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What is your cutoff in terms of time for what is traditional or not? I would wager that 300+ years is more than enough for any custom to be qualified as tradit

by axlee 5y ago

What is your cutoff in terms of time for what is traditional or not? I would wager that 300+ years is more than enough for any custom to be qualified as traditional.

thechao 5y ago
According to most Europeans I talk to, the cutoff is whatever makes European culture authentic, and American culture shallow. My favorite conversation was between myself, an Austrian, my best friend from China, and a friend from Tyre: > Austrian: America doesn’t have a culture — it’s only really been around for a few hundred years: my family has chairs older than that! We date back to the 1100s! > (Best friend from China): my village’s local temple (the core) was more than 500 years old in the 1100s; your culture is still getting started! > (Friend from Tyre): my house is in the new part of the city built by Alexander in 330 … BC. The old city was established further back in the past from the new city, than the new city is from now. Until your people have lived in a place for at least 2000 years, how can you really say you “own” it? Then we got a beer & watched “Dancing With the Stars”.
- mensetmanusman 5y ago
  The interesting thing about China now is that they have been actively destroying their remnants of ancient culture to try to speed economic development. As a consequence their culture is converging somewhat towards the cultural revolution which is only about 70 years old. So they are a young political culture in that regards, and politics dominates due to its military force.
bostik 5y ago
Something that would have been known as age-old by the time the enlightenment started to set in. So that's what, 1300's as the cutoff? 300 years is barely enough to establish a town pub. For the record, I'm a Finn. By my own definition, there are maybe only three traditional Finnish foods that have survived that long. Carelian stew, särä, and maybe robber's roast (clay-pit mutton). Whereas something like wine leaf rolls from Greece, Turkey and Lebanon - now those can be properly traditional.

by axlee 5y ago

What is your cutoff in terms of time for what is traditional or not? I would wager that 300+ years is more than enough for any custom to be qualified as traditional.

thechao 5y ago

According to most Europeans I talk to, the cutoff is whatever makes European culture authentic, and American culture shallow. My favorite conversation was between myself, an Austrian, my best friend from China, and a friend from Tyre: > Austrian: America doesn’t have a culture — it’s only really been around for a few hundred years: my family has chairs older than that! We date back to the 1100s! > (Best friend from China): my village’s local temple (the core) was more than 500 years old in the 1100s; your culture is still getting started! > (Friend from Tyre): my house is in the new part of the city built by Alexander in 330 … BC. The old city was established further back in the past from the new city, than the new city is from now. Until your people have lived in a place for at least 2000 years, how can you really say you “own” it? Then we got a beer & watched “Dancing With the Stars”.

mensetmanusman 5y ago
The interesting thing about China now is that they have been actively destroying their remnants of ancient culture to try to speed economic development. As a consequence their culture is converging somewhat towards the cultural revolution which is only about 70 years old. So they are a young political culture in that regards, and politics dominates due to its military force.

bostik 5y ago

Something that would have been known as age-old by the time the enlightenment started to set in. So that's what, 1300's as the cutoff? 300 years is barely enough to establish a town pub. For the record, I'm a Finn. By my own definition, there are maybe only three traditional Finnish foods that have survived that long. Carelian stew, särä, and maybe robber's roast (clay-pit mutton). Whereas something like wine leaf rolls from Greece, Turkey and Lebanon - now those can be properly traditional.