Cadet Killian Buckley's Blog

In class, this past week, we discussed food and table etiquette.  Particularly we discussed how important table etiquette appears to be in many East Asian cultures in comparison to American culture.  In American culture, our love of fast food makes a utensil-less meal acceptable.   Therefore, we often feel that cultures with strict table manners are “up tight”.  On the contrary, table manners honor a sense of tradition in many of these cultures.  The table manners often originate from a standpoint of hygiene.  For example, in Japanese culture, it is considered rude to blow your nose at a table and it is common to receive a hot towel to cleanse your hands before eating.   Also, there is a particular focus on portion control and not wasting food.

American culture is much younger than these East Asian cultures.  East Asian cultures were developed in a time when cleanliness and not wasting resources, especially in terms of food, was a life or death situation.  On the other hand, the more modern American culture of food, particularly fast food culture, was developed in the time of modern health care and indoor plumbing.  The time period at which these cultures were truly developed affects the traditions within them.  It is easy for many Americans, including myself, to forget how new our culture truly is.  The cultures of many of these East Asian nations are ancient and have developed over the course of thousands of years.