Is Europe full of ceremonial grandmasters? (country, place, people, German)

[Phil P]

From the travel books/shows/whatever I read, it seems like Europeans have many more ceremonies and traditions than the average US person does. And it seems like there is a story for everything, these woods or that house or this day or why they do that at a wedding...

Are people in Europe just more ceremonially oriented or has there just been that much more time for stories and traditions to be made?

[Ariete]

More time, more historical events, more longer common heritage and a long history of storytelling.

But what do you mean by more ceremonial? More traditions you "have" to follow? Care to give some examples you've heard?

A couple of things from my hometown:

1) The Cholera Basin. A fisherman died on his ship while selling fish, and later it was revealed that a sick person's stool and vomit had been dumped there. So now everyone calls it by that name, though 130 years has passed.

2) The Plague Park. Officially named The Old Church Park, it was a cemetary with mass-graves in the 18th century when plague hit the city. Mostly people still know it as the Plague Park. Oh, and the old Church was meant to be temporary and was hastily built before the Cathedral was finished. But then it was already integrated into the city and it stayed.

You mean these kind of stories?

[Phil P]

Originally Posted by Ariete

More time, more historical events, more longer common heritage and a long history of storytelling.

But what do you mean by more ceremonial? More traditions you "have" to follow? Care to give some examples you've heard?

A couple of things from my hometown:

1) The Cholera Basin. A fisherman died on his ship while selling fish, and later it was revealed that a sick person's stool and vomit had been dumped there. So now everyone calls it by that name, though 130 years has passed.

2) The Plague Park. Officially named The Old Church Park, it was a cemetary with mass-graves in the 18th century when plague hit the city. Mostly people still know it as the Plague Park. Oh, and the old Church was meant to be temporary and was hastily built before the Cathedral was finished. But then it was already integrated into the city and it stayed.

You mean these kind of stories?

Yeah, those kind of stories. But also it seems as though Europeans just do traditional activities than US counterparts. For instance there are always things on these travel shows where like the whole town goes out and cuts a Christmas trees, lights these special torches for the sled ride down, then goes to some house for a dinner that they only have on Dec 17, then moves the decoration on the windows in preparation of tomorrow... Things like that.

Here in the US we go to Home Depot and buy a tree and put on the radio and decorate it. Now I'm sure there are family traditions, but there aren't the same amount of village or state or nation wide traditions.

My cousin in law said he went to Lithuania for a wedding and he was really impressed by how much of an event it was. He felt it to be superior to US weddings in that it was both more enjoyable/fun and it was more meaningful.

[elnina]

Not only Europeans. Most countries are much older than USA, and they have rich history.
Look at traditions and customs in Mexico, or China, or India, Europe, Russia etc.
The old tales connected to places and times, their rich history you can literally feel and breathe.
People don't move around that much, and many live in the same place for generations. They know the history of their town, surroundings, their country.
They feel connected with their cultural heritage.
Some may think traditions are archaic and no longer relevant, and that they are unnecessary in modern times. Perhaps for some, they aren't - but for others, exploring cultural heritage offers a robust variety of benefits. It allows them to identify with others of similar mindsets and backgrounds. Cultural heritage can provide an automatic sense of unity and belonging within a group, and allows us to better understand previous generations, and the history of where we come from.
There are many Americans interested in ancestry, trying to find out their roots, and where did their family traditions began.
That's why I understand some people in relocation forums asking about areas where their own live. It has nothing to do with racism - they want to live with others who are like them. Especially as immigrants they need their moral connection, and support before they can assimilate with the new surrounding. It doesn't matter if the "others" are rich or poor, or influential - they feel connected by language, customs, tradition. You can be very lonely and lost among so many other cultures and backgrounds.
Old countries have history, thousands of years of it. Some customs die hard, and many are passed to the next generation. Culture is preserved through books, artifacts, objects, pictures, photographs, art, and oral tradition. Cultural heritage is in the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the religions we follow, and the skills we learn, even the way we think. They value it, enjoy, and are happy to follow.
Europe itself has a great linguistic and cultural diversity, but the common history, and geography have resulted in the creation of a common basis for European culture that contrast quite sharply with the USA and the rest of the Western world.
While many typical American social customs entered Europe (baby-showers, Halloween etc.) those, while potent in the USA, hardly have any equivalent in European countries.
OP mentioned wedding ceremonies - they are so important and formal in the USA. With rehearsals, gift registry, room rental, and big diamond on the finger - big, formal and... commercial.
In most of Europe it is limited to an informal family gathering (usually at the bride or groom's parental home), or dinner in a restaurant for family and few closest friends. Except royalty and "new money", no one would even think to spend thousands of dollar for the ceremony. While in USA its all about showing off money and keeping up with the Jones, in Europe it's considered bad taste to pose or show off as being better than others.
Even etiquette is different. Many customs regarding good behavior have been exported from Europe. But even in Europe is not uniform, and contains a wide variety of social traditions.
OP also mentioned things that several families, the whole neighborhood or even a whole village would do together. That's shows the deep connection with their friends and community.

BTW: Recently, I was invited to an Indian wedding. It was like being in another country, another world, here in big American city - Houston. Everything was according to tradition, from the ceremony, to outfits, to food, to prayers etc.

[SwedishViking]

I think it depends a lot on the country, and if it's in the cities or out in the small towns.
Small towners, at least here in Sweden seem a lot more apprechiative of the big holidays like midsummer.
Also a lot of people drop the traditions that are very connected to Christianity as they drop Christianity and move on to agnosticism/atheism...

As a backround up until the 18th century or so christianity was mandatory and heresy was punishable by death. Hence people had to pretend to be believers regardless of if they did, and >99% of people attended church regularly, essentially for fear of torture by the church.
Fast forward to present day, and less than 3% attend church regularly here in Sweden(yes southerners like French, Germans, Italians etc are a lot more religious), about 18-23% believe that there is a sentient divine power, for example a God of some kind.

So what does that mean in terms of traditions?
Well a lot of Swedes still like to get their kids named(baptized) in church, get married in church, and berried in the cemetery. BUT a lot of people ask the priest to cut out the pieces about God, Jesus and the rest of the "mumbo jumbo", and cut to the core of the business like the baby who is being named or romance that is the foundation for the couples love.
A lot of schools also have their end ceremony with kids singing etc in church, but more and more schools cut out the songs that mention any type of divine stuff, and focus on the flowering of nature, the freedom of summer-break etc.

So traditions here develop with times and de-religionisation or whatever it should be called.

[AegeanBlue]

Its also good to remember that the USA was founded as a country which rejected the history of the cultures which founded it in favor of starting anew. So, the American traditions are only about 400 years old and not as widespread.