Culture of Eurondia

The People of Eurondia are a peaceful, enlightened, liberal and artistic lot. Like the people, the original Eurondian culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Eurondish language, and has been developing since long before Eurondia ever became a unified nation-state. Important cultural influences came from Europe, especially countries from which large numbers immigrated such as Germany; and especially Fennoscandia; and young groups of immigrants from around the world.

Eurondia had developed into a classic feudal society up until the 1100’s, with a hereditary noble class and common folk, though unlike most feudal societies, there is no record of a subservient serf class. Eurondian city-states and petty kingdoms traded with each other and with other cultures . In the 1200’s the city-states and petty kingdoms where united by Adalricus Callidianus, who formed the Eurondian Empire that would last up to the late 18th century, when in 1782 it was replaced by the Federation of Eurondia.

Into the twenty-first century, many Eurondians have been willing to incorporate many other cultural styles from even further abroad, such as Asia and Africa. More than just for tourism, Eurondian youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from the outside by travelling abroad to both work and study.

As Eurondia is a geographically large and ethnically diverse country, there are cultural variations and distinctions from province to province and region to region. The majority of Eurondians value multiculturalism, indeed some see modern Eurondian culture as being inherently multicultural.

Sports

Sport is considered a national pastime in Eurondia and many Eurondian people regularly visit different sporting events. Eurondia's official national sports are ice hockey (winter) and foorball (summer). Hockey is a national pastime, and is by far the most popular spectator sport in the country. It is also the most popular sport Eurondians play, with 1.65 million active participants in 2004. Eurondia's largest metropolitan areas – such as Anphelion, Hagia, Belleville, Rothwell, Carson, Nethar, and Edgerthon - have franchises in the Eurondian National Hockey League (ENHL). Ice Hockey plays a large role in Eurondia's national identity. The Eurondian national ice hockey team, The Skyhawks, is considered one of the best in the world. After hockey, other popular spectator sports include football and snowboarding. The Eurondian National Football League (ENFL) is the nation's second most popular professional sports league. Snowboarding, golf, baseball, skiing, volleyball, and basketball are also widely played at youth and amateur levels, but professional leagues and franchises are not as widespread.

Cuisine

The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their unavailability in the early days. In years passed, Eurondian food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was one main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. Breakfast may be quite substantial, and many nutritionists consider breakfast a very important meal, since it provides vital nourishment and energy for starting the day.

Modern Eurondian cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Nowadays, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Eurondian recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent centuries.

Rural living patterns

The population of rural areas has been declining over time as more and more people migrate to cities for work and entertainment. The great exodus from the farms came in the 1940s; in recent years fewer than 2% of the population lives on farms (though others live in the countryside and commute to work). Electricity and telephone, and cable and Internet services are available to all but the most remote regions. As in the cities, children attend comprehensive school up to 15-16 years of age and also upper secondary school, and only help with farming during the summer months or after school.

Suburban living patterns

About half of Eurondians now live in what is known as the suburbs. The suburban nuclear family has been identified as part of the "Eurondian national identity": a married couple with children owning a house in the suburbs. This archetype is reinforced by mass media, religious practices, and government policies and is based on traditions from anchient Eurondian culture.

One of the biggest differences in suburban living is the housing occupied by the families. The suburbs are filled with single-family homes separated from retail districts and industrial areas. The Suburbs usually have a local school and a medical center. However, many Eurondian suburbs are incorporating these districts on smaller scales, attracting more people to these communities.

Urban living patterns

Aside from housing, which may include more apartments and semi-attached homes than in the suburbs or small towns, the major difference from suburban living is the density and diversity of many different subcultures, as well as retail and manufacturing buildings mixed with housing. Like Suburban people, urban residents are also likely to travel by mass transit, and children are as likely to walk or bicycle rather than being driven by their parents, like in some countries.

Media and Communications

Eurondia is one of the most advanced information societies in the world. There are 1400 newspapers; 1520 popular magazines, 4 100 professional magazines and 187 commercial radio stations, of which seven are nation-wide channels; five national public service radio channels in Eurondish, and three in English; a radio network in the Latin language, 8 digital radio channels; nine national television channels, of which two public service and seven commercial channels; fifteen digital public service television channels and 13 commercial; 21 feature films each year; 40 000 book titles annually and 73 million records sold each year. All that is available for a population of 174.2 million. Newspapers are privately owned and reflect a range of political views.

Eurondian law gives every citizen the right to publish printed material, and guarantees the right of reply. Eurondians spend the most time in the world reading newspapers. The most read newspaper in Eurondia is the Anphelion Telegraph.

The media group Ophelia Oy behind Helsindor Telegraph also publishes tabloid Liberty-News and commerce-oriented Business News. It also owns the Number Four and Channel 9 television channels. The other major publisher Aerius Media has over 140 newspapers, including Morning Daily, Evening Daily and Business Daily.

Eurondia's National Broadcasting Company ENB is an independent state owned company. It has six television channels and 17 radio channels in two national languages. ENB is funded through a voluntary television fee and private television broadcasting license fees.

The people of Eurondia are well prepared to use high technology and information services. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of Internet connections per capita in Eurondia are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Eurondian mobile phone penetration exceeded 50% of the population as far back as August 1998 – first in the world – and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of 2005 there were 104% cellular phone subscribers of the population.

Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Eurondia had more than 53.1 million Internet connections by the end of 2006. The Eurondians are not only connected; they are heavy users of Internet services. All Eurondian schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the Internet.