American vs English Cultures

Both of them are very important in the world and even those who doesn’t know anything about them recognize the American Flag and the British Royalty. That’s because the Americans are very proud of their flag and the British are very proud of their royalty. American and British cultures are different in many things such as the food, the sports and the music. It is important to know the differences between them and also it is important to recognize which things are American and which are British.

The food is an important aspect in both cultures, although, some meals are similar, the traditional meals are different. The most common type of food in the US is fast food like hamburgers, hot dogs and sandwiches and also turkey is very common. It is normal to see children eating three times a day, seven days a week in McDonalds or KFC. This is the reason there is a high rate of obesity, mainly in kids and teens, but also in adults.

In the other hand, the most common food in the UK is roasted like roast beef and roast potatoes, and stuffed food like chicken or turkey. The most important drink is the tea, which they drink at 11 am in a tea break called “elevenses”. They also drink tea at lunch, at a tea time between 3:30 and 5:00 pm, and at 6 pm in a tea break called “high tea”. Sometimes they drink tea at breakfast and at supper. During the tea breaks they serve a pot of tea often with biscuits, cookies, sandwiches, crumpets or tea-cakes.

There are different kinds of sports in each culture, but all the sports have a great amount of followers. These fans are faithful and loyal to their teams in both cultures. The most popular games in the United States are the American Football, baseball and basketball. Although, football attracts more viewers than baseball, the National Football League (NFL) teams play only 16 regular-season games each year. Unlike the Major League Baseball (MLB) teams play almost every day from April to October, so baseball is the leader in ticket sales, except in the Super Bowl, the most popular sport event in the country. Basketball is represented by the National Basketball Association (NBA). In contrast, in the United Kingdom the most popular sports are soccer, cricket and rugby. Rugby is one of the parents of the American Football, that’s why they are very similar. Although, the cricket is considering the national sport in England, the rugby is more popular than the cricket. Soccer is famous not only in the UK, but it is the most popular sport in the world, and there are Football leagues in almost every country in the world. In England, Football is represented by the Football Association Premier League (FA Premier League), which is one of the most important leagues in the world.

Another difference between them is music. The most representative singer of America is Elvis Presley, who mixed gospel music he heard at church, the Rythm&Blues and the country, making the Rock-n-Roll. At first it was called “Devil’s music” because it was the white country music and the black R&B music, but he was successful not only nationally, but also internationally. On the other hand, the British most representative group is The Beatles. This group was formed when four friends met in High School and recorded their first disc in College. These four men from Liverpool conquered the world with their light rock songs and their long hair. But their fame had a cost: one day, a desperate fan killed John Lennon, one of the singers of the group. Now days the most popular singer left is Paul McCartney.

Although, there are a lot of differences between American and British cultures, in my opinion both have their important aspects and none is more important than the other because both are world-wide powers. There is a high rate of obesity in America because of the fast foods. British people drink tea 5 or 6 times a day, which means it is the most important drink for them. Although, sports are different, all have big fans around the world, and they are loyal to their teams in both cultures. Although, the most representative singers of both countries were from different types of music, they are recognized around the world.