American culture embraces the customs and traditions of the United States. “Culture encompasses religion, foodwhat we wear, how we wear it, our languagemarriage, music, what we believe to be right or wrong, the way we sit at the table, the way we greet visitors, the way we behave around our loved ones and a million other things.” said Cristina De RossiA anthropologist has Barnet and Southgate College in London.
The United States is the third largest country in the world with a population of more than 332 million people, according to the United States Census Bureau. A child is born every 9 seconds and a person dies every 11 seconds.
In addition to the Native Americans who already lived on the continent, the population of the United States was built on immigration from other countries. A new immigrant arrives in the United States every 666 seconds, according to the Census Bureau.
For this reason, the United States is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world, according to The London School. Nearly every region of the world has influenced American culture, including the English who colonized the country in the early 1600s, according to the Library of Congress. American culture has also been shaped by the cultures of Native Americans, Latin Americans, Africans, and Asians.
The United States is sometimes described as a “melting pot,” according to Golden beacon United States, in which different cultures brought their own distinct “flavors” to American culture. Just as cultures around the world have influenced American culture, American culture today influences the world. The term Western culture often refers to the cultures of the United States and Europe, depending on ScienceDaily.
The way people “melt” in the United States is different. “Different immigrant groups integrate in different ways,” De Rossi told Live Science. “For example, in the United States, Spanish-speaking Catholic communities may retain their language and other family cultural traditions, but are integrated into the urban community and have adopted the American way of life in many other ways.”
The Northeast, South, Midwest, Southeast, and West regions of the United States all have distinct traditions and customs. Here is a brief overview of the culture of the United States.
Language
There is no official language in the United States, according to the United States Government. Although almost every language in the world is spoken in the United States, the most frequently spoken languages other than English are Spanish, Chinese, French, and German. Ninety percent of the American population speaks and understands at least some English, and most official business is conducted in English. Some states have official or preferred languages. For example, English and Hawaiian are the official languages of Hawaii, according to the Washington Post.
The Census Bureau estimates that more than 350 languages are spoken in the United States. The office divides these languages into four categories: Spanish; other Indo-European languages, including German, Yiddish, Swedish, French, Italian, Russian, Polish, Hindi, Punjabi, Greek, and several others. Asian and Pacific Island languages including Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Tamil and more are also included. There is also a category for “all other languages”, intended for languages that do not fit into the first three categories, such as Hungarian, Arabic, Hebrew, languages of Africa, and languages of indigenous peoples from North America, Central America and South America. .
Religion
Almost all known religions are practiced in the United States, a country founded on the basis of religious freedom. About 70% of Americans identify as Christian, according to information collected by the Pew Research Centera nonpartisan research group, in 2017. The research also found that about 23% had no religious affiliation and about 6% of the population was of non-Christian religions.
The number of people who do not identify with any religion appears to be decreasing. According to Pew Research Center, this category is expected to increase from 16% in 2015 to 13% in 2060.
American style
Clothing styles vary according to social status, region, profession and climate. Jeans, sneakers, baseball caps, cowboy hats and boots are clothing items closely associated with Americans, although there have been a variety of other styles over the decades, according to Interchange. Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors And Victoria Secret are well-known American brands.
American fashion is largely influenced by celebrities and the media: in 2019, sales of clothing and accessories in the United States totaled $24 billion, according to Statist. More and more Americans are shopping for fashion, electronics and more online. According to Census BureauU.S. retail e-commerce sales for the third quarter of 2021 totaled $214.6 billion.
American food
American cuisine was influenced by Europeans and Native Americans early in its history. Today, there are a number of foods commonly identified as American, such as hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, macaroni and cheese, and meatloaf. “As American as apple pie,” despite dishes of non-American origin, has come to mean something authentically American, according to the Smithsonian.
There are also region-specific cooking styles and types of foods. Southern-style cuisine is often called “American comfort food” and includes dishes such as fried chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas and cornbread, according to Living in the South. Tex-Mex, popular in Texas and the Southwest, is a blend of Spanish and Mexican cooking styles and includes dishes such as chili and burritos, and relies heavily on grated cheese and beans, according to Cultural trip.
Jerky and jerky meat served as a snack is also a food created in the United States, according to NPR.
Arts
The United States is widely known around the world as a leader in the production of mass media, including television and film. According to Select United StatesAThe United States accounts for a third of the global media and entertainment industry and is worth $717 billion.
The broadcast industry took hold in the United States in the early 1950s, and American television programs are now broadcast around the world, according to PBS. The United States also has a vibrant film industry, centered in Hollywood, California, and American films are popular around the world. The US film industry earned a record $100 billion in 2019, according to Forbesbefore falling in 2020 due to COVID pandemic.
America’s artistic culture extends beyond films and television shows, however. New York is home to Broadway and Americans have a rich theatrical history, according to Arcadia Editions. American folk art is an artistic style identified with quilts and other handmade objects, according to the Folk Art Museum. American music is very diverse and includes many styles, including rhythm and blues, jazz, gospel, country and western, bluegrass, rock’n’roll, and hip hop.
Sports
The United States is a sports-minded country, with millions of fans following football, baseball, basketball and hockey, among others. sports. Baseball, developed in colonial America and became an organized sport in the mid-1800s, according to Sporcle Blogis known as America’s favorite pastime, although its popularity has been overshadowed by soccer over the past three decades, according to the Harris Poll.
American holidays
Many holidays are only celebrated in the United States. Americans celebrate their independence from Great Britain on July 4. Remembrance Day, celebrated on the last Monday in May, honors those who have died in military service. Labor Day, celebrated on the first Monday in September, celebrates the nation’s workforce. Thanksgivinganother distinctive American holiday, falls on the fourth Thursday in November and dates back to colonial times to celebrate the harvest.
Presidents’ Day, marking the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, is a federal holiday that falls on the third Monday in February. The contributions of veterans are honored on Veterans Day, observed on November 11. The civil rights leader’s contributions Martin Luther King Jr. are commemorated on the third Monday in January.
Additional reporting by Live Science contributor Alina Bradford.
