Greetings All!
There has been some discussion recently about holidays that supposedly
only exist in America or at least used to and are now going worldwide.
In fact a lot of the holidays mentioned have been celebrated in Britain
for years and were in facted started there and not America (*gasp* *shock*
*grin*). I'm originally from Scotland .. and i mean REALLY from Scotland
I was born there and lived there till I was 25 ... I've now lived in the
US for 4 years. (I get all kinds of people coming up to me and telling me
they are Scottish too because there great granny was born there ;-))
Not sure who originally said this but:
>>Valentine's Day, which used to be "only in America," is going global. I know
>>it's in Germany, Denmark, and India. It's probably in many other countries
Traditions surrounding the 14th of February have existed since Roman
times and it is yet another example of an ancient celebration taken over
by christianity to keep the masses from "heathen practices". In Britain
you only send a Valentine to someone you are in love with or fancy ;-).
Valentines are often send anonymously if you want to let the object of
your affection know your feelings but are not ready to let them know who
you are. I was a bit freaked my first Valentines Day in the states seeing
cards for "I love you Mum/Gran/Dad/Cousin/Sister/etc" *grin*. I know
the day in this form has existed in Britain since before I was born, I've
seen cards that my Dad sent my Mum.
>>too. The marketing people for the florists, chocolate makers, and restaurant
>>associations are marketing it, to literally create a new tradition.
Maybe in Europe they are trying to increase the commercialisation by
adopting the American tradition of sending a Valentine to anyone not
just your Romantic loved one.
>>Halloween Night, which was only for kids twenty years ago, is being heavily
>>promoted across Europe. It's the second largest American holiday, in terms
>>of revenues, and European marketing people aren't stupid. There's gold in
Halloween is a lot like Valentines Day in being an old Pagan festival
taken over by Christianity. Again its been celebrated for years in Britain
all be it with slightly different traditions than the US. We don't go trick
or treating to get candy .. in the UK you have to perform an act, sing,
tell a joke, whatever to get your candy. We used to get dressed up every
year and trek around all the neighbours houses performing to get our
candy. No inkling of playing a trick on anyone that didn't deliver ;-)
>>it's changed. So many people have emigrated to the US in the last few
>>decades. They are very thankful for the opportunity to live in peace and be
>>prosperous. Nearly all of my friends here in Silicon Valley are immigrants
>>and they come from everywhere in the world. In their own countries, they
>>simply wouldn't have the opportunities for jobs, advancement, training, or
This is SO true and in a way its the newer emigrants who are really
now living the "American Dream". A lot of born and bred Americans no
longer understand the meaning of the American Dream and aren't really
sure it exists. That said, it cracks me up everytime 4th of July or
Thanksgiving come around and people are shocked, stunned and amazed that
we don't celebrate them in Britain. If they'd only stop and think for a
minute ... you are talking about holidays based on events in American
history OF COURSE we don't celebrate them *chuckle*. We have our own
historical events to celebrate .. Guy Fawkes night is big back home
over the whole of Britain, Burns Night is big in Scotland (celebrating
the poet Rabbie Burns and basically taking the chance to go crazy and
be very Scottish for a night) and St. Andrews Night celebrations will
be held tomorrow night celebrating the Patron Saint of Scotland. Scotland
also has a lot of big traditions for New Year's Eve and even have a
special name for the last day of the year called Hogmanay.
I think there are a few factors keeping the internet spreading among
the masses in Europe the way it has in the US. Many of the countries
over there and definitely Britain do not have unlimited local calling ..
you get charged per minute for ALL calls so there isn't the same ability
to get on the net and not worry about the phone charges. I think this
has some part in the American dominance of the net as well as the other
factors that have already been mentioned. Once the net can spread
amongst the general public there the way it has on the US there will
need to be more marketing to non-us clients. I don't know if this is the
case in other continents I only know the situation in Europe.
Hope everyone who celebrates had a good Turkey Day anyway ;-)
Dr. Mary Jo Stockton, PhD. MoonStar bbs (Central VA)
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://www.moonstar.com/~morticia http://www.moonstar.com/
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