Hi there! I am happy to see that on both sides of the atlantic 'Tradition ' is linked to family. But in France it is not related to school because there are less and less boarding schools. I think that if the same questionnaire was submitted to english students they would link it more easily to 'school' (as you may have noticed my name is not 100% french so that is the reason why !). bye

Le mot tradition semble effectivement très lié à la famille en France, un petit peu moins aux Etats-Unis où c'est plutôt la religion qui revient souvent. J'ai tout de même l'impression que les français donnent une connotation très négative à ce mot et à toutes les notions qui tournent autour: famille, religion, conservatisme... J'ai plus de mal à me rendre compte de cela pour vous, les américains. Pouvez-vous m'éclairer?

I think the roots of tradition in the American side lie very deep since America is a country that was formed from as a fusion of many other cultures. I think the positive connotation of tradition and family comes from that need to know where each of us came from, while celebrating our unity in the Nation and culture that is America. America is a very progressive country, but I think we use our appreciation for tradition as a method to remember, not restrain.

In my opinion the word tradition is linked to family in america because there is nothing else to link it to, the country is too young to have any extended traditions thus the immediate family and traditions that are passed from generation to generations (ones that could be 100 or so years old) seem like the only ones that are easily identified, whereas if you look at a country with thousands of years of history there is more to dig into.

Many of your traditions and customs involve alcohol. In the United States we are not allowed to consume alcohol legally before the age of 21. If this law were to go in effect in your country, how do you think your traditions would change? do you think it would better or worsen the way of life? what do you think about our drinking laws?

good question! im curious about the french response to this question as well.

Bonjour Natalie, Tes questions nous ont fait bien rire ! Nous sommes d`accord pour dire que la France est reputee pour son vin mais de la a penser que : "many of your traditions and customs involve alcohol" nous ne sommes pas d`accord ! Tout le monde ne boit pas de vin, loin de la, mais il est facile pour nous de pouvoir en consommer car il n`y a pas de limite d`age ni restriction. Le fait de boire pour les Francais est presque normal, on a ete eleve avec cette reglementation. Il n`existe pas de tabous apres 18 ans. Mais pourtant, beaucoup de jeunes de moins de 18 ans consomment de l`alcool lors des soirees. Est ce qu`avant 21 ans pouvez vous quand meme consommer de l`alcool facilement ?

Si on interdisait aux jeunes français de moins de 21 ans de boire de l'alcool, ça les gêneraient seulement pour boire de la bière ou des alcools forts dans les bars, mais ça n'empêcherait personne de consommer de l'alcool chez soi et encore moins de boire du vin car pour le vin il n'y a pas d'âge! Figurez-vous que bien souvent ce sont les parents ou les grands-parents qui propose du vin aux plus jeunes!!!

Hi! I disagree with your saying (#5 of 6) that our traditions and customs involve alcohol. It would me more precise to say that they involve wine, which is, I think, a completely different matter, since the answer of your question lies in the point that precisely, we do not really consider wine as alcohol. Let me explain. Of course all of us do know that wine is alcohol, but for us wine is more of a social ingredient. I mean, if all one wants is alcohol, one will drink beer or liquors, but rarely wine. You see, wine is essential in a meal; if you recieve some people at home, you

will

propose wine to everyone, notwithstanding their age, in fact some people you would call underage to drink would be very disappointed would you not propose some wine to them : it is not so much the wine they want, but more to be proposed some. On the point of regulation, in france, you cannot order alcohol of any sort in bars before you are 16, but that doesn't apply to buying some in supermarkets. Even if it were 21 like in the US, I don't think it would change much, because you do not ask for wines in bars. You drink wines with meals, which means in private receptions or at a restaurant, and that is very very difficult to reglementate. Could you think of a law that overrides people's inclinations in their privacy ? The point is that such a law would not even be discussed, because it is more the tradition that shapes minds and then laws, and not the contrary. At your disposal, Emeric