So this is a post from a white person, to white people getting into paganism and such trying to find “their culture.” I’ve watched a lot of people stumble through this and make same mistakes over and over, so I’m going to talk about some of them.
So first of all, the whole DNA thing. I’ll cut to the chase: you can’t tell what “culture” you belong to based on your DNA, and having some DNA commonly associated with certain regions doesn’t necessarily mean you “belong” to the cultures that live there. The idea that DNA = culture = country is just white supremacy. This whole thing of, “Oh, I’m some percent Irish and some percent Swedish” fails to acknowledge how borders and territories have changed throughout the years, and how it’s always been normal for people to move around and make babies with people from other parts of the continent.
Your culture is defined more by who raised you and what they raised you with. Now of course, if you’re a white American, your ancestors might have assimilated into “American” culture and tried to hide any obvious markers of their heritage; plus that whole thing where a lot of stuff has been appropriated from marginalized people. Like, just because your family’s in the cattle industry doesn’t entitle you to wear faux Native American fashion simply because it’s been a thing for years.
That said, your culture is might be much closer to you than you think. What are your parents’ surnames? How about your grandparents’ surnames? Assuming your ancestors didn’t change their names to assimilate, that can be a clue right there. It’s not perfect, because people moved around Europe and surnames got around, but it’s a start.
Your family might have traditions, quirks, and whathaveyou that trace back to somewhere in Europe. The kind of things your family chooses to eat and how they cook it. The kind of things they believe about ghosts and fairy beings. Their general assumptions and values. Again, not perfect, because people swap stuff all the time. (Just because my grandmother learned how to make a good marinara sauce and passed that down doesn’t make me Italian, lol.) But it can be a clue.
You’ll probably have to talk to your family and dig up genealogical records, immigration records, and things like that. This, plus the other stuff is going to help inform you on what “your culture” is.
I’ve noticed that there’s this commonplace expectation that your culture is is going to be this wondrous, idealized fairytale thing that’s going to be so unlike what you know already that it’s going to be like stepping into another world. And like, no. You’re probably going to find that it’s full of things you’re already familiar with just and took for granted. It’s not like we just tossed out everything from our past and started over from scratch.
Also, you’re going to find that a lot of your culture is Christian. Not everything is going to have a pagan origin, even if it doesn’t really “look” “Christian.” Most of European Christianity has always been syncretic - not because of any wicked plot of the Catholic Church, but because that’s what people who convert do. If you’ve grown up being damned sure that fairies exist, you don’t stop believing them just because they aren’t in the Bible. You might, however, try and explain their existence through a Christian lens. Just because somebody’s Christianity includes elements of pre-Christian belief, doesn’t make it any less Christian. And of course Christians are still people who need fun and stimulation and will come up with all kinds of whimsical, silly things to entertain themselves. Puritanicalism is the exception, not the rule.
Also, unless “your culture” is indeed of Greek or Roman origin, don’t expect it to work like Greek or Roman culture. Most Europeans were still into the whole animism, ancestor worship, local clan god thing when they converted to Christianity. They had places of worship, sure. But they didn’t have big urban temples or some big central government to decree what the “official” pantheon was.
Be aware that your culture won’t always be pretty or nice. There’s going to be some nasty stuff in there somewhere. And there are good odds that your ancestors were not violently forced to convert, but did so willingly.
Anyway, if there’s one thing I hope you take from all of this, it’s that people need to understand that while DNA might can give you hints about what culture(s) you belong to, it’s not the be-all, end-all, and what you were brought up with and who those traditions come from is generally more important.
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