AMERICAN CULTURE AND TRADICTIONS

Word made by:Ana Margarida

Inês MoitaRaquel Oliveira

THE USA CULTURE

The culture of the United States is primarily a Western culture also influenced by other peoples. The American culture has a deep influence on the rest of the world. American films and television programs can be seen in almost all countries and their music is heard around the world.

LANGUAGEThe Language is one of the most important aspects in the United States culture.

American English is a variation from the british english. This language was transmited in the United States when USA was just a British colony.There are some differences between American English and British English like:

  British English- American English

Centre-center

Colour -color

Braces- suspenders

Pavement- sidewalk

Postman-mailman

Underground- subway

Biscuits- cookies

Sweets- candies

Holidays-vacations

APPLE PIE, FLAG AND SPORT

THE APPLE PIE, BASEBALL AND THE USA FLAG ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT CULTURAL SYMBOLS.

Sport has also a big influence in the world. American people are big fans of basketball, baseball, American football and ice hockey.

NOW, TRADICTIONS:

Dates Name

January First New Year's Day

The Third Tuesday of January Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Third Monday of February Presidents' Day

Last Monday of May Memorial Day

The 4th of July Independence Day

First Monday from Septembre Labor Day

Second Monday of October Columbus Day

11th Novembre Veteran's Day

The Fourth Wednesday of Novembre Thanksgiving

25th Desembirre Christmas

Here are some of the holidays celebrated in America:

Importante People U.S.A

BARACK OBAMA

Barack obama born in Honolulu (USA) 4th of August 1961. He is the current and the first African American president of the United States, he has the highest political office in the country by influence and recognition. The president leads the executive power of the federal government, as also as the vice-president of U.S.A.

He is also the commander of the armed forces. The president is frequently described as the most powerful person in the world. The president is indirectly elected by the people to a four-year term. On January 20, 2009, Barack Obama became the 44th and current president. He received in 2009 the Nobel peace prize.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLIJc7YE_jw < ----- funny Obama video

MICHAEL JACKSON

Michael Joseph Jackson born in Los Angeles, 29 of August 1958 and died in 25 of June 2009, was an American recording artist, entertainer and businessman. He is the icon king of Pop until our today's, but after that, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.

In 80s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The most popular music were "Beat it", “Billie jeans" and “Thriller". Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot, and the moonwalk. He won hundreds of awards, he was an inspiration to people. While preparing for his concert series titled "This Is It", Jackson died of intoxication on 25 of June 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. His death was considerate a homicide. The fact to Michael jackson became white was because of a strange disease called Vitiligo, is a pigmentation disorder.

JONHNY DEPP

John Christopher Depp, known by Johnny Depp was born in 9th of June 1963 in Owensboro, KY (USA), and raised in Florida. He is an American actor, film producer, and musician. He start is career on the 80s television series. The most famous movies he represented were "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (2005), "Alice in Wonderland" (2010), "Rango" (2011) "Pirates of the Caribbean " (2003), and the most recent movie "Dark Shadows" (2012).He has been nominated for top awards many times, winning the Best Actor Award and he’s also listed in the 2012 Guinness Book of World Records as the highest paid actor.

LEONARDO DICAPRIO

Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Dicaprio started to appear in television commercials with 5 years prior to landing recurring roles in TV series.

He won the best actor for the “Romeo and Juliet” film and “The aviator”. He performed in one of the most recognized movie "Titanic“.

STEVEN SPIELBERG Steven Spielberg was born in 18 of

December 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio (USA), is a filmmaker. Spielberg is the director who has more films in the list of the best movies, and won for the category of best director. He is considered one of the most popular and influential filmmakers in film history. At 13 years old Spielberg won his first short film contest with the film "Escape from the Hell". Some of the most known and recent films from him are : Artificial Intelligence (2001), Men in Black II (2002), The Legend of Zorro (2005), War Of The Worlds (2005), Transformers (2007-2011), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) and the War Horse (2011).

NEW YORK CITY

New York city consists of five boroughs, each of which is a state country, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Mannhattan, Queens and Staten Island. New York is the most populous city in the United States. As many as 800 languagues are spoken in New York, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. This global power city, exerts a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education and entertainment. New York known by " The city that never sleeps", is a splendid destination for tourism. It have the most fantastic and extraordinary buildings, by their designer, structure and greatness. The city hosts many world renowned bridges, skyscrapers, and parks. New York City's financial district.Major destinations include the Empire State Building; Statue of Liberty; Ellis Island; Broadway theater productions; green spaces such as Central Park and Washington Square Park;; Times Square; the Manhattan Chinatown.

Music

BEYONCÉ

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter(born September 4, 1981), known as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child. Beyoncé rose to fame in the late 90s as the lead singer of Destiny's Child, one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time.

BRITNEY SPEARS

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi. During her first decade in the music industry, she became a prominent figure in mainstream popular music and popular culture, followed by a much-publicized personal life. Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records.

BRUNO MARS

Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), better known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. Raised in Honolulu, Hawaii by a family of musicians, Mars began making music at a young age. He performed in various musical venues in his hometown throughout his childhood. He graduated from high school and then moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a musical career.

EMINEM Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), better

known by his stage name Eminem and by his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem along with his solo career is a member of his group D12. Eminem is one of the best-selling artists in the world and is the best selling artist of the 2000s.

LADY GAGA

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, record producer, and activist. She began performing in the rock music scene of Manhattan's Lower East Side, and was signed with Streamline Records by the end of 200.

ELVIS PRESLEY

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known by the single name Elvis. One of the most popular musicians of the 20th century, he is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King".He began his career there in 1954, working with Sun Records owner Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African-American music to a wider audience

FOOD AND DRINKS

COKE

Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and automatic machines in more than 200 countries.It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke. The Coca-Cola Company has, on occasion, introduced other cola drinks under the Coke brand name. The most common of these is Diet Coke, with others including Caffeine-Free Coca-Cola, Diet Coke Caffeine-Free, Coca-Cola Cherry, Coca-Cola Zero, Coca-Cola Vanilla, and special versions with lemon, lime or coffee.

Based on Interbrand's best global brand 2011, Coca-Cola was the world's most valuable brand.

CUPCAKES

The first mention of the cupcake can be traced as far back as 1796, when a recipe notation of "a cake to be baked in small cups" was written in American Cookery by Amelia Simmons.In the early 21st century, a trend for cupcake shops was reported in the United States, playing off of the sense of nostalgia evoked by the cakes. In New York City, cupcake shops like Magnolia Bakery gained publicity in their appearances on popular television shows like HBO's Sex and the City. A standard cupcake uses the same basic ingredients as standard-sized cakes: butter, sugar, eggs, and flour.

The end