6 Traditions You Thought were American but Really Aren’t

People around the world love to celebrate traditions with their families and friends. We already shared with you the 10 Weirdest Traditions Around the World. And now, we will share the facts about American traditions.

Every year, Americans are excited to celebrate the 4th of July and its traditions. However, not all traditions are USA’s original. Below are the traditions made by the Americans every 4th of July that aren’t actually American.

1. Picnics

american traditions

It derives from the French word “pique-nique”, which means food lovers who usually bring a wine of their own when eating out in the late 1600’s. The picnic is usually celebrated with friends, family and significant others. Until the time of Victorians, it was only done by known or wealthy people. Nowadays, it can be done even by ordinary people not only by the wealthy ones.

 

2. Picnic foods that we eat

american traditions

Not all the food that we eat during the 4th of July derives originally from the US, it came from different parts of the world. Examples are French Fries, one of our favorites came from Belgian. Hamburgers which is a perfect combo for fries came from Hamburg, Germany and yummy crispy bacon came from China.

 

3. Fireworks

american traditions

Every 4th of July, seeing fireworks has been part of US traditions. Fireworks originally came from China approximately 2000 yrs ago. As per legend, it was discovered accidentally by a cook in China. A combination of sulphur, saltpeter, and charcoal was mixed, burned and then burst. It was believed that it was also made during the Song dynasty (9th Century). For Chinese, it’s typically used during deaths, birthdays and Chinese New Year to fight evil spirits.

 

4. BBQ

american traditions

Eating BBQ with friends and loved ones has become the American tradition. However, this tradition is not actually originated in America. It came from Spanish who came offshore in the land of Caribbean. BBQ came from the word “barbacoa” which means the process of slowly cooking of meat over the wood by the natives. The became well-known to Americans (Southern) whereas they use pork for BBQ.

 

5. Parades

American traditions

Parades traditionally become an important part of 4th of July, St. Patrick’s Day and Mardi Gras celebration. “Parade” came originally from French during the 17th century which means “a showing”.

 

6. Flying flags

american traditions

Flying flags have been used by Knights in their battles for identification purposes while they dress in armor. As per history, it has been used for centuries now, and the first ever flags were wooden or metal poles. On top of it are carvings used to tell warnings and for a guide. Late 2000 years ago, a fabric material was added in the pole to add decoration. Nowadays, you can see flags around American homes and widely used worldwide.

Even though the traditions made by the Americans such as the picnic, waving the American Flags and watching fireworks display do not originally came from them, they embraced it wholeheartedly and became the usual part of the holiday. Check out these 6 of the Most Over-the-top USA-themed Party Favors.

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