Features in American Culture and Heritage: Tracing the Roots

The culture of the United States is so great and important that many countries are influenced and integrate it into their customs. That is why it is good to know the cultural characteristics of this nation and trace its roots.

Cultures converge due to the number of inhabitants of other nations. Knowledge of the cultures of other countries helps to develop the general culture in people.

Characteristics of the culture of the United States

The United States has a mixed culture , due to the fact that a large number of people from other continents live in this nation. The native language is English and the second most used is Spanish, but approximately 350 languages are spoken.

US citizens are characterized by being competitive and individualistic, for which their priority is work. But they are also very friendly, although they cannot be hugged or kissed before they are trusted enough.

American citizens are also independent and self-sufficient, which is part of the customs and traditions of the United States. So they make their own decisions and care very little about the opinion of others.

The most important elements of the culture of the United States are the music, sports, gastronomy and the arts. Each of these elements have their own characteristics that locate and identify them in the culture and heritage of the nation.

Sport

The main sports practiced in the United States are: baseball, ice hockey, American football and basketball. University sports play a very important role in the country's sports culture .

The United States through the years is the country that has won the most gold medals in the Olympic Games.

Gastronomy

In the diet of Americans, the use of corn, potatoes, wheat, and sweet potatoes predominates, they usually eat turkey, deer and venison. But it also has dishes that identify them such as fried chicken, apple pie and hamburgers.

The typical Easter food that is part of the culture of the United States is roasted ham and it is served with pineapple slices. This food is not lacking in the tables of this country in the celebration of Easter.

For the Thanksgiving celebration, the traditional food is baked turkey. Which is stuffed with sage and cornbread and served with vegetables and cranberry sauce.

Beliefs

In the culture of the United States, religious beliefs are essential, more than 80% of the population is a believer. The religion that has the most followers is Christianity, but there are practitioners of Buddhism, Islam and Judaism, although the number of believers is smaller.

Outfit

In the culture of the United States, the traditional suit for men is the Texan, cowboy or cowboy suit. This clothing was used at the time of the colonizers and the time that the Civil War lasted.

It is a very simple outfit, consisting of classic style jeans and a plaid shirt. To complete the outfit you cannot miss a hat and a leather jacket, the feet are usually worn with pointed boots with metal.

Women's clothing is made up of long dresses with many ruffles that have a great flare. The cowboy signifies the power of the native American man, women's clothing is generally inconspicuous and more modest.

The culture of the United States in relation to clothing has influenced world fashion. In 1850, jeans became workwear, a fashion popularized by merchant Levi Strauss.

This style was adopted by all American teenagers a century later. Currently, the jeans marketed by Levi Strauss are used by people from all over the world and from any social class on multiple occasions.

Music

Music is very important in the culture of the United States since it demonstrates the existing ethnic variety in the territory. The most recognized genres are country, bluegrass and march.

Most of the inhabitants listen to gospel, blues, rhythm and blues which is a type of African-American music. Artists and composers of different genres have managed to position musical rhythms and songs all over the world. What has made the music industry become a multi-million dollar business.