southern culture
Below-the-line traditions
The traditional customs, values, and way of life associated with the American South—hospitality, regional cuisine, religious observance, and distinctive speech patterns.
The term encompasses everything from sweet tea and front-porch sitting to country music and college football devotion: Southern culture puts a premium on good manners.
Sometimes used nostalgically or defensively, the phrase can gloss over the region's complicated racial history. (Capitalized Southern Culture may refer to specific publications or organizations.)
- drawlUnhurried, elongated speech pattern
- yes ma'amFormal feminine affirmative
- bluesMournful American music genre
- country musicRural Southern folk-pop genre
- barbecueSlow-cook over coals
politeness · storytelling tradition · family loyalty · Sunday dinner · gospel choirs · fried chicken · catfish fry · folk art · Reconstruction Era · bayous · Spanish moss · sweet tea · Civil War · antebellum architecture · bluegrass · respect for elders · cornbread · Mardi Gras
- Central GeorgiaMacon, Perry, Forsyth, Cherry Blossom Festival, Byron
- Jackson MetroJackson, Pearl River, Jackson State, Pearl, Brandon
- Heartland StatesKansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, Indiana
- Jefferson CountyJefferson County, Jefferson, Birmingham, Hoover, Fairfield
- Southeast MissouriCharleston, Oak Ridge, Whitewater, Bloomfield, Wittenberg
southern cultureindustrial society
Civilization centered on manufacturing