Tell Us About Your Culture!

MrMoe

http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/15/52295/750641/post.ashx#750641

Sparked something! Many Americans are... well... mutts. Most often, we are an interesting blend of a bit of this and a bit of that, so I know I personally have always found different cultures very interesting. And, with that, am very prout of my heritages.

My biolgical father was pure Scot, as his family (his parents) were from Scotland.

My mother... her dad (which is my grandfather, and now my dad also as I was adopted by my grandparents) was half English and half Irish. His father came straight from Egland, and his mother was 2nd general Irish (but pure blooded Irish.)

My mother... her mom (which is my grandmother, and my mom through adoption) was Czech. In fact... an interesting point, our family was back were gypsies!! Until one of my great-greatish grandfathers (or something) passed away. So, one of my greatish grandmother married a watch maker and they came on a boat to the US to make a new life for themselves. This happened BEFORE it was even the Czech Republic, and was in fact a country called Bohemia.

And htere u have it. I am not just Scot, English, Irish, or Czech, I am all of the above!

The Czech part I find interesting, as I have never met ANYBODY here in the States with Czech blood. I do know I am a total and abosolute CLONE of the Czech women in my family. You can barely tell any of us apart. Even tho old black and white photos... man, talk about strong bloodlines!

JH

Interesting topic:

My father born in New York City: Moved to Quebec at age 3 from New York City. He had a good job as mechanical engineer in a paper mill.

His father(My grandfather): Born in Germany worked as a fire man in New York City. Retired and came moved to batiscan, Quebec. Little did he know of our canadian winters...He only spoke english in french Quebec. Weird move. That move was bad for their 5 children used to live in a big city, in english. And all of a sudden living in a small village, isolated, and unable to speak the official language. Guess they wanted a change...

My father's mother(my grandmother): Born in Ireland "Larke"

My mother born in Quebec:

Her mother(me grandmother): Born in Quebec, she is a "Morinville" Big family, she had 9 children. they were poor and had a hard life.

My mother's father(My grandfather): Born in Quebec, Worked on boats, gone many months a year.

And me, born in Trois-Rivières,Quebec. I have 1 sister. 2 years older than me.

So, I'm a mixture of all of that.

I'd like to give you more information more like you gave, but I'm no good at that. My sister would be able to write 10 pages. She loves her ethnic background and went to Germany last summer. She speaks 3 languages, english french and german. She was so happy to go to Germany and see her roots...That made her cry when she set foot there.

In my case, I don't see much importance in my background, although I'm a mixture of all of these people of the past. I guess character is formed from these people of different nationalities.

I have lots of family in the USA, Tampa,fla, NewYork city,

The german side makes me serious and military some what. I'm tidy and timely.

My Irish side makes me a little hard headed. I go to the end of things...when I decide to.

My Quebec side makes me loving, joyous, life loving, forgiving, soft.

And my American side makes me a little "showoff."

So I guess I do have all of these traits and that makes me ME.

MrMoe

Yes... but more along the lines of... what is your ethnic heritage?

ozziepost

Kulture? Wot's kulture? We've never heard of it downunder!!

gumby

German, French, English..........and part fuckaweh indian

Gumby

Shakita

I am polish, german, and dutch.

My grandmother on my mothers side came over from Poland with her kids through Ellis Island before the war broke out in her country. She was in the United States from her early twenties through the time she died at age 85. In all that time she never learned how to read and write in English. She could manage a few words here and there, but never compete sentences. As a child she would ask us (me, my brother and sister) if we would like a cookie, and she would give us a cracker! Then, she would ask us if we wanted some soda....always in broken English...and she would give us juice. When you are a kid, this is very traumatic! A cookie is in no way equal to a cracker, and the same goes for soda and juice. My grandmother was a very strong woman, putting up with an abusive alcoholic for a husband. Back in Poland she used to wash the families clothes on a rock in the river and were from a poor family. She left Poland as war was breaking out, hiding from the soldiers and traveling in the dark of night to a ship to bring her to America. I wish that she could have written down her whole life story, it would have been cherished by all her decendents if she had.

My grandmother on my fathers side was a great woman too. She was in the Pillsbury Bake-off years ago and was runner up. She met Art Linkletter and Ronald Reagan. I have a picture of her with President Reagan (then just an actor). I will post it up later since I have to go to work now.

This was a great topic Mr. Moe!

Mrs. Shakita

Kenneson

English on my father's side: Kenneson

Acadian (from Nova Scotia, Canada) on my mother's side: Boutin. The Boutins came to La. via the island of Martinque. The word Acadian was shortened by the Louisiana Creoles to 'Cadiens and corrupted into " Cajun" by the Americans, much like the Indians became "Injuns."

Acadian (from Nova Scotia, Canada) on my mother's mother's side: Guedry or Guidry

German on my father's mother's side: Staehle or Stelly.

liquidsky

German and Irish.

RAYZORBLADE

My background: Canadian

But Mr. Moe, I know what you mean. In a way, Americans and Canadians and perhaps even some South African, New Zealand and Australian folks are a neat mixture of this/that and everything. Not pure-bred (thank goodness) but hybrids, in a positive sense. People who went beyond their cultural boundaries and married outside their nationalities.

Myself: My Mom's side, all born in Nova Scotia, Canada. Specifically Cape Breton Island. My grandfather was a MacLeod. His family had been in Nova Scotia since the 1500s. They moved to Cape Breton from mainland Nova Scotia in the 1700s. They were all Scottish descent. My grandfather spoke Cape Breton Gaelic too. His wife, my grandmother, was a neat mixture: half Mi'kmaq (native Indian) her father, and her mother was from Newfoundland. Her background seemed to be a mixture of English/Scottish, but she (my great-grandmother's people) were born in Newfoundland as well, thus being on that island colony of Great Britain since the late 1700s.

My Dad's people, well interesting mixture. My Father's Father, was born on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. His background was interesting. His father, was from across the Cabot Strait in Newfoundland. Their background, from what I've been able to decipher is Irish/English; my grandfather's mother, is said to be also Mi'kmaq (native Indian). My paternal grandmother (Father's mother) she was on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Her parents emigrated from Glasgow, Scotland to Canada in the late 1800s. They originally came from Ireland, but resided in Glasgow before coming here. They had very Irish names: Mulherin, Haggerty etc., so Rayzorblade is a real mongrel.

Overall, seems to be a mixture of Scottish/Irish/Mi'kmaq/English.

My roots are pretty much firmly rooted time wise in North America. I've been back to Scotland however, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Interesting topic, and it makes for great conversation.

But overall: I'm Canuck

joannadandy

I am a true mutt...pick any country in Europe I can probably claim one of my realtives boffed someone from that country.

I am mostly German, but also Norweigan, English, Scotch, Swiss, French.

It's kind of interesting to look at family history and old photos. When my grandmother passed away she gave all these old books my great uncle had writen about our family history and photos to my dad. The English side of the family has been in America since the 1600's. Their house is still standing in Conn.

It's great to look at the photos and realize, "well I have grandma's hair, grandpa's ears, great grandma's nose, eww thank god I don't look like that guy, what was great great aunt Gunn thinking when she married him?"

Tell Us About Your Culture!

Share this