Europe Guide : What makes Europeans similar compared to the Americans

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What makes Europeans similar compared to the Americans
The Western world (i.e. Europe, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand) could be considered as a single "Western civilisation". 'Westernness' could be defined by people who are ethnically or culturally European, in other words people of European descent or speaking a European language as their mother-tongue. Europe itself has the greatest linguistic and cultural diversity of the Western world. However, the common history, geography and socio-political evolution of the European continent, as well as the cultural divergences that have occured in former colonies, have resulted in the creation of a common basis for European culture that contrast (sometimes sharply) with the USA or the rest of the Western world.
Here is a summary of my observations on the differences between Europeans and Americans (USA). These are of course the major trends, and exception exit everywhere. Irish and Polish people, for instance, tend to be closer to the American mainstream than to some of their fellow Europeans.
Feeling of time & distances
100 years is new for a European, but old for an American. I have even heard Americans think that 200 years was "ancient", while for a European it has to be 2000 or 3000 years old. This is obviously due to the local history of each place.
Likewise, Europeans tend to see 100km as far away (e.g. to drive), while for Americans that would be quite near. This is due to the much higher density of population in Europe. Yet, Europeans travel much more than Americans, inside or outside their continent, maybe because they are used to go "abroad" since their childhood, European countries being so small.
Cars
Almost all Europeans have cars with manual gears, while Americans prefer automatic ones.
European cars are also very different in style than their American counterparts. American cars tend to be more massive and squarer. Americans also like (very) long limousines (almost inexistent in Europe) in cities, or pick-up trucks in the country.
Measure System
All Europeans use the metric system (metres, grammes, litres, degrees Celsius, etc.), while Americans still use the old English Imperial system (yards, miles, pounds, degrees Fahrenheit, etc.).
Date and time system
Europeans write the date in the format "Day Month Year", whereas Americans use "Month Day, Year". Americans usually consider that the week starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday, while in Europe it always starts on Monday and finishes on Sunday.
Most non-English-speaking Europeans use the 24h system, as opposed to the 12h system used in English-speaking countries.
Public holidays
Labour Day (1st May) is a national holiday in (most) European countries, but not in the USA. EU countries also celebrate Europe Day (5th or 9th May), although it is not an official holiday (yet).
Washing machines
European washing machines normally have only a cold water inlet (the water brought to adequate temperature inside the machine) as opposed to a hot and cold water inlet in the USA. European washing machines are almost always loaded from the front, as opposed to the top in the USA. Japan follows the American system.
Schooling
Schools and universities are free in most European countries. Europeans see university as granted, while American families often have to save for years for their children to attend one. What is more, universities in most countries around the world have entry exams, while only a few European countries do (like the UK).
North Americans have prom night at the end of the last academic year of high school (and sometimes also middle school), while Europeans have no such tradition.
Languages
Foreign-language learning in Europe is now compulsory in every country since primary (elementary) school. Most Europeans learn 2 to 4 foreign languages, for obvious reasons. Americans usually only speak English (+ their mother tongue for immigrants).
Politics
Europeans tend to be more liberal regarding soft drugs, prostitution, alcohol, abortion, or cloning (but interestingly not so for GM food). Americans on the contrary grant greater freedoms when it comes to gun possession and driving from a relatively young age.
Government system
Americans have "Congress", while Europeans all have "Parliaments".
American politcal parties are mostly limited to two main parties, which would be center-right and right, without any influential left or green party.
The American police (FBI) is much more "aggressive" (car chases, break into houses with guns shouting "police, don't move, hands on your head !" or such scenes almost inexistent in Europe) than police anywhere in Europe. Suspects are detained more easily and interrogated more harshly. Americans also go to court much more easily than in Europe.
The legality of guns in the States also makes life and one's sense of safety completely different from Europe.
Patriotism
Much more Americans are patriotic than Europeans. Few Europeans would mind rational critics of their country's government, while a good deal of Americans dislike them (especially from non-Americans) and some go as far as regarding them as personal attacks.
Religion
Americans are much more religious than Europeans. Church going is very popular (even just to meet people) in the US, while it has almost entirely disappeared in most of Europe. God is often mentioned by American politicians, but so-to-say never in Europe.
Political correctness
Due to their great ethnic and religious diversity, Americans have developed a more acute sense of political correctness, in an attempt to attenuate frictions between the various groups. Europeans still associate very much with their place of birth with their ethnicity, language and culture. In fact, until recently, adjectives for language, ethnic group and nationality would often match (with notable exceptions, like Belgium and Switzerland). In the US (almost) everybody has the same nationality and language, and it is ethnicities and religions that differentiate people first, hence the greater importance for respect toward other ethnicities and religions in the USA.
In Europe the emphasis of respect is put on cultures and languages. Making aggressive jokes about a particular linguistic or cultural group (e.g. calling the French "cheese-eating monkies) because of the importance of cheese in French culture), for instance, is the equivalent of attacking a particular ethnic or religious group in the US. It's a big no-no. However, making fun of religions is usually quite acceptable in Europe.
Food
Europeans all have a lot of traditional dishes from their region or city. Specialities tend to be very local, so that some pastries can be seen in one town, but not 100 km away.
Europeans eat more varied and balanced meals (especially in southern cultures) and less fast food than Americans (except maybe the Brits). Europeans eat more cheese (not just the French !), more yoghurts, and on average drink more wine and stronger beers than Americans.
Sports
It is interesting how the popularity of sports can be so different between Europe and North America. The most popular sports in ALL Europe is football (soccer), probably followed by tennis, cycling, and Formula 1 (as well as other motor races). In the US, soccer and F1 are far away in the popularity ranking. It is baseball, basketball, ice hockey and American football that attract the crowds and make money. And as much as European sports lack popularity in the US, the reverse is true (except for basketball).
Dating & Marriage
While marriage is increasingly seen as a completely optional "folkloric tradition" in Europe, it is still quite important in the USA (probably because religion is also more important there). Statistically Americans marry much more than Europeans, but also divorce more. Gay marriage, now legal in several EU countries and hardly an issue for debate in Europe (because of the little importance of marriage in Europe nowadays), is still vehemently opposed by a big part of the US population.
Wedding ceremonies are also much more important and formal in the USA. In most of Europe it is limited to an informal family gathering (usually at the bride or groom's parental home). Marriage traditions do vary considerably between European countries, and even more between families. But in average it is certainly less important than in the States (or in Asian countries for that matter).
Furthermore, there are some strong nationwide American traditions regarding wedding ceremonies, like bringing "something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue". There is obviously no equivalent thing at a European level, and most often not even at a national or regional level.
In fact, even the way of dating tends to follow so well-defined rules in the USA. For instance, there are widely followed conventions about sleeping on the 3rd date. Men know they shouldn't expect to see a woman again if she insists to split the bill ("check" in AmE) at the end of their first date. The way of proposing, or buying an expensive ring are more important for Americans too. In Europe, the way of doing things is more informal and spontaneous, and can varies a lot from one region to another, and even on a person to person basis. Sometimes, that makes Europeans envious of how easy and clear things look in the USA in comparison. The drawback is that it seems too stereotypical, especially if you don't like the conventions.
Nobility
Europe still has a class of noble people (restored in Eastern Europe after the fall of communism), and many countries will mention the title (e.g. Baron) in official documents. About 1% of family names still have a "noble particle" (uncapitalised "de", "di", "von", "van", etc.) and it does have a meaning for some people. Europe also has hundreds of thousands of castles reminding people on a nearly daily basis of the time where nobility once ruled over everything.
Social customs
Americans have some customs that can be thought of in Europe as so typically American, like the baby showers and the bachelor(ette)'s night with strip-teasers. This is something most Europeans only see in US series and movies. The same is true of Thanksgiving and ,until about a decade ago, of Halloween (but this last one exported itself well in Europe and East Asia).
Military politics
It is prohibited in most of Europe for the military people, or anyone with a professional military history to become politicians. This means that they become politically ineligible. On the contrary, in the USA, it is almost required to have a military history to become president, and quite a few Congress people have also served in the army. Maybe this is because the president's image is still strongly associated with that of the "commander in chief", and because defence (or offence) is so important in US politics.
Let's also note the common use of gangsters and criminals in the US military for their "killing talents", and the way they can pass from notorious criminals to national heroes - something mostly unheard of in Europe. The US government has even used this tactics in post-war Japan to fight communism by forgiving and rehabilitating convicted war criminals and yakuza leaders (some even became Prime Ministers with the support of the US, like Kishi Nobusuke).
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