From a very early point in life on, young Austrians learn to shake hands with adults when greeting. Shaking hands when greeting and parting is an important social courtesy. Next to this gesture, common greetings include Grüß Gott (literally “Greet God”), Guten Morgen (“Good Morning”), and Guten Abend (“Good evening”) and Auf Wiedersehen (“Good-bye”).
Eating and Diet
The contemporary changes in lifestyles have also taking its toll on the eating habits of many Austrians. The tradition in Austria is to eat the main meal around midday. While many Austrians still follow that custom, working people and students now eat the main meal in the evening rather than in the busy periods during the day.
Folk Customs
“Folk customs are an important source of information about the everyday life of ordinary people. … Austrian culture has been predominantly formed by Catholicism which also left its traces on non-religious customs. …”
Austrian families are rather small: The average family consists of parents and one child. Only in the rural parts of the country, people, on average, enjoy bigger families. This being said, Austrians do expect to marry and have a family. Most young Austrian children are used to the fact that both of their parents are working: Indeed, women comprise nearly 40 percent of the labor force.
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