1. Halloween: This
All-hallows-evening haunting party has an Irish origin and was taken to the USA
through Irish immigrants in the 19th century. It used to be an
ancient Celtic thanksgiving custom. In the USA it changed to the tradition we
know now – including pumpkins and children walking from one house to another
asking for “trick or treat”. At the end of the 1990s (about 20 years ago) the
custom was introduced to Germany. It was heavily promoted by shops and US
American TV series and turned into a regular festivity during the following
years. It is especially popular among teenagers.
2. Saint Valentine’s Day: This day
became popular in Germany through US American soldiers after the 1950s. This
day is heavily promoted through flower shops and other traders.
3. Hen and Stag party: The
German tradition used to be the (Polterabend) where friends of the wedding
couple meet to celebrate and do some jokes with the couple. In England and the
USA those events took part with separated sexes. Since the 1980s they became
more popular and were copied in Germany because of TV and movie examples.
4. Oktoberfest: The
original Oktoberfest takes place in Munich. But lots of towns are copying it
nowadays – including people wearing traditional Bavarian costumes (or what they
believe to be traditional) even far outside Bavaria. Spin-offs spread all over
the world even to China, Canada and Brazil.
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