When I started this blog earlier in the quarter, I knew some things about German culture and what goes into it, but I had never delved into it. After researching more topics on it, I noticed a lot of differences between German and American culture while writing my blogs. Not only that, I also noticed some differences, along with similarities, between Germany and other countries surrounding it. German culture enjoys celebrating a various number of things: from birthdays and weddings, to political issues around the globe. Given the typical nature of American culture, with the gore-filled movies and people like in the Jersey Shore, European culture as a whole is very different. For example, in one research blog we were to research The Fifth Year, a festival in Germany. In this festival there are floats surrounding issues all over the world. From Gadhafi to 9/11, this festival knows no boundaries and pushes the limits. This is very different from American culture for what I believe to be one simple reason- offense. When you think about it, festivals in America border around fairy tales and happy things while in Germany, some Americans could find that downright offensive.
One thing I did notice about Germany is that it’s not much different than any other German speaking countries. Sure, each country has its own issues to deal with, but in the end they are all typically the same. While some countries like Lichtenstein or Luxembourg aren’t as big and powerful as Germany or Austria, they all have things that they’re dealing with; on the other hand, due to the fact that the countries of Lichtenstein and Luxembourg aren’t as big and powerful as Germany, they are usually looked down upon. This was one difference I noticed while researching this topic. Bigger countries in the Euro Zone tend to have a wider crowd of listeners, getting their issues sorted out first. This will then leave the smaller countries to wait for their turn, basically. I was surprised by this little issue while reading because I would have expected all of the countries in the Euro Zone to look at each other as equals and hear out all of their neighbor’s issues. Coming from the United States where we’re all supposed to be treated as equals, it was shocking to me to see that these smaller countries in Europe weren’t getting the recognition they deserved.
Over the past ten weeks, my eyes have definitely been opened when it comes to German culture. Having been to Germany previously, I was able to go to the Landshutter Hochzeit, located in Bavaria. I knew some things about the German culture and how they like to celebrate, but after researching it more I realized that the Germans really like to be festive at any given chance. It really opened my eyes. Living in the United States, we only see festivals around major holidays like Mardi Gras, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Seeing how the Germans celebrate more than just major holidays makes me want to go to Germany and go to one, like Karneval.
