Kultur 1

As an American of German descent, it was pretty cool to read about the history of German-American identity in the USA. I can certainly relate to the article's discussion of the decreasing importance of German ethnicity for Americans of German descent. While my mom's parents were both German, and my mom and her siblings grew up speaking German in their childhood homes in California and subsequently Maine, none of us grandchildren ever knew more than a few token phrases.

Despite the lack of German language in my house, we do still try to incorporate a couple of key cultural aspects, especially at the holidays. Like the article mentions, religion was very important to my immigrant grandparents once they were in the US. My Großvati was a minister, and therefore my mother grew up with very strong traditions around Christmas. Though my family isn't religious anymore, we still practice a German Christmas almost identical to the "Weihnachten" that my relatives in Bremen, Germany practice. We open presents on Christmas Eve and always put "Weihnachtskerzen" (Christmas candles) on our tree! Even though I rarely identify as German in my day-to-day life, it wouldn't be Christmas without lighting the candles on our tree - and I think this shows how aspects of German culture do indeed continue to be important in America, and that, just like the article says, the interaction between German and American cultures is alive and well.

(Photo of me and my sisters in front of our on-fire tree!)