Culture of Sierra

The culture of Sierra refers to the artistic, culinary, literary, musical, religious, political, and social traditions and norms unique to Sierra and Sierran people. Contemporary Sierran culture has been by influenced by, , and culture and first arose in the late nineteenth century.

At its core, the Sierran culture can be perceived as a modern deviation or variant of American culture with strong influences from East Asian concepts including. Sierra itself was formed primarily by settlers hailing from the United States during the 19th century. Culturally, Sierra is best described as and therefore more  in nature than American society. However, Sierra places more emphasis on than traditional Asian societies creating a culture aiming to balance the interests of both the individual and society (social ). Economically and politically, Sierrans have traditionally held firm - mindset and traditions. Common traditions, beliefs, and ideas unite Sierrans and this sense of cohesion, tied along with Sierra's rich history and successes contribute greatly to one's sense of national pride. Racial, religious, and linguistic differences are considered irrelevant to the question of Sierran culture which in itself places high value in and the interdependent diversified unity of the people. Given the geographical size and plethora of people from different backgrounds, Sierra caters to many distinct social subcultures including ethnically-tied ones.

Development of modern Sierran culture
Modern Sierran culture arose in the early 20th century as a result of changing social attitudes toward, , and politics. The Progressive Era as it was called, included the years following the death of Smith I to the beginning of. advocated for better conditions and treatment for all Sierrans regardless of color or race and demanded change in Sierra politically and socially. Since the, Sierra had a growing non-white population, particularly those from  and by 1900, 5% of Sierrans had Asian ancestry (mostly from  and . Sierra also had a significant amount of  immigrants who left the  as former , , or the descendants of said people to escape the persecution and contempt of the American public during the.

Exposure to minorities coupled with the government's lax and neutral racial policies as well as public fascination and intrigue of foreign cultures made it easier for Sierrans to adopt new customs and mannerisms. Two catalysts helped accelerate the fundamental change in Sierran culture: the reactionary response of  and the rise of  promoting a new form of culture for Sierra that included ideas and conventions from "other" cultures.

Over the next 50 years, Sierran culture transitioned towards the contemporary, multicultural society seen today. There were periodic times of marked reactionary resistance and prolific events of racially-motivated lynchings, riots, and protests. Labor unions and trading associations played a significant role in attempting to retard the spread of Culler's cultural ideas. Socially, the reactionary movement emphasized on preserving the Anglo-Saxon tradition, free from "foreign" influence and stressed on "whiteness". The reactionaries were generally affiliated with the Democratic-Republican Party, and formed its "traditionalist" faction. The party not only advocated policies favoring the lower-class whites, but opposed immigration and open discriminatory policies against Asians, Latinos, and other minorities.

Symbols
Official symbols of Sierra include the purple star,, the , the , the , and the  (Rose of Sharon). The former three are featured on the national coat of arms which also includes a biphillic black eagle. The tricolor scheme of blue, yellow, and red are also strongly associated with Sierra, especially more so when paired with the color purple and sometimes white (as shown on the national flag). Other symbols include the, the , the , and a metallic bar.

Identity
Throughout Sierran history, especially during the Kingdom's first initial decades of independence, Sierrans struggled to develop a coherent, concrete. Although Sierra was neither part of the or, many of its citizens identified themselves with the country they had originally been from. Anglo-American Sierrans typically identified themselves as ' or Albish whereas the Spanish-speaking identified themselves as '. This identity was further challenged with the rise of in Sierra in the late 19th century. Through the Sierran Cultural Revolution, Sierra successfully forged two distinct cultures into one that became distinctly Sierran. With modern Sierran culture fully embraced by the 1950s, Sierran nationalism revolved around the fact that there were no one true homogeneous culture that was tied to one particular group of people, instead, there were various cultures that co-existed and even simultaneously embraced.

In contemporary times, Sierra has often been paired with the United States, reflecting the Kingdom's relationship with its much larger neighbor. Although many aspects of Sierran culture have profoundly influenced America's, such cultural customs and influences have been confused as America's creations. , the car culture, the fast food industry, and other inventions of Sierra that changed America have been misconstrued as originally American. In many countries, a popular misconception is that Sierra is an American state or an interchangeable term for America. In the Kurdish propaganda for example, Sierra is often called "America" and its culture and products as "American". This has given rise to the question, Americani vel non Americani (: Americans or not Americans?), reflecting the ongoing struggle for Sierrans seeking to identify themselves as a distinctly separate nation from their neighbors.

Language
Sierra has nine official languages at the federal level:, , (the  and / dialects), , , , , , and Serran. English is the predominant language throughout Sierra and is the nation's. According to the 2010 census, 77% of Sierrans over the age of 5 spoke only or predominantly English at home. Spanish is the second most common language (at 9%) and is also the most taught school language in Sierra.

Other languages have official status at the provincial/territorial level. These include (Gold Coast),  (Gold Coast),  (Apache and Flagstaff),  (Gilbert and Ellice Islands),  (Hawai'i), and  (Gold Coast).

The national dialect of English in Sierra is Sierran English which features several regional dialects within itself, primarily Northern Sierran English (in the northern provinces) and Southern Sierran English (in the southern and eastern provinces). The southern Sierran English centered around the Greater Los Angeles Area is accepted as the.

Literature
Contemporary Sierran literature is predominantly and. Early Sierran literature reflected the attitudes, perspective, and sentiments of the young kingdom. Sierran literature quickly gained notoriety for its significant works, emphasizing heavily on the emotions and strong affinity with the natural world. Sierran literature in the late 19th century and early 20th century explored the social and political issues that Sierrans confronted. Following the publishing of Mark Culler's Comparison of Western and Oriental Thought, Sierran literature transited towards a movement reflecting cultural and social changes in Sierra including  and.

Matthew Gregory Hampton (1842-1914) was the first Sierran author to gain international recognition and notoriety for his works. His was [The Sunset House]], a novel about overcoming  and. With his powerful use of diction and sentimental style of writer, Hampton propelled Sierran literature as a viable, serious movement with potential. Other authors including Kent Blume (1851-1932) and Christopher Zhou (1908-76) further enriched Sierran literature who were known for writing The Widow and Her Other Distasteful Sultry Selves and Across Sea and Sky respectively.