Category Archives: American Customs

Crazy American Expressions

January 11, 2020 – 9:00 am

“I’m Beat” (I’m super tired)

“He hit it out of the ballpark!” (he did amazingly well)

“Don’t flake out” (Don’t fail to show up!)

“Let’s go Dutch” (split the bill and each pay half)

It’s one thing to learn a new language, it’s another to submerge yourself fully into the culture where that language is spoken. We U.S. Americans use some pretty ridiculous phrases! So next time you are “down in the dumps” because you can’t figure out a slang phrase,click over to https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/, and look it up!

Interested but don’t have any specific phrase to research? Before you “take off,” check out this article where you can learn 25 phrases that you probably didn’t learn in your English Class back home. https://www.weareteacherfinder.com/blog/english-idioms-colloquialisms-guide/

Halloween

September 20, 2018 – 11:09 am

The tradition of celebrating spirits of the dead, especially in the autumn, is largely universal to a variety of different world religions and cultures. Though specific legends and beliefs vary, by 1930’s America, several of those celebrations of the dead were cobbled together to form the version modern-day Halloween, as well as the days that follow.

In the United States, universal Halloween traditions are celebrated by carving jack-o-lanterns, hanging spooky decorations, dressing in costumes, Trick-or-Treating, and eating lots and lots of candy. A secular (non-religious) holiday, Halloween is celebrated mostly by children, parents, and young adults across the nation. Evangelical Christians, however, find the holiday abhorrent and will avoid it.

Halloween seems to have originated mostly in Europe and came to the Americas initially with the first white settlers. Over the years, related fall festivals from other parts of the globe have been incorporated and the holiday has evolved. Wearing costumes and telling fortunes on the ancient Celtic harvest festival of Samhain, Catholic festivals commemorating martyrs and souls of the dead, the 17th-century British custom of wearing a mask and attending bonfires on Guy Fawkes Day, The lighting of a Yahrzeit Memorial Candle to honor the dead in Jewish tradition, the tradition of cooking the favorite foods of and bringing out photos of deceased loved ones on Mexican Dia de los Muertos, as well as the offering of sweet foods to prevent spirits from becoming angry during the Festival of Hungry Ghosts in China, have all lent a piece of themselves to create the holiday that we know today.

On November 1, Christians celebrate All Hallows’ Day, also known as All Saints Day. Central to All Saints’ Day is the belief in the “Communion of Saints,” that all of God’s people, living and passed, are re-connected. On this day, congregants pray for and honor not only the saints they are already familiar with, but also the many unknown and unsung Saints. All Soul’s Day, the Catholic day to remember the dead, comes on Nov. 2 or as in many churches, the following Sunday. It is thought to have grown out of the tradition of celebrating the “martyrdom of saints during Roman times. This is when Christians honor all the “Holy Ones, known and unknown.” Some churches set up an Altar of Remembrance, with the names, photos and / or objects reminding us of our deceased loved ones. Candles are also sometimes lit and flowers placed at this alter, as might also be done by families at the cemetery where family members rest.

Most of the holiday is celebrated on the afternoon and evening of October 31^st, and many families do not celebrate at all on November 1^st or 2^nd. The biggest part of Halloween is Trick-or-Treating. Costumed children ask for treats with the phrase “Trick or treat”. The “treat” is usually some form of candy or snack or maybe a tiny toy. The “trick” is an idle threat to perform mischief on the homeowners or their property if no treat is given. Some teenagers might throw eggs, smash jack-o-lanterns or put toilet paper in neighbors’ trees. But this is generally discouraged by all adults, including the police, for obvious reasons.

For some good fun with the children of any age this Halloween season, watch the animated special “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” make scarecrows and carve or paint jack-o-lanterns, discuss their Halloween costume plans, and maybe have them help you make a costume for yourself. Adult costumes are almost always optional, and it can be great fun to get into the spirit of it.

Be sure to follow some safety precautions, though, especially in regard to Trick-or-Treating. The California Highway Patrol (Police) puts out a list of safety tips specifically regarding Halloween that is very helpful. If you are taking the children out Trick-or-Treating be sure to bring light-sticks or include reflective tape on their costumes as well as carrying a flashlight. Be sure shoes are tightly tied and all costume elements are secured. Don’t allow the children to step inside a stranger’s home, and never allow the children to eat any candy until you return home and examine it in the light for any signs of tampering. If you are staying home to greet guests, be sure to leave a bright porch light on, keep the candy right next to the door so you don’t leave trick-or-treaters unattended and don’t open the door if the trick-or-treating party who rang the bell does not include at least one child (or someone you know). When you run out of candy or no longer want to answer the door, turn off the porch light and any bright decorations, and trick-or-treaters will stop ringing the bell. If you are out in the community, please don’t drink alcohol (well, maybe a single beer if you are over 21 and not driving). Drive extremely carefully, as there are people on the streets everywhere. And be vigilant when meeting new people who are in costume; It’s great to make new friends, but they are strangers that look different from how they normally do. Have fun and keep it safe!

Celebrating the 4th of July!

June 30, 2018 – 11:31 am

Known as the Fourth of July and Independence Day, July 4th has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution (1775-83). In June 1776, representatives of the 13 colonies then fighting in the revolutionary struggle weighed a resolution that would declare their independence from Great Britain. On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later its delegates adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. From 1776 until the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with typical festivities ranging from fireworks, parades, and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues.

Here are some fun facts about the food you are likely to enjoy while celebrating the 4^th of July!

Although there is no fixed menu for the celebration of the Fourth, you can count on traditional favorites such as hamburgers and hot dogs, chicken, ribs, potato salad, chips, watermelon, and yummy desserts.

There’s a 1-in-6 chance the beef on the grill came from Texas. The Lone Star State is the leader in the production of cattle.
An estimated 150 million hot dogs will be consumed on July 4^th.
The chicken on your barbecue grill probably came from one of the top broiler-producing states: Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, North Carolina and Mississippi.
The lettuce in your salad or on your hamburger probably was grown in California, which accounts for nearly three-quarters of USA lettuce production.
Fresh tomatoes in your salad most likely came from Florida or California, which, combined, produced more than two-thirds of U.S. tomatoes. The ketchup on your hamburger or hot dog probably came from California, which accounts for 95 percent of processed tomato production.
As to potato salad or potato chips or fries, Idaho and Washington produces about one-half of the nation’s spuds.
For dessert, six states — California, Florida, Texas, Georgia, Arizona and Indiana — combined to produce about 80 percent of watermelons last year.
And the apples in your apple pie? They most likely came from Washington or New York, the two top apple producing states.

And for the children, visit this link for fun coloring pages, craft ideas, puzzles and games to celebrate the 4^th of July holiday.

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/fourth-of-july/

Have fun!

Happy Groundhog Day!

January 31, 2018 – 8:57 am

This Friday, February 2nd, is Groundhog Day … but what is this strange custom?

The Delaware Indians of Pennsylvania considered groundhogs, which have long been plentiful in the Pennsylvania area, to be honorable ancestors. In the Delawares’ legend of human creation, their ancestral forefathers began life as animals within the earth, and emerged during their evolution into human form. The groundhog is also known as the Woodchuck, or the marmota monax, is a member of the squirrel family, and naturally feeds upon green plants, such as dandelion, clover, and grass.

Settlers of German ancestry arrived in the same Pennsylvania area in the 18^th century, bringing with them the tradition of “Candlemas Day,” which falls halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Custom held that if the sun came out on that day, which fell on February 2, six weeks of cold wintery weather would follow.

Over time, it became the custom of the Pennsylvania Germans to watch a badger on this day to see if the sun was bright enough to cast a shadow in front of him. Mixing with the local native American’s reverence of the groundhog, by 1886, a groundhog was selected and dubbed Punxsutawney Phil.

Today, residents of Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania keep the tradition alive by caring for the groundhog whose full name is “Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators, and Weather Prophet Extraordinary.” His handlers, John Griffiths and Ben Hughes, state that “Phil weighs 15 pounds and thrives on dog food and ice cream in his climate-controlled home at the Punxsutawney Library. Up on Gobbler’s Knob, Phil is placed in a heated burrow underneath a simulated tree stump on stage before being pulled out at 7:25 a.m. to make his prediction.”

Each year, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club hosts a three-day celebration of entertainment and activities celebrating Punxsutawney Phil. The recording of Phil’s predictions has been kept consistently since 1900, and according to Stormfax.com, his predictions are correct 39% of the time.