Melting Pot?

Today is Easter, and its differing traditions among various ethnic groups, has got me to thinking about similarities and differences between the Great Lakes area and the South. I recall a lot of Eastern European traditions growing up – lamb cake, fancy eggs, lamb butter, Easter egg hunts in the house, and baskets filled with candies. In Michigan, just before Lent, everyone would have pączki. Now, that is a long-standing Polish tradition to use up eggs and butter – it is a rich jelly donut, but rich enough to make it hard to call it a donut.  I’d never heard of it in my Polish/Ukrainian family in Chicago, but in the Detroit area, EVERYONE ate pączki. Didn’t matter if you were Polish, or even Christian. It was a local thing (so was eating muskrat, which I never tried after nearly 30 years in the Downriver Detroit area). I learned from my Polish friend Hanna that even Poland had regional foods, so I guess that may be why the Chicago group didn’t do that. Hanna told me many of my family’s traditions were more Russian. There were so many local traditions when I grew up. The Irish were big on a sunrise Mass. The Swedes had a huge smorgasbord on Holy Saturday. The Hungarians also create intricate egg designs.

 
Anyway, when I moved South, Easter was a big church day, but I missed the ethnic traditions. Look up Southern Easter Customs, and you get menus full of traditional Southern food like banana pudding, corn casserole, lots of ham, and green beans & bacon. You’d see much the same menu for most Southern holidays. Which got me wondering…

According to http://names.mongabay.com/ancestry/region.html, which uses Census data, the great Lakes area is comprised largely of 10 differing ethnic groups, ranging from Italian to Norwegian to Polish to Irish. In the South, in contrast, there are 6 – “American”, Irish, African American, German, French (Louisiana), and English. Perhaps this more homogenous origin is why the North seems, to me, to be more open and welcoming. We’re just used to a greater range of people. To be fair, the North could use a LOT of lessons in hospitality from the South, but one of the overall themes when you look up “how to be Southern” is that you can’t. Vermont has this too, but it seems much more widespread in the South. If you relocated, you’ll always be an outsider. There’s a bit less of that in Florida, where *everyone* is from somewhere else, but even if you listen to the jokes you get the point. “There’s a difference between Yankees and Damn Yankees. Yankees are northerners visiting the South but Damn Yankees are northerners who visit the South and stay.” “Don't go around talking about how much better it is back home. If you don't like it here, take your Yankee butt back home.” “We are fully aware that the humidity is high. Quit your griping, spend your money, and leave.”
 

In the Great Lakes area, there are Chicagoan jokes and Michigander jokes and overall “up north” jokes, but they just don’t seem to have the same nasty undertone – it seems more a friendly rivalry between cities or states.  “Remember to allow for room under your children’s Halloween costumes for snowsuits.” “It’s not a typical Chicago daily commute unless someone almost kills you on the road. Driving for a few months in Chicago will make you a more aware driver than anywhere else in the world.” “Ask a Michigander where they’re from and they’ll point to a spot on their hand.”   
 

Perhaps the people I know from up north are more tolerant because we *have* to be – there are too many different groups. Chicago has a large Chinatown as well as a huge Hispanic population. Dearborn MI, outside of Detroit, has the largest group of people from the Middle East in the world outside of the actual Middle East. The Twin Cities has an ever-growing Somalian community. It just seems that the North is much more of a Melting Pot than the South overall.

My usual disclaimer – this is a discussion of my thoughts and experiences. While I do make an effort to look up some statistics, this is NOT a fully-researched, peer-reviewed paper.