Americans are outgoing, warm, straightforward and informal, and there are many distinctive aspects of their customs and etiquette. The United States is a country with a strong sense of time, all kinds of activities start at the scheduled time, and it is impolite to be late. With the Americans dating contact simple, make a phone call, the other party will be very happy to agree to meet in as short a time as possible. Americans also have the habit of courtesy, but they avoid accepting overly heavy gifts, one is that Americans do not value the gift itself, the second law prohibits overweight gifts from home to bring crafts, works of art, wines and other gifts that Americans like, in addition to holidays, invited to the American family home guests and even dinner generally do not have to send gifts. American society has the habit of tipping, all service projects are required to pay a tip, hotel doorman, room service, etc. need to pay no less than l dollars in tips, restaurant meals in the checkout 15% tip.
Americans invited to dinner, is the nature of official contacts more arranged in restaurants, clubs, paid for by the company, close friends and relatives are invited to the home to the feast. Americans food due to regional and ethnic differences and a variety of different tastes, hamburgers, "hot dogs", pies, doughnuts and Kentucky Fried Chicken are popular in the world of food, but the American hospitality of the family dinner is affordable, do not pose a grandiose, no formalities. The usual family dinner is a long table with a large plate of salad, a large plate of grilled chicken or barbecue meat, a variety of cold dishes, a plate of fried rice, a plate of sliced bread, as well as sweets, fruits, cold drinks, alcohol and so on. Guests and hosts seated around the table, the host said "please", each person pick up a plate, take their favorite dishes, eat food, add after eating, eat and talk, no restrictions.
Americans will invite guests to a meal, a glass of wine or to the country house **** as a way of making friends, and not necessarily require the other party to make a repayment, such as the opportunity to invite each other to their own home for dinner can be. After the meal, the guest should express special thanks to the host, especially the hostess
American eating habits
Americans usually have cocktails before lunch and dinner, but in California, people mostly drink wine.
Meanwhile, a plate of salad is usually eaten before the main course. Fried mushrooms and fried onion rings are served as appetizers, steak, pork chops and chicken (thighs) are staples, and lobster, shellfish and a variety of fish, even freshwater fish, are collectively referred to as seafood. Potato fries, on the other hand, are a popular and almost essential food.
Additionally, it's important to pack up any leftovers and take them home so they don't go to waste.
Americans eat with knives and forks and are very particular about how they eat. Therefore, when invited to eat with American friends, you should pay special attention to their dining habits. Generally speaking, there is a table knife and two table forks on the table, the outside of the table fork for you to eat salad, the inside of the table fork for eating staple foods and other snack foods, table knife used to cut meat. If you use both hands, you should hold the fork in your left hand and the knife in your right, and you should not hold the knife for too long at a time.
American breakfasts include scrambled or hard-boiled eggs, sausage, sliced fried potatoes, pancakes, jelly, toast, muffins, orange juice, and coffee.
If you are new to American restaurants, you should pay attention to the following things:
1, choose the right restaurant (such as: family-style restaurants, specialty restaurants, and self-service restaurants, etc.);
2, the restaurant's operating hours (11:30 a.m. open until the night);
3, generally should be booked in advance:
4, arrive at the restaurant can not be used as a substitute for the American breakfast.
4, after arriving at the restaurant, can not go straight to the table into the table, unless the restaurant has a "casual seating" signs;
5, payment, do not forget to leave the waiter a certain percentage of the tip (usually for the actual total of 10 to 15 percent).
With the accelerated pace of life in the United States, fast food was born. Its fast-food chains all over the world, among them, the most influential when the McDonald's fast-food chain. The fast food supplied are: hamburgers, roast beef, steak, ham, sandwiches, Kentucky Fried Chicken, fried potato chips, baked pies, ice cream, and a variety of carbonated beverages.
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Etiquette for Westerners going to a banquet
Whether you are traveling abroad or on business, if someone invites you to a formal banquet, you need to know some basic etiquette for Western social venues.
Arrival: You'd better be on time, four or five minutes late is fine, but never be more than a quarter of an hour late, otherwise it's not other people who will be in trouble, but you. If you are going to a rich and sophisticated house, the first person you meet when you enter the gate may be a male pawn in charge of helping you hang up your clothes or showing you the way, so don't be in a hurry to shake hands with him and observe before you decide.
Preparation: When you enter the living room, you should not rush to find a seat. Westerners generally have to maneuver around everywhere on such occasions, waiting for the host to introduce himself to other guests. You can choose a drink from the wine and other beverages brought by the waiter and chat with the others while you drink. When the door to the dining room opens, the host and hostess will lead the way, with the hostess and guest of honor at the end of the line, but if the guest of honor is a big shot, the hostess and hostess may be at the front of the line.
Take a seat: the rules of the western food into the seat is very delicate, the seat is generally already arranged, then, and you come with Mr. or Ms. will never be arranged to sit next to you. Europeans and Americans believe that the opportunity to chat with acquaintances is very much to take advantage of this opportunity to make more friends. Male and female hosts were seated at the top and bottom of the rectangular table, the hostess's right is the male guest of honor, the male host's right is the female guest of honor. The other guests are seated between men and women. The man pulls out the chair for the woman on his right before he comes to the table, and takes his own seat after the woman is seated.
After everyone is seated, the host takes the napkin and you follow. Remember: no matter what happens at this point (e.g., if the host is in the habit of praying before the meal), you are not to take the napkin until the host has taken it.
Dining: A typical menu is three to five courses, the first three courses should be cold cuts, soup and fish, the next two courses should be a main course (meat or seafood with vegetables), a dessert or fruit, and finally coffee and a light snack. Don't focus all your energy on the enjoyment of your stomach during the meal, but talk more with the people to your left and right. After dessert is finished, if the coffee doesn't show up, it's probably an invitation to go to the living room later. Anyway, after you see the hostess put her napkin on the table and stand up, you can put it down and leave your seat. At this point, the courteous man again rises to help the lady pull out her chair, and the cared-for lady need not have any particular idea of this forward and backward attentiveness; it is his due.
Farewell: if you do not want to be too conspicuous, you had better not be the first to say goodbye, and do not be the last to leave, in the meantime you when to say goodbye can be, just once you say goodbye, you should be quick to leave.
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Etiquette for Entering a Foreigner's Office or Residence
All visits to a foreigner's office or residence should be pre-arranged, announced, and on time. If there is no one to greet you, ring the bell or knock at the door first and enter only after the host has answered the door. If there is no one to answer the door, you may wait for a few moments and then ring the bell or knock again (but do not ring the bell for too long). No one is allowed to enter without the owner's permission.
When there is an emergency or no prior agreement, but you have to go, you should try to avoid disturbing the other party late at night; if you have no choice but to meet the other party during the rest time, you should apologize immediately after meeting the other party and say, "I am sorry for disturbing you" and explain the reason for disturbing you.
You may enter the room with the permission of the host or at the invitation of the host. Even if you are negotiating for a short period of time, you should enter the room and not stand in the doorway to talk. Sometimes, if the host does not invite you to enter the room, you may step back from the door and carry on the conversation outside.
When you enter the room, you do not have to sit down and stay afterward if the conversation is short; if it is long, you can sit down only at the invitation of the host. In the absence of prior agreement, try not to talk for too long.
When you are invited to visit a foreigner's home, you should arrive at the time proposed or agreed upon by your host; it is impolite to arrive early or to be late. In the event of tardiness, an apology should be made. Visits are usually scheduled around 10:00 am or 4:00 pm. It is customary in the West to have snacks and beverages available for entertaining. Guests should not refuse, but should taste them and drink the accepted beverages (but need not be forced if they are not used to them).
It is not permitted to ask to visit a host's courtyard or house without his invitation or consent. You may visit the house with your host, but even more familiar friends should not touch personal belongings and interior furnishings other than books, flowers and plants.
Greet everyone in the host's household, especially the wife (husband) and children. If there are children present, you should take the initiative to shake hands with them, kiss and hug them to show that you like them. If you have a dog or cat at home, you should not show fear or dislike, and don't kick it or bombard it.
When you leave, you should politely say goodbye to your hosts and thank them for their hospitality.
Americans celebrate the New Year. The most lively is New Year's Eve night. It is the night when churches everywhere hold solemn services. People gather in churches, streets or squares to sing psalms, pray, give blessings, repent, and join in welcoming the moment of renewal that removes the old. At exactly 12:00 midnight, church bells are rung throughout the country. The band played the famous nostalgic song "Safe Journey". In the midst of the music, excited people embraced each other, and even strangers kissed each other. It's a way for people to usher in the new year with the sadness of farewell and the desire for a new life*** together.
The Indians of North America have their own unique customs. Every New Year's Eve, they held a characteristic "spring fire party", a family around the bonfire, singing and dancing, laughing and joking. When the morning dew, they then put the old clothes into the torch, as a symbol of the old and welcome the new.
New Year's Eve activities often last until 2 or 3 a.m. the next morning. On New Year's Day, the day is usually more peaceful and leisurely. Many people wake up late, then watch TV and have a New Year's dinner with family and friends.
While New Year's Day isn't the most festive day, many states have localized celebrations. California has the Rosary Society, the largest New Year's celebration in the United States. Seventy or eighty years ago, some members of clubs in rural California used flowers to decorate their wagons during the citrus ripening season and had some small celebrations in their villages. Today, it has grown into a grand celebration with ten miles of streets covered in flowers. Fifty to sixty colorful wagons made entirely of flowers, especially roses, traveled for miles, with various models made of flowers. It not only attracted California men and women to throng the streets, but also millions of television viewers.
In Philadelphia, there is a 10-hour-long costume parade. The origins of this event go back to the customs of Swedish and English immigrants who settled along the Delaware River in the mid-1700s. In those days, they used to dress up and parade through the countryside for New Year's celebrations. Today's costume parades in Philadelphia are more organized than in those days, but they still retain the character of the past. Participants in the parade, some dressed as clowns, some disguised as women (according to the old custom, this parade does not allow women to participate), with the colorful car, singing and dancing, people like water, lively and extraordinary. The number of participants each year is always around one or two million.
There are also a number of states that hold New Year's Day soccer games. Flowering California, the Rose Bowl; Dallas, Texas, the cotton production of Dallas, Texas, the Cotton Bowl; sugar cane production area of New Orleans, Louisiana, the Sugar Bowl; and later appeared in Jacksonville, Florida, the Gator Bowl, as well as the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, and so on.
The United States also has an interesting habit of making New Year's resolutions, which they call "New Year's Resolutions". They call them "New Year's Resolutions." They are usually not grandiose, but rather simple, practical intentions. For example, "I will quit smoking" or "I will treat my neighbors well". They're always honest and open about it, and they want to be monitored and encouraged.
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The origin of Thanksgiving Day:
Thanksgiving Day is an important holiday for Americans. Every year on the fourth Thursday of November, American families hold a sumptuous Thanksgiving feast. The most common traditional foods are turkey, pumpkin pie and Indian pudding made from cornmeal. Some Americans travel with their families or visit friends and relatives on this day to enjoy the joy of family. Thanksgiving Day, the United States, both urban and rural areas to be held in costume parades, theatrical performances and shooting, target shooting and other sports competitions. Some American families, religious organizations and charities also provide free turkey dinners for the poor, orphans and the homeless, so that those unfortunate people in Thanksgiving Day also get a share of the warmth of the world.
Thanksgiving originated with the early settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Known as Puritans when they were on English soil, these immigrants were dissatisfied with the incomplete Reformation of the Church of England, as well as the political repression and religious persecution by the King of England and the Church of England, so these Puritans broke away from the Church of England and traveled as far away as Holland, and later decided to relocate across the Atlantic Ocean to that deserted and uninhabited land in the hope of being able to be as religious and free as they wished to be.
In September 1620, the Mayflower ship carrying 102 Puritans and their families left England and sailed to the North American continent, and after more than two months of hard sailing, landed in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and settled down. The first winter, due to insufficient food, cold weather, infectious diseases and overwork, this group of Puritans died more than half. The next spring, the local Indian tribal chief Massasoit led the kind-hearted Indians, gave the Puritans grain seeds, and taught them to hunt, plant crops, fishing and so on. With the help of the Indians, the Pilgrims had a bumper crop that year. The first governor, William Bradford, suggested a festival for this purpose to celebrate the harvest and thank God for the bounty. He also wanted to use the holiday to strengthen the rapprochement between the whites and the Indians. on a Thursday in late November 1621, the Puritans and 90 Indians brought by Massasoit gathered to celebrate the first Thanksgiving Day in the history of the United States. The male Puritans were out hunting and catching turkeys, while the women were at home making a delicious meal out of corn, squash, sweet potatoes, and fruit. In this way, white men and Indians gathered around campfires, ate and talked, and sang and danced, and the whole celebration lasted for three days.
From then on, Europeans who migrated to the United States basically followed the form of the first Thanksgiving celebrations on the North American continent. 1789, the first president of the United States, Washington, formally stipulated that November 26th for the first national unity to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. However, in quite a long time, each state depending on their own situation to specify the date of the holiday. 1941, the U.S. Congress by President Roosevelt approved the passage of a bill declaring the fourth Thursday in November each year for the nation's Thanksgiving Day.
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"From God"
On the fourth Thursday of November, the American people celebrate their most important traditional folk holiday, Thanksgiving. The holiday began in 1621. In the fall of that year, the English settlers who came to America across the ocean held a three-day revelry to give thanks to God for the bountiful harvest. Since then, this custom has continued and gradually spread throughout the world. 1863, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln officially declared Thanksgiving Day as a national holiday. At that time, the family reunion, the country celebrated together, its grand, warm situation, no less than the Chinese people over the Spring Festival.
Thanksgiving, remember to eat roast turkey!
Why do we eat roasted fowl on Thanksgiving Day in the West? We have to look at the Bible. In the Old Testament, there is a passage in the book of Exodus in the Bible that reads: "Moses led the Israelites out into the Sinai Desert with nothing to eat or drink. The Israelites were greatly displeased. They began to complain. Then Moses said, "God has heard their complaints. He would give them something to eat. As a result, the next day a large number of quail flew in and landed on their camp. Moses said, "This is the meat that God has given you to eat. So they feasted joyfully. This may have been one of the earliest Thanksgivings in Judaism. The Bible does not record what cooking method the Israelites used to eat the quail. But we can tell by thinking about it: they must have roasted them. Because they were in the desert and there was a shortage of water, there was no way they could have boiled them. They couldn't have steamed them. And they didn't know how to steam. All they could do was bake without any cooking utensils. They must not have brought heavy, expensive pots and pans with them when they fled from Egypt. There was no aluminum or iron in those days. The clay pots that the average person used would break easily and could not be carried on the road, so they must have roasted the quail. That's one of the best ways to eat them. So there's this thing in Western culture: birds are God's rescue and gift to people. People should roast it and eat it. And it is most appropriate to eat them on Thanksgiving Day.
Americans are having a "Spring Festival"
In 1941, the U.S. Congress passed a decree setting Thanksgiving Day on the fourth Thursday of November every year. Americans celebrate Thanksgiving with a family reunion, followed by a nice holiday dinner. Family members who don't live in the same city have to go home before Thanksgiving to have a reunion. It's similar to the Chinese New Year.
News media reported that the Thanksgiving holiday is also the most stressful time for U.S. airlines, with planes almost always full, and there are often missed flights. However, in order to reunite with their families and **** the holiday, people are probably willing to do so.
Every Thanksgiving, Americans eat turkey in every household. Turkey has become the symbol of Thanksgiving. In addition, they usually eat some traditional dishes, such as zucchini, creamy onions, mashed potatoes, squash pie and so on.
One of the more special events in New York is the holiday parade that Macy's holds every Thanksgiving.
American Thanksgiving is a bit like Chinese New Year, a time for family reunions. Usually Americans do not pay attention to eat, but in Thanksgiving is an exception, and in the custom must also chew turkey. This is another legend related to the origin of Thanksgiving: when the ancestors of the North Americans migrated to the New World, the first landing on the encounter of agricultural failure, but also by the local indigenous Indians hate. When the winter came, the immigrants thought that it was impossible to escape, just let God; unexpectedly, in this desperate time, a large flock of turkeys flew in from afar, which made them survive. People have always thought that God gave them the grace of turkeys to tide over the difficult times, and therefore for the "sense" of this "grace", the formation of the custom of eating turkeys to commemorate.
Turkey that "spit cordon bleu chicken" (MeleagrisGallopavo), also known as "seven-faced bird", the body tall, the cock weighs 12 to 18 kilograms, the hen 8 to 9 kilograms, the annual egg production of 60 to 70 eggs, the egg weight of 75 to 80 grams. to 80 grams. Today there are still wild ones in North America, but there are not many.
It is worth mentioning that, on Thanksgiving Day, chewing turkey, the great American writer Mark Twain had a great deal of humor, he wrote: "Let all donate a respectful, sincere, heartfelt thanks," rather than the turkey's "holocaust". Eating turkey on Thanksgiving is not a "revenge" for the turkey?