Here in the United States, however, we have many traditional fruits. Of course, perhaps the most popular and traditional fruit that we grow is the apple. In fact, apples are such traditional fruits that they have become ingrained in our culture.
Take a look at some of the ways apples have moved from the tree into our language, games and stories:
It’s very common in our culture for someone to say, “That’s like comparing apples and oranges,” which means you’re trying to compare two things that are incomparable.
Apples have even become our folklore: most children know the story of Johnny Appleseed, the boy who traveled across the United States with an upside-down pot on his head, scattering apple seeds.
And everyone knows that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” Although this proverb has some merit, most still pass it off as an old wives’ tale. An apple a day won’t keep the doctor away if you don’t eat right, exercise, and refrain from excesses like smoking and heavy drinking!
One phrase that really shows how apples have become an important part of our society is “that’s about as American as apple pie!” Apples are completely ingrained in our culture, and apple pies are an American icon, reminiscent of “happy” years in the United States.
A rotten or rotten apple is not just a piece of rotten fruit. This idiom describes the “bad” or “rotten” person in a group.
Other popular phrases that we use in our culture are: “the apple of my eye” and “how do you like apples!”
As you can see, there are many ways that apples are totally ingrained in our culture. In fact, probably no other fruit is as important to our American culture as the apple.
The apple is truly a traditional fruit in the United States, and it is a fruit that seems to have many traditions associated with it.
For example, “bobbing for apples”. This is a game that is especially popular in the fall months and Halloween. In this game, a large bucket or cauldron is filled with water and apples are placed on it to float. Participants must lean towards the apples, trying to catch one with their teeth, without using their hands.
However, if you look at another culture, a culture in another region of the world, they probably have very different traditional fruits. And along with their different traditional fruits, they likely have different idioms, stories, and games based on those fruits, embedded in their culture.
