As an American it is difficult to find oneself connected to any particular tradition. I know some of my friends who have parents or grandparents who are recent immigrants have a stronger connection to their past then I do. My family has been here for awhile. And there are so many groups of people mixed in there its hard to really connect to any of them.
My last name is German. However, the most recent member of my family to not live in the US was actually Greek, so does that make me more German or Greek? And do I actually have any traditions or family recipes that come from those links?
My family also contains people from Ireland, Wales, Scotland, England (yep, we have the UK down. Definitely Anglo), Poland, and apparently a French Jew although I never had that one particularly explained.
I suppose when I think about it, I identify as “American” first (for that is what I am) and if I have to go into something connecting my family history I go for German-Irish. There is alot of Irish in my family, but that is not unusual for someone living in the US. And like I said, my last name is German.
The tradition my family has of eating pork and sauerkraut for New Years is believed to be a German tradition, so I suppose there is that. Although apparently in the US it seems to be more of a Pennsylvanian tradition then one held country wide.
Sometimes I feel odd, not having that connection any tradition or what feels like culture. I know that there are probably many things I do that are uniquely American in nature, and someone from another country might observe that as my ‘culture’. But sometimes I just feel like I should be more knowledgeable about the places my family came from.
Although I once read on a website that my family comes from a part of Germany that keeps switching hands with the Danes so…maybe I’m Danish too.
Sokorra Lewis 