Americans and Canadians culture Q&A Thread.

[Karin1984]

We have discussed this much in the past. Remembrance Day in commonwealth countries is very different from the USA.

For the first time, I watched the ceremony in the UK this weekend. I was surprised how different it was in the Netherlands. I never really thought about how countries remember their war victims.
I really liked the singing together the songs on forehand, the prayers and then the wreaths. And a bit surprised how many wreaths there are, one for each Common Wealth country. We put all our politics and overseas territories in one wreath.

For us it starts with a speech by the head of the Remembrance Day (4 May) & Liberation Day (5 May) committee. We have less wreaths but they are bigger, the dignitaries don't do it themselves, but people from the military. The King and Queen pin their initials on it. Then we have The Last Post as well, 2 minutes of silence, national anthem (instrumental), a poem (sometimes written by a student 12 - 18 years old). Then the wreaths on the right of the king & queen's wreath: one for the resistance, one for the jews, roma, sinti, one for civilian victims, one for civilian victims after WWII (Asia specific), military victims during WWII and after. Speech about what it means to live in war and in peace. Then the wreaths on the left of the king & queen's wreath the ones by politicians: State Generals, Councils of Ministers (including overseas territories), military (land, sea, air) , mayor of Amsterdam.
We have several ceremonies on the 4th at the same time. The biggest is the one on Dam Square in Amsterdam.

 

[prairie_girl]

This was a tornado about 30miles west of me right by my alma mater in 2019
View attachment 623049

This is the same tornado only north of me as it tracked:
View attachment 623050

I've had EF0 and EF1 touch down within miles of my home but those in the pictures above were EF3 and EF4 tornadoes.

I've shared those pics before and I've also shared this one:
View attachment 623055
This is a plastic flower pot from that tornado directly above (it touched down within miles of my in-laws), it was carried and found 50 miles east of where it originated from still mostly intact.

Tornadoes are some scary powerful unpredictable things that's for sure.

oh. I know they are powerful and unpredictable. I don’t want to storm chase for the entertainment, it’s because I’m a huge weather nerd and it would be a chance to see something I’m probably not going to see otherwise. They are hugely destructive, and are often deadly so I would be respectful of what I’m observing, if that makes sense.

 

[prairie_girl]

You really are a prairie person, aren't you!

Not my fault that’s where most of the tornados form lol

 

[ronandannette]

That's true, but sadly, they are becoming a thing of the past. Just recently, the Dog River elevator from Corner Gas (the town is actually called Rouleau, but obviously, for the TV show they renamed the elevator) burned to the ground, and many others are unsafe and being demolished.

There are none left in my northern Alberta hometown either. They've all been replaced by much more modern, albeit far less iconic, transfer facilities. I do agree it's sad.

 

[ronandannette]

Not my fault that’s where most of the tornados form lol

...and knowing you're a city slicker, in case you see something like this whirling by, its a cow.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

oh. I know they are powerful and unpredictable. I don’t want to storm chase for the entertainment, it’s because I’m a huge weather nerd and it would be a chance to see something I’m probably not going to see otherwise. They are hugely destructive, and are often deadly so I would be respectful of what I’m observing, if that makes sense.

I love watching storm chasing shows so I get it. I like to watch other weather-related shows too, I find them fascinating but my husband is usually bored with them lol

 

[ronandannette]

Question for Americans: Are there any of these in the Midwest?

 

[tvguy]

Question for Americans: Are there any of these in the Midwest?

View attachment 623092

I can't speak to the Midwest, but we have them in Northern California.

 

[declansdad]

I can't speak to the Midwest, but we have them in Northern California.

That looks more like a feed mill than a grain elevator.

 

[tvguy]

That looks more like a feed mill than a grain elevator.

Rice

 

[ronandannette]

Rice

Interesting! Where does rice grow in California? I thought the entire state was arid without irrigation.

 

[ronandannette]

That looks more like a feed mill than a grain elevator.

Do you have either one in New Brunswick?

 

[declansdad]

Do you have either one in New Brunswick?

Feed mills, yes. Grain elevators, no.

There are many farmers with silos but grain itself is not really a crop grown here.

 

[Buzz Rules]

I could feel this. I feel very at “home” in NYC. I think it’s the hustle and bustle. The subway., it feels a LOT like home eh

And with a tradition of winning sports teams.

Now now @Buzz Rules,, do not get all Rangers for Tuesday night. (jokes)
Our all-star goalie is just out of re-hab, back-up has a concussion. So we have two juniors, kids playing on nets. We were not playing well, and now naturally, I will watch, I’m a sucker that way

I’m going to have a great sports watching day tomorrow night. USA vs Jamaica at 5pm ET, NY vs Montreal at 7pm ET, and Canada vs Mexico at 9pm ET.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1460367005681291265

 

[Buzz Rules]

Canadians, is there hype for the Canada vs Mexico match tomorrow? I heard 50,000 tickets or so were sold for the game. FYI, the game will be on RDS 2/RDS Info, Telemundo and Sportsnet.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1460359779566686216

 

[tvguy]

Interesting! Where does rice grow in California? I thought the entire state was arid without irrigation.

Yes, California is arid without irrigation. But surface water agreements dating back 100 years provide the water for rice growers. Rice is grown primarily right in the area I live in, Sacramento, and points north.
https://rice.ucanr.edu/About_California_Rice/

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Question for Americans: Are there any of these in the Midwest?

View attachment 623092

Of course

Feed mills, grain elevators, silos you name it

 

[prairie_girl]

...and knowing you're a city slicker, in case you see something like this whirling by, its a cow.
View attachment 623088

Don’t tempt me. I can quote that movie almost line for line.

Cow…

‘nother cow…

I think that’s the same one

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Don’t tempt me. I can quote that movie almost line for line.

Cow…

‘nother cow…

I think that’s the same one

That was actually just on last night too! I do own the dvd but I swear every time it's on tv I can't help but keep it on.

 

[NotUrsula]

I don't know people who wear poppies either but I'll believe the ones who say they know those who do (or wear them themselves)

For the life of me though I'll never understand what ends up being a contentious argument the Canadians often have with Americans over these holidays. I've only been here on the DIS since 2015 but every year like clock work it's some argument that gets started and Americans aren't the ones who start it (a casual observance). I've always just accepted we have different days with different meanings.

Basically, because Remembrance Day is the Civil equivalent of Good Friday, but it appears to them like Americans treat it like Easter. They think we are failing to show proper respect to the Dead. They lost a lot more people to the Great War than the US did, and they just can't see past all that death to celebrate the soldiers who actually came back, while here, WW1 has largely been almost forgotten because WW2 lasted so much longer for Americans, and was just so much more overwhelming. We think of it strictly as a Victory, while they see it as a senseless slaughter.

My parents emigrated from the UK to the US in the 50s, and we always bought and wore Poppies. VFW members sold them in the US when I was a kid, but they don't seem to do it anymore where I now live. WW1 was my academic specialty in grad school, and I have one pinned up on the wall divider in my office (it's an old one, made of aluminum), but I'm the only American I know personally who really takes Poppies seriously. These days the most common purveyor of Poppies in the US is the American Legion, but they only distribute them for Memorial Day (and there are a lot of people who have problems with the Legion for other reasons.) However, I'd like to contribute an American Poppy tribute to this thread: this is the entrance bridge of the US WW1 Museum in Kansas City:

FWIW, Memorial Day Picnics actually started with cemetary visits. It used to be common in the US to take a packed lunch and eat it in the cemetary when you went to visit, because before there were a lot of public parks, cemetaries were the nicest outdoor public spaces in a lot of areas, and there was a certain sentimentality to thinking your departed loved one felt close in spirit when a family gathered that way. (Cooking on the spot wasn't part of the tradition then; it was just a sandwich and maybe some cider eaten sitting on a blanket.)