What does it mean to be Austrian? On occasion of today’s Austrian National Day, I would like to take a short (not quite serious) look on the Austrian way of life.
For that purpose, I would like to quote a short text that I wrote in French class during high school (some 15 years ago):
Comment définir des gens …
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dont presque les gens du monde entier sont sûr qu’ils sont pratiquement les voisins des kangourous et des koalas et sur lesquels le reste du monde sait de bonne source qu’ils risquent d’étouffer en hiver à cause de la neige;
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qui passent l’hiver entier en faisant du ski et le temps restant dans une salle de concert en écoutant de la musique classique;
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qui commencent leur jour en jodlant pour quelques minutes devant leur chalet sur l’alpage;
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qu’on peut voir toujours en portant des pantalons en cuir et des dirndls;
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pour lesquels une ville avec plus d’un million d’habitants est une grande métropole;
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qui mangent du "Wiener Schnitzel" et de la "Sachertorte" – sept jours par semaine, trois fois par jour;
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qui plutôt perdent patience qu’ils prennent patience;
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pour lesquels un homme ou une femme qui a beaucoup de titres est supérieur aux autres (
Ne m’appelez pas Monsieur Meier, appelez-moi «Herr Hofrat»
);
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avec lesquels on ne peut pas parler – même si on a fait des études d’allemand –, parce qu’il ne savent pas parler allemand eux-mêmes; …
Appelons-les "Autrichiens"!
In English, this text reads as follows:
How to define the people, …
- of which almost the whole world believes that they are basically neighbours of kangaroos and koalas, and of which the rest is sure that they risk suffocating in snow every winter;
- who spend the whole winter sking, and the rest of the time in a concert hall listening to classical music;
- who start their day with a few minutes yodeling outside their mountain hut;
- who always wear "Lederhosen" and "Dirndln";
- for whom a city of more than a million inhabitants is a great metropolis;
- who eat "Wiener Schnitzel" and "Sachertorte" – seven days a week, three times a day;
- who rather lose patience than are patient;
- for whom a man or woman with lots of titles is superior to others (
Do not call me Mr. Meier, call me «Herr Hofrat»);- with whom you cannot have a conversation – even if you studied German –, because they do not know how to speak proper German themselves; …
Let’s call them "Austrians"!
A bit over a year ago, an Australian girl living in Austria also published an article which is quite close to the mark: "28 ways to be Austrian". Basically, I do not have anything to add to that.
Hi! What kind of activities are usually done on Austrian National Day?
There is not really any traditional activity on National Day in Austria. However, the "Leistungsschau" of the Austrian army (demonstration of their equipment and abilities) at Heldenplatz in Vienna is quite popular. Some people also like to go hiking.