Culture of Europe

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The culture of Europe might better be described as a series of overlapping cultures. Whether it is a question of West as opposed to East; Christianity as opposed to Islam; many have claimed to identify cultural fault lines across the continent. There are many cultural innovations and movements, often at odds with each other, such as Christian proselytism or Humanism. Thus the question of "common culture" or "common values" is far more complex than it seems to be.

Languages

Most of the many languages of Europe belong to the Indo-European language family. Another major family is the Finno-Ugric. The Turkic family also has several European members. The North and South Caucasian families are important in the southeastern extremity of geographical Europe. Basque is a language isolate and Maltese is the only national language in Europe, but not the only language, that is Semitic.

Art

• Painting

The oldest known paintings are at the Grotte Chauvet in France, claimed by some historians to be about 32,000 years old. The history of Western painting represents a continuous, though disrupted, tradition from antiquity. Until the mid 19th century it was primarily concerned with representational and Classical modes of production, after which time more modern, abstract and conceptual forms gained favor. Developments in Western painting historically parallel those in Eastern painting, in general a few centuries later. African art, Islamic art, Indian art, Chinese art, and Japanese art each had significant influence on Western art, and, eventually, vice-versa.

• Sculpture

The earliest European sculpture to date portrays a female form, and has been estimated at dating from 35,000 years ago. See Classical sculpture, Ancient Greek sculpture, Gothic art, Renaissance, Mannerist, Baroque, Neoclassicism, Modernism, Postminimalism, found art, Postmodern art, Conceptual art.

• Music
  • Classical Music : Europe was the birthplace of classical music- notably, Germany, France, Italy, and Russia. Important classical composers from Europe include Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, and Vivaldi. Luciano Pavarotti is a contemporary popular opera singer.
  • Popular Music : Europe has also imported many different genres of music, mainly from America, ranging from Blues, Jazz, Rock, Soul, Metal, Pop, Rap, Hip-Hop, R'n'B, Dance, etc. UK has been most successful in re-exporting this type of music with the Beatles, Queen, Elton John, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Deep Purple, Dire Straits, Fleetwood Mac, Genesis, George Michael, David Bowie, Pet Shop Boys, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart, Status Quo, U2, The Who, Eurythmics, Black Sabbath, Def Leppard, Duran Duran, Iron Maiden, Jethro Tull, Oasis, The Police, Robbie Williams, Spice Girls, UB40... Other european popular musicians are ABBA (Sweden), Julio Iglesias (Spain), Nana Mouskouri (Greece/France), Boney M. (Germany), Charles Aznavour (France), Johnny Hallyday (France), , Modern Talking (Germany), Scorpions (Germany), Ace of Base (Sweden), Andrea Bocelli (Italy), Enya (Ireland), James Last (Germany), Doda (Poland), Jean Michel Jarre (France), Roxette (Sweden)... The Eurovision Song Contest. Main festivals : Glastonbury (UK), Wacken (Germany), Benicassim (Spain). EMI is the largest european music company.

• Architecture

Neolithic architecture : Born in the Levant, Neolithic architecture spread to Europe. The Mediterranean neolithic cultures of Malta worshiped in megalithic temples. In Europe, long houses built from wattle and daub were constructed. Elaborate tombs for the dead were also built. These tombs are particularly numerous in Ireland, where there are many thousand still in existence. Neolithic people in the British Isles built long barrows and chamber tombs for their dead and causewayed camps, henges flint mines and cursus monuments., Architecture of ancient Greece, Roman architecture, Medieval architecture, Renaissance architecture, Baroque architecture, Beaux-Arts architecture, Expressionist architecture, Deconstructivism.

• Litterature

Europe is the birthplace of some of the most prominent or popular fiction writers of all time : Homer, Dante Alighieri, Francois Rabelais, Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare, Voltaire, Leo Tolstoy, Beatrix Potter, Franz Kafka, Agatha Christie, J. R. R. Tolkien, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, George Orwell, Albert Camus, Roald Dahl, Anne Frank, Umberto Eco, Terry Pratchett, Patrick Süskind, J. K. Rowling...

• Performing arts

See Western art history, dance, drama, and circus arts.

• Film

In 1897, Georges Méliès established the first cinema studio on a rooftop property in Montreuil, near Paris. Some notable European film movements include German Expressionism, Italian neorealism, French New Wave, Polish Film School, New German Cinema, Portuguese Cinema Novo, Czechoslovak New Wave, Dogme 95, New French Extremity, and Romanian New Wave. The cinema of Europe has its own awards, the European Film Awards. Main festivals : Cannes Film Festival (France), Berlin International Film Festival (Germany). The Venice Film Festival (Italy) or Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica di Venezia, is the oldest film festival in the world.

• Video Game

Some of the most popular games of all time come from Europe : the Grand Theft Auto (series), Tomb Raider, Cossacks: European Wars, Brain Challenge, Block Breaker Deluxe...

Science

• CERN (pronounced /ˈsɜrn/ (French pronunciation: [sɛʀn]) : The European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the birthplace of the World Wide Web and home of the world's largest machine : the Large Hadron Collider. It is the world's largest particle physics laboratory, situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border, established in 1954.
• ESA : The European Space Agency's space flight program includes human spaceflight, mainly through the participation in the International Space Station program, the launch and operations of unmanned exploration missions to other planets and the Moon, Earth observations, science, telecommunication as well as maintaining a major spaceport, the Guiana Space Centre at Kourou, French Guiana and designing launch vehicles. The main European launch vehicle Ariane 5 is operated through Arianespace with ESA sharing in the costs of launching and further developing this launch vehicle.

Philosophy

European philosophy is a predominant strand of philosophy globally, and is central to philosophical enquiry in America and most other parts of the world which have fallen under its influence. Christian thought is a huge influence on many fields of European philosophy (as European philosophy has been on Christian thought too), sometimes as a reaction; the Greek schools of philosophy in antiquity provide the basis of philosophical discourse that extends to today.

Perhaps one of the most important single philosophical periods since the classical era were the Renaissance, the Age of Reason and the Age of Enlightenment. There are many disputes as to its value and even its timescale. What is indisputable is that the tenets of reason and rational discourse owe much to René Descartes, John Locke and others working at the time.

Other important European philosophical strands include: Analytic philosophy, Calvinism, Christian Democracy, Communism, Conservatism, Deconstructionism, Empiricism, Epicureanism, Existentialism, Fascism, Humanism, Idealism, Liberalism, Logical positivism, Marxism, Materialism, Monarchism, Nationalism, Perspectivism, Platonism, Positivism, Postmodernism, Rationalism, Romanticism, Scepticism, Scholasticism, Social Democracy, Socialism, Stoicism, Structuralism, Thomism, Utilitarianism, Spenglerism

Religion

Christianity has been the dominant feature in shaping up European culture for at least the last 1700 years. Modern philosophical thought has very much been influenced by Christian philosophers such as St Thomas Aquinas and Erasmus.

Predominant religions in Europe      Roman Catholicism      Orthodox Christianity      Protestantism      Sunni Islam      Shia Islam      Judaism      Buddhism

Millions of Europeans profess no religion or are atheist or agnostic. The largest non-confessional populations (as a percentage) are found in Sweden, the Czech Republic and France although most former communist countries have significant non-confessional populations. Attendance at church is a minority activity in most Western European countries - as an example, the Church of England attracts around 1 million worshippers on a Sunday,^[1] which corresponds to about 2% of the population of England.

The most popular religions of Europe are the following:

• Christianity
  • Roman Catholicism: Countries or areas with significant Catholic populations are Portugal, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, southern Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, southern Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Malta, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, the Croatian parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland, western and central Belarus, western Ukraine, Romania, parts of Russia, Latgale region of Latvia, and Lithuania. There are also large Catholic minorities in England and Wales.
  • Orthodox Christianity: The countries with significant Orthodox populations are Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland (Karelia), Georgia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine.
  • Protestantism: Countries with significant Protestant populations include Norway, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, the UK, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. There are significant minorities in France, Czech Republic, Hungary, and indeed small minorities in most European Countries.
• Islam: Countries with significant Muslim population are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo, several republics of Russia, Crimea in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Also, as of 2005^[update], about 5% of the EU identify themselves as Muslims, with many Muslim immigrants in Germany, the UK, Sweden and France.

Other minor religions exist in Europe, some brought by migrants, including:

• Judaism, mainly in France, UK and Russia.
• Hinduism, mainly among Indian immigrants in the UK.
• Buddhism, thinly spread throughout Europe, yet it is in Kalmykia, Russia
• Indigenous European pagan traditions and beliefs, many countries.
• Rastafari, communities in the UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and elsewhere.
• Sikhism and Jainism, both mainly among Indian immigrants in the UK.
• West African Vodun and Haitian Vodou (Voodoo), mainly among West African and black Caribbean immigrants in the UK and France.
• Traditional African Religions (including Muti), mainly in the UK and France.

Official religions

A number of countries in Europe have official religions, including Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Vatican City (Catholic); and Greece (Eastern Orthodox), Denmark, Iceland and Norway (Lutheran). In Switzerland, some cantons are officially Catholic, others Reformed Protestant. Some Swiss villages even have their religion as well as the village name written on the signs at their entrances. In Bulgaria, an article in the constitution defines Eastern Orthodox Christianity as the country's "traditional religion".

Georgia has no established church, but the Georgian Orthodox Church enjoys "de facto" privileged status. In Finland, both Finnish Orthodox Church and Lutheran church are official. Russia recognises Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism as all "traditional"^{[citation needed]} (with three states, Kalmykia, Buryatia and Tuva, officially Buddhist^{[citation needed]}). England, a country in the UK, has Anglicanism as its official religion.

Cuisine

The cuisines of Western countries are diverse by themselves, although there are common characteristics that distinguishes Western cooking from cuisines of Asian countries and others. Compared with traditional cooking of Asian countries, for example, meat is more prominent and substantial in serving-size. Steak in particular is a common dish across the West. Similarly to some Asian cuisines, Western cuisines also put substantial emphasis on sauces as condiments, seasonings, or accompaniments (in part due to the difficulty of seasonings penetrating the often larger pieces of meat used in Western cooking). Many dairy products are utilized in the cooking process, except in nouvelle cuisine. Wheat-flour bread has long been the most common sources of starch in this cuisine, along with pasta, dumplings and pastries, although the potato has become a major starch plant in the diet of Europeans and their diaspora since the European colonization of the Americas.

Clothing

The earliest definite examples of needles originate from the Solutrean culture, which existed in France from 19,000 BC to 15,000 BC. The earliest dyed flax fibers have been found in a cave the Republic of Georgia and date back to 36,000 BP. see Clothing in ancient Rome, 1100-1200 in fashion, 1200-1300 in fashion, 1300-1400 in fashion, 1400-1500 in fashion, 1500-1550 in fashion, 1550-1600 in fashion, 1600-1650 in fashion, 1650-1700 in fashion, Textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution.

Sport

Europe's influence on sport is enormous. Indeed, it is difficult to think of a modern sport, apart from basketball and related sports, that does not have its origins in Europe. European sports include:

• Association football, which has contested origins between Britain and Italy (where Mussolini insisted the game be called by the name Calcio). What is uncontestable is that the oldest association is The Football Association of England (1863) and the first international match was between Scotland and England (1872). It is now the world's most popular sport and is played throughout Europe.
• Rugby League and Rugby Union which both have similar origins to football. Rugby Union is the older of the two codes and has rules that date from 1845 (see articles: History of rugby league and History of rugby union). They acrimoniously split in the late 19th century over the treatment of injured players. Rugby league gradually changed its laws over the next century with the end result that today both sports have little in common, apart from the basics. They have both been carried abroad by colonization, particularly to many former British colonies. American football and Canadian Football are derivatives of rugby.
• Cricket has its origins in south east Britain. It's popular throughout England and Wales, and parts of Netherlands. It is also popular in other areas and also played in northwest Europe. It is however very popular worldwide, especially in Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Indian subcontinent.
• The discus throw, javelin throw and shot put have their origins in ancient Greece. The Olympics, both ancient and modern, have their origins too in Europe, and have a massive influence globally.
• Field Hockey as a modern game began in 18th Century Britain with Ireland having the oldest federation. It is popular in Western Europe, the Indian subcontinent, Australia and East Asia. Ice hockey, popular in Europe and North America may derive from this sport.
• Golf, one of the most popular sports in Europe, Asia and North America, has its origins in Scotland, with the oldest course being at Musselburgh.
• Tennis which originates from United Kingdom and related games such as Table Tennis derive from the game Real Tennis which is from France. It is popular throughout the world.
• Handball, which is popular in Europe and elsewhere, has its origins in antiquity. The modern game is from northern Europe with Germany having been involved in both the first women's and men's internationals.
• Cycling, which is immensely popular as a means of transport has most of its sporting adherents in Europe, particularly Western Europe. The Tour de France is the world's most watched live annual sporting event. The bicycle itself is probably from France (see History of the bicycle).

In addition, Europe has numerous national or regional sports which do not command a large international following outside of emigrant groups. These include:

• Gaelic Football in Ireland, which influenced Australian rules football.
• Basque Pelota in parts of Spain and France, and which has been brought to the Americas by emigrants.
• Pétanque, Boules, Petanca, Calitx, Irish Road Bowling, Skittles, Bocce, and Bowls and others are variations of bowling games which are popular throughout western Europe and have been spread around the world.
• Hurling in Ireland.
• Shinty in Scotland, United Kingdom, which influenced ice hockey in Canada (see also Shinny).
• Gaelic Handball (Ireland) which was taken to the USA in the form of American Handball.
• Trotting in southern Europe.
• Alpine Wrestling in Switzerland.
• Korfbal in The Netherlands and Belgium
• Rounders from Britain^[2][3] now popular in northwest Europe from which Baseball derives.
• Bullfighting in Spain, Portugal, and parts of southern France near the Spanish Border.
• Bandy in Russia, Sweden and Finland
• Pesäpallo (Boboll) in Finland

Some sporting organisations hold European Championships.

• UEFA
• Rugby League European Federation - European Nations Cup
• FIRA - Association of European Rugby
• European Rugby Cup (Club/Regional competition)
• European SC Championships
• Sport in the European Union
• Mitropa Cup
• IIHF

Some sport competitions feature a European team gathering athletes from different European countries. These teams uses the European flag as an emblem. The most famous of these competitions is the Ryder Cup in golf.

European Capital of Culture

Each year since 1985 one or more cities across Europe are chosen as European Capital of Culture.

Symbols

• European symbols

See also

• Category:European culture
• Europeanisation
• Westernization
• Battles of macrohistorical importance involving invasions of Europe
• Europalia
• Romano-Germanic culture

References

External links

• Eurolinguistix.com
• 12Star Culture - online European culture magazine (EU London Office)
• The European Library gateway to Europe's national libraries
• Europeana European Digital Library
• EU Culture Portal (archived)
• Euronews - Culture