have a military history to become president, and quite a few Congress people have also served in the army. Maybe this is because the president’s image is still strongly associated with that of the “commander in chief”, and because defense (or offense) is so important in US politics.
Let’s also note the common use of gangsters and criminals in the US military for their “killing talents”, and the way they can pass from notorious criminals to national heroes – something mostly unheard of in Europe. The US government has even used this tactics in post-war Japan to fight communism by forgiving and rehabilitating convicted war criminals and yakuza leaders (some even became Prime Ministers with the support of the US, like Kishi Nobusuke).
This whole thing sounds like you have contrived it from some kind of made-up school of thought. Anyone living in Europe will tell you that the loose nature of the separate country’s ties to the Union mean comparison to a country like the United States where the people and government at least exist on the same land mass, without major language and social differences, is ridiculous.
Are you going to tell me that the same cultural opinions, heritage, and values are held in England as in Italy? Spreading information like this is exactly why so many people are confused by the nature of Europe. We are an economic Union. That is all.
Nick is certainly overreacting, but I agree somewhat. However, he should realize that while for a European it may seem like the differences between England and Italy (both of which I have spent time in) are great, to an American or some other outsider, it’s pretty clear that there are general similarities between the two, and that their differences are much smaller than those between, say, Canada and Cambodia. Living on the West Coast of the US, I sometimes feel like folk from Texas or Alabama live in a different country, but to Europeans I’m sure our similarities as Americans far, far outweigh our regional differences. Like it or not, the nations and cultures of Europe do share an intertwined continental history that cannot be ignored.
On another note, I’m confused about the paragraph about gangsters and criminals in the military. Maybe during the World Wars, when recruiting standards were lowered, some people could leave their shady past behind them by joining the military, but I’ve never heard of the military recruiting gangsters for their “killing talents.” That is ridiculous and would be a media scandal if it were true, especially in our conservative, military-worshiping society. And the geopolitical decisions made regarding Japan during the reconstruction years have nothing whatsoever to do with the US military or this subject in general!
Kudos on your research, because I am disgusted with myself. Starting tomorrow I’m ditching my mini cooper, marrying my live in girlfriend of four years (the proposal will be in the most formal, most predictable manner possible), turning my back on the 15 years I have been learning/speaking the German language, go to church for the first time in 12 years, buy a gun, register with the Republican Party, attend an anti abortion and gay marriage rally, and start going to McDonald’s. I thought I was a proud American, but evidently this is far from the truth. Thank you for generalizing a population of over 300 million people. After all, I have lived most of my life in the Washington, D.C. area, so naturally my values and general way of life must be exactly like those of people in the Mid West, the North East, the South, and the West Coast. The only logical conclusion I can come to is that a majority of your research consisted of watching films from Hollywood.
Sarcasm aside, my preferred place to vacation is in Europe. I have immense respect for those that have strived to strengthen the EU. A necessary measure as declining populations and global influence will become issues in the coming decades. This article certainly has its flaws. Spot on about the beer though, ever since the repeal of prohibition the alcohol content just has not been as high.
PS – Labor Day in the United States occurs on the first Monday in September. On behalf of the United States I apologize, and take full responsibility, for the event not taking place on May 1st…I mean 1 May.
Nice article. I should point out that I think a major reason for the differences in how Europeans and Americans view cars (Americans favor larger, boxier models while Europeans favor smaller, rounder models) has a lot to do with the price of gas (or petrol, as I hear my European friends call it). At least since the end of WWII, gas has cost far less in the USA that it has elsewhere, especially in Europe. With cheap gas being considered almost an American birthright, it’s easy to see why so many Americans like big cars; until recently, we’ve never had to wrngle much with the high price of fuel.
Actually Americans do recruit criminals and thugs for the military all the time. There are programs that allow people to get out of prison early if they go to boot camp. The military is presented as an option with strong discipline, and even unruly teenagers get shipped out to programs similar to basic.
May first known as May day (America) was dropped for the simple reason that the Soviet Union started celebrating that day. Part of the tradition was giving May baskets away and the giving of flowers (symbolic of the first fruits of spring). This from my Wisconsin upbringing and memory.
Politically America has drifted from its roots significantly as the constitution (1787) was regarded as only suitable for a “moral and religious people wholely inadequate to the governing of any other” I have tried to quote as exactly as memory will permit. of one of the founding fathers. Again Benjamin Franklin when a woman asked what have you given us (in the constitution) said “A republic id you can keep it.” The understanding being that a democracy is a degenerate republic. I have spend quite a bit of time reading the founding era of America. Another thing about history it must to be properly understood be in context not reading our times conventions into the past.
The US does not recruit criminals for military duty. There are no programs that allow criminals to avoid prison time for military service. The teenage boot camps that have been mentioned are used as a disciplinary option for a select few. They are more military styled prisons than starter programs for the armed forces.
I’m not sure what you mean about gun laws and the feeling of security in ones country. Americans know there are guns out there but there surely is not a feeling of fear or apprehension because of it. I don’t think it enters the mind of most people.
Nick obviously does not realize how culturally diverse America is. It appears Europeans see us as one large group of similar people, and have no understanding about how geography affects who we are.
As a European expat living in the U.S, I find this listing pretty accurate.
I groaned when I saw the title of this article as I expected it to be (as many responders seems to have seen it) full of crass generalisations. To be honest though, I think the author’s done a reasonably good job. There are quite a few things about Europeans that I wouldn’t necessarily agree with (I’m Welsh myself) but on the whole the distinctions drawn between the complexity of Europe and the relative simplicity of the US are I think pretty fair. Obviously I think the main thing to take away from this is that neither region is as easy to understand as we might sometimes like to think.
This is the most astronomical assessment of nonsense I have ever seen on a single webpage. Police barging in yelling “Police”? No, guy, that only happens on TV. We in the US, in fact, have much greater rights concerning search and seizure than our European counterparts. The Police can’t enter our houses, ask for ID, or search our cars unless that have witnessed a crime and have our permission. Your understanding of the US is based entirely on old stereotypes you derived from TV shows and you should be ashamed of yourself.
1. Gas in the US is under .50 Euro a liter, hence the large cars. We also don’t pay “congestion charges”.
2. No one with a felony can join the military.
3. New York has less crime than London or Paris. It is because we own so many guns that we never fear crime. No one will ever break into my house or attempt to rob me. They can tell just by looking at me.
4. Less than half of Americans go to church, or could care less about religion. If you consider anyone who celebrates Christmas a “Christian” the numbers are about the same.
5. Americans don’t save for University unless they choose to. Not only can any student be loaned the money, almost all of the costs are defrayed through gov’t programs, private tuitions, and reimbursements. If Uni is free in Europe, why do so few Europeans graduate?
6. When does the UK start using the metric system?
7. All American school children are taught a second language, by law and have for several decades.
8. I hope you realize what a bigot you are.
This whole thing is silly. Everyone seems to realize that this list is full of stunning generalizations, and is markedly pro-European. Yes, the US is a single country, but there is quite a bit of cultural diversity here. Especially in big cities, where many people are immigrants or second or third generation Americans, many traditions and habits spill over into the population as a whole. Having lived in Europe for a time, I see many things on this list that, if not flat out wrong, are extremely overstated. What I can say is that no matter where I have lived, I have found the people there to be kind, generous and not nearly as biased as this list is.
I think the part about American’s getting all offended and defensive about criticism is all too true, don’t you Dwindle?
. I think the writer and his intellectual equals write US foreign policy. This would answer a lot of the questions that we in the real world have been pondering.
Quote –”The legality of guns in the States also makes daily life and one’s sense of safety completely different from Europe.”
This is simply not true. In the US, the only guns I ever see are in police holsters. I feel as safe walking here as in europe (and I’ve walked more than 1000 miles / 1540km in each continent!)
Quote –”Furthermore, there are some strong nationwide American traditions regarding wedding ceremonies, like bringing “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”. There is obviously no equivalent thing at a European level, and most often not even at a national or regional level.”
I’ve never heard of this and I’ve always lived in the states.
The national police is the FBI, but remember that very few Americans have any dealing with them. We are more often involved with our local (by town, or city) or state (by state). Only crimes involving crossing state borders for which there are large penalties entails any federal (entire nation) investigations. This three-tiered system is probably different then Europe, where countries are smaller. To us, the FBI is like the Interpol for you. Here Interpol is very rarely mentioned.
While I agree with you on some points, some of the things on your lists feel like a slightly elastic truth.
Nice one! I do have one comment: police does not arrest that easily people in Europe is not exactly true… In France, police can detain you and refuse all access to the outside world (including a lawyer), while interrogating you with not so kind words and a large phonebook. In Belgium, the same principle counts… So, we may not have the FBI, but the local police sometimes thinks they are…
Dwindle,
You are wrong about all American school children being taught a second language, by law for several decades.
I am a high school language teacher. Learning a second language is not a graduation requirement in the great majority of the US. Very few Americans ever actually master a second language.
“Europeans are used to go “abroad” since their childhood, European countries being so small, and do not feel the whole experience to be so exceptional. Supposedly Seatlle residents feel the same about going to Canada, a stone’s throw away.”
As a Seattle resident, and having been to Canada numerous times, I feel that it is very safe to say that this statement is accurate. It’s really not exciting at all… you drive up, wait a while, show them your passport and it’s like “woo, I’m in Canada…”
I would also like to point out that American schoolchildren are not taught the metric system, even if they are supposed to learn it. It is considered unimportant, because we don’t use it here, and if you were to ask any random American, chances are that they would probably not be able to convert litres to gallons or Celsius to Fahrenheit.
“Aidan,” who commented above, is correct. A second language is definently not required, although typically Spanish and French plus one other language (such as Japanese) are offered to students. When we apply for college however, it is often required that 2-3 years of a language have been taken, or a single semester of a language is a graduation requirement.
As for religion, Seattle is a very tolerant place (I noticed that I related to many of the Euro characteristics in the list), but I have still been told that I will “Go to hell” and that I am “wrong” because I am an atheist. Make of it what you may, but I do feel that if atheists were easily identified, we would be persecuted far more than we already are. Mainly people write stupid, angry letters and have disgusting protests about atheists – i.e. it is not very tolerated, as it seems to be in Europe.
who da f*ck made this? Im from Sweden and im gonna tell you, this is so full of holes and predjudice and ignorance that i will write this, up and everyone on the university will laugh their arses of.
this is the most “unrelible” piece of ignorance ever made. Dont you have insight at all, have you ever been to europe, even northern europe. Polacks and Irish aint even closer to americans than any of the scandinavian countries…
Ignorence is a blizz…
Love your article, you mention many things that really hit the nail, but I have to complain about your europe map of legal drinking ages.. Norway is one of the strictest countries in Europe regarding alcohol and drinking age.. The ages are 18 for beer and wine and 20 for anything above 22%alcohol.. It is also highly taxed and the price for a beer at a bar or restaurant is usually above 12-14 dollars US.
hahaha….reading an article like this just reinforces the European idea that Americans are basically Ignorant when it comes to having any concept about peoples or lifestyles in another country.
First, most of the information is completely wrong, second there is no such country as Europe, do you really think that Irish are the same as the Spanish ? or the Swedes as the Greeks ?
-BTW – Halloween comes from Ireland and Scotland not the US.
-There is something like prom nights in many places in Europe…geez, I went to my own one.
-Foreign-language learning in Europe is not compulsory everywhere in Europe
-(Europeans tend to be more liberal regarding soft drugs, prostitution, alcohol, abortion, or cloning (but interestingly not so for GM food).)..really …have you been to Poland lately , or try smoking a joint in the UK in a public place and see what happens to you !
-(In Europe the emphasis of respect is put on cultures and languages.), I laughed at this one….its a Europeans biggest pastime laughing at the people from other countries, The English do it with the Irish, the France with the Germans etc
-(Patriotism
Americans put much more emphasis on patriotism than Europeans)
again, I nearly fell of my chair laughing, that one does not even deserve a comment,…(basically our mouths are just not big that we always have to go on and on about it 24×7).
-(Wedding ceremonies are also much more important and formal in the USA) nope you have never been to a wedding in Ireland or Italy have you ?
-(Let’s also note the common use of gangsters and criminals in the US military for their “killing talents”, and the way they can pass from notorious criminals to national heroes – something mostly unheard of in Europe)…ever heard of the French Foreign legion ?,
“Norway is one of the strictest countries in Europe regarding alcohol and drinking age.. The ages are 18 for beer and wine and 20 for anything above 22%alcohol.”
The Same applies to Finland
Drinking age map is wrong. In Norway it’s 18 years, and I believe the same goes for Finland.
Ofcourse a posting like this will be full of errors and generalizations, it is inevitable. But that doesnt mean it cant hold some general truth in it. Clearly, the Swedes are not the same as the Greeks, just as US citizens are not all the same. But that doesnt mean that in the whole there might be some differences between Europe and the US that are worth mentioning, as the poster has tried to do here.
Only thing i find very strange is how personal or emotional so many people seem to react to a posting like this one, while the tone of it is one of promoting mutual understanding. I couldnt find much criticism in it for either side, but judging from the comments, so many people seem to take it that way.
Anyway, I personally found it a very interesting, positive and at times confronting (especially the comments) posting. Good one Amy.
The drinking age in Denmark is also wrong – it’s 16.
I’m writing a MA thesis about European and American identity so I think I have to share. I recommend the book of Samuel Huntington “Who we are? The Challenges oto America ‘s National Identity. ” It will reply all the questions about Americans.
I’m from Poland – the country which is so diffrent than most european countries. The legalization of soft drugs or having a gun seems to be impossible. People are very religious, but not so much as Americans. We only say that “I’m a catholic” but we rarely go to the church, of course the Poles who pass 60 years old are diffrent. Poland is changing – maybe in year 2020 legalization guy marriages will be possible. Now… we have such influence of the church in politics, that we are more similar to Americans than to other Europeans, where atheism and separation religion & politics is popular.
I visited almost all the Europe, so I know between Greeks, Germans are differences. But people who live in Alabama and California are also diffrent.
People from Europe are similar in tradition of welfare state, origin (cristian religion, greek democracy, roman low)
Wow, it’s a really good thing I read this. I now know that I’m not nearly American enough and that I need to drastically alter my ways. God forbid I enjoy travel and being “abroad”. It would be best for me to keep to my own little hamlet from now on. I can speak French fluently because the language interests me, but I’d better stop trying to improve my vocabulary because it’s not American enough. I’m agnostic, but I’d better convert to Lutheranism or something to make myself more “American”. Maybe I should even become a fundamentalist! I guess I should stop believing in Shaw’s quote that “Patriotism is your conviction that your country is superior to all others because you were born there.” Clearly I should hang a big flag from my porch and put my hand on my heart every time I hear some semblance of the national anthem. Reading this was definitely an eye-opening experience for me. I’m certainly not being American enough. From now on I’ll be sure to bleed red, white, and blue!
I think that “European” identity is a bit dangerous. I’ve lived in a few European states, and a lot of national citizens don’t see themselves as European unless outside of the EU and only after the citizen has identified his or her national state. While there are similarities in European approaches to international politics, this comes from the EU and unified European governments, not from the citizens themselves.
I was born and raised in California – still here. I’ve traveled mostly in the US and never to Europe. I enjoyed the article but only have a problem with the premise that we Americans are generally the same.
When I go to New Orleans, I can barely understand them when they speak. They say I “talk like movie people.” When Southerners come to Southern California, they’re SO obviously not from here that we can spot them a block away, even if they weren’t obnoxiously broadcasting their origins and taking up 2 seats per family member. (I can’t understand them very well either). My California manners are too casual for Midwesterners and my children are considered rude and outspoken there. And when I’m in Utah, I blend in as well as a lady in the Men’s Room. Utah Mormons are on a different planet. entirely. And the Mennonites, the Amish and the Native American Indian nations and people from Seattle; If you factored out our common language and shared economy, American regions are more different than you may realize.
(You nailed the religion thing – most Americans, whether they attend a church regularly or not, view and judge the world through the lens of their chosen religions. They’re very tiresome and I wish we were more like Europe in that regard).
Do people not understand that this poster is using generalizations? Of course not every citizen of a Europe fits the European description, just as every citizen of the Untied Sates does not fit the US description. You could do the same thing between North and South America, between the Middle East and the Far East and just about every combination of cultures possible.
I am a first generation US-er with close ties to my European family, I lived in Europe for several years, and I travel there frequently and I think the poster did a fairly good job on explaining some of the very basic differences between an overview of the two very broad cultures pertaining, at least, to the things I am familiar with.
“The same is true of Thanksgiving and, until the late 1990’s, of Halloween (but this last one exported itself well to Europe and East Asia).”
Oh so what was I celebrating on October 31st forty years ago in England – Would that be Halloween?
We didn’t use Pumpkins then we used hollowed out Turnips, which was the tradition.
As for ThanKs Giving WTF you on about?
I have never heard of any British person celebrating this. But we have always celebrated “Harvest Time” Which takes place in September. Dude do your research before you go off on the how great the US is and how its customs are so eagerly sucked up by the rest of the world.
It’s virtually impossible to write an article like this and NOT make swingeing generalisations, and I note that the author explicitly states that this is a summary of their PERSONAL observations. That said, I think a lot of the assumptions here are incorrect.
I think that the legality and acceptance of gay marriage in Europe has less to do with the fact that the institution of marriage is devalued over here than the fact that it’s so patently a non-issue. I’d also add that of the dozen or so US citizens I count among my friends, none of them regard it as a big deal either and blame media hysteria for its contentiousness in the States.
My personal observation? We’ve all got more in common than we have differences, but you can’t throw a half-brick in any country in the world without hitting at least three dickheads that give everyone else a bad name.
“North Americans have prom night at the end of the last academic year of high school (and sometimes also middle school), while Europeans have no such tradition.”
This is just your own, biased and definitely not accurate opinion. We (Romanians) DO actually have a ” prom night” at the end of our last academic year (from high school through university) and also a “freshers’s ball” at the beginning of each academic year.
The same is true for another topic, say Religion: We (Romanians) DO care about marriage and religion.
By the way, I forgot to mention, Romania is in Europe!
Im from argentina and i think the article is quite accurate. I lived in germany for some time and met lots of europeans and people from the us. We southamericans have much more in comon with europeans than with americans. They even used to make jokes about how ignorant they were about geography and foreign cultures “im sorry im from the USA so i dont know where your country is and i can only speak english” “i am glad you people speak english so well”. I mean I do not hate americans at all. I think they are nice..my country is poor and undeveloped i can admit that. It is not ok to generalize but The US is full of ignorant people. It´s not their fault anyway.
I live in Sweden and I’ve traveled quite a bit around the world in my life and I can say this: The article is as correct as it can be, if you decide to descibe people as “europeans” on one side and “americans” on the other.
It is true that Swedes in general have little in common with greeks in general. It is also true that Texans have litte in common with Californians etc.
But also, people from nothern Sweden have little in common with the people in the souther parts and people from the rural parts of Texas have little in common with city-folks. Etc. I feel very different from my neighbor across the street. I am sure most individuals in America feel special as well.
So differencies is not the issue.
The author has tried to make generic portraits of the average European and the average Aamerican. And suceeded quite well, as I see it.
If the reader don’t like to be decribed as a group, so be it. But the writers intentions has been fulfilled.
The descriptions and comparisons are, for the most part, very correct.
I write this in English. I could write it in Swedish, French, German or Italian as well, but the message would not get across to very meny Americans, as most of you only speak English. Some, Spanish
As an American reading this article, I began to feel a strong urge to move to Europe. Many of the claims made about life in Europe seemed very ideal to me, especially the supposed greater separation from church and state across the Atlantic. But then I wondered where the author was getting their statistics – how could they prove that Europeans don’t find religion as important as Americans? Please support your statements with real FACTS. Then maybe I could call this a good article.
This article is laden with flaws. While the writer obviously flaunts some degree of travelling experiences, she has carefully (and perhaps unknowingly) knitted together fact with stereotype.
-As an American who has lived in Great Britain for nearly six years and in Spain for several more years, it appears absurd to me to assume Americans are more patriotic than peoples from European countries. How can you argue this point when talking about the French or the Germans or the Irish? Perhaps they don’t fly as many flags outside of their homes and businesses or appear to get as offended when debating controversial issues about their countries, but in general they tend to take their history and customs with almost an air of superiority. Also, take a look at the violent separatist movements in many parts of this great continent, including Spain, the UK, the Netherlands and Belgium. It stands to reason they want to separate because they are that dedicated to their region or country.
-Meanwhile, prom night is celebrated in much of the UK. Marriage is a declining institution EVERYWHERE as people increasingly chose to co-habilitate with long-term partners and skip the signing of legal contracts.
-Gay marriage is only legal in Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Spain. It is true that Civil Partnerships, to varying degrees, are legal in most European countries, aside from a large portion of Eastern European countries. In the USA, gay marriage is legal in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa and Connecticut. It is recognized in New York and DC. Civil partnerships to varying degrees are recognized in California, Colorodo, DC, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Washington state and Wisconsin. Let me remind you 20 years ago almost no country had legal recognition for gay couples so this is an entirely new phenomenon that is still developing. And it was only a few years ago gays were banned in the British military.
-And the differences between Texas and New York go deeper than a rural/urban divide; Texas has many large cities and most of New York state is rural, although the ideology, customs, accent and dialect, even the food is different. While there are misconceptions on both sides of the coin
By the way, I could have written this message in French, Spanish or Italian. I also speak bits of German and American sign language. Meanwhile, most British I have encountered only speak English. I think this is a prominent feature in the English-speaking world as a result of the language’s global reign.
Fuck the Europeans!
Many European countries require that students pass a “leaving” exam (“matura”) at the end of their time in the gymnasium. If they can’t pass, they will not be allowed to enter the university.
Interesting article but I’m not convinced that all the facts are correct and like somebody else mentioned – grouping ALL Europeans together is like saying that ALL North Americans are the same…..and although I can’t say for sure – I would assume they’re not.
I can only comment on the UK but to my knowledge the following are probably the biggest mistakes.
1.European washing machines normally have only a cold water inlet – Nobody I know has ever had a cold water inlet only washing m/c
2.Europeans think of “traditions” like baby showers and bachelor(ette)’s night with strip-teasers as typically American (which they are) – maybe true of baby showers….but definitely not true of batchelor (or stagg) parties, this is very traditional and not something that was imported from the USA….although maybe the strippers part was
3.Most Europeans learn 2 to 4 foreign languages, for obvious reasons – I don’t know anybody that can speak 4 languages…..maybe 2 but even that’s not a national average, most Brits would reluctantly admit that they can’t speak any other languages.
4. Marriage – most of Europe it is limited to an informal family gathering (usually at the bride or groom’s parental home) – are you kidding? I don’t know where you found this gem but it’s definitely not true of the UK and I’d bet vital organs that it’s not true of most of the rest of mainland Europe.
FUCK YOU FOR LIFE NOT EUROPIANS. and they do learn 2-4 languages i know 5 languages and the most importan is RUSSIAN for me in EUROPE than GERMAN. but about marrage it is wrong in EUROPE marrage is more IMPORTANT than in USA because look how they marry in usa in vegas for 100$ that is marrage?? hell no its dumd in EUROPE when they make a wedding its a nice wedding not like here.
Actually, the legal age for drinking in Bosnia, Serbia, Slovenia, Monte Negro is also 18 like in Croatia and Macedonia – we’ve been in the same country until 19 years ago for pittys sake. I think we only implement those laws less then Croats do though.
I don’t know about Greece and Bulgaria, but I’d expect they’re the same.
And yeah, unlike Americans, we know our geography.
I would just like to make it perfectly clear that we CANNOT drink alcohol until we are 18 in Norway, and then only alcohol with a max. percentage of 20. When we are 20 we can drink liquor as well. And by the may, you should really try to do some research before writing an article like this. A lot of what you write is true, but some of it seems to be based on guesses.
If you want to compare Europe and USA (not America I’m pretty sure some Mexicans are feeling left out if you call it America and to not mention them) you’ve got to generalize, there is just no other way. I like the article and I think it is in many ways very accurate, that people can find places in Europe or USA that do not match the points in the article does not mean that it is inaccurate this is just because the article mention the country/region in general.
Karoline and all you other people complaining about “the drinking age map” please please get to know your own country before you complain…!!!!
Denmark have no legal drinking age, you are however not allowed to buy alcohol before you are 16.
Norway have no legal drinking age, you are however not allowed to buy alcohol with less the 22% until you are 18 and over 22% until you are 20.
Finland have no legal drinking age, you are however not allowed to buy alcohol with less the 22% until you are 18 and over 22% until you are 20.
Serbia have no legal drinking age.
Slovenia have no legal drinking age you are however not allowed to buy alcohol before you are 18.
Greece have no legal drinking age, however to buy alcohol in a pub you most be 17.
So Karoline what you makes perfectly clear is perfectly wrong.
All in all a great article and I can’t wait to get back to Europe after living half a year in America (Mexico).
I like that Artikle, thats exactly how I see the USA as a German.
What a dreadful post full of complete inaccuracies! So full of disgracefully patronising and typical of a bigoted American. The most amazing being that we do not debate same sex marriage because of a lack of religious belief. It is nothing to do with religion, it is to do with tolerance. Something the author or this seems to seriously lack.
I love America as a country, but this kind of nonsense is the reason why the majority of the world think American people are stupid idiots.
Oh and one final thing, football (or as you idiots call it, soccer) is a WORLDWIDE game, not just European. It is the world’s game. Think about that next time you think about your ‘great’ sports.
This article is incorrect about time and date systems. We also consider the week to start on Monday and end on Sunday. I don’t know where the author learned otherwise.
Us brits are always arguing over our EU membership. We still won’t give up the £ for the Euro. We do use the metric system, it became law a few years ago, foisted on us by the EU convention circus after many arguments (but we still have imperial (mph) on cars, speed signs etc??). Overall the EU is still on shaky ground after the two world wars and cold war, yep, they love a war in europe, and this latest financial crisis has seen more of an emphasis on national identity by the member states. There are a fair few fascist parties about who want the borders closed back up. It’s not as happy a marriage as it might seem.
so funny to hear Us-citizens talk about Europe!
ps: a lot of items on the Europe site of this article are so wrong!!
I would like to know where the author got his/her info from!!
such as the ‘drinking map’, just say that almost all EU countries
have a law for 16+ drinking!