Wow Wednesday

Lancaster County and Western New York have a great deal in common, as well as a great deal not in common. Today's Wow Wednesday will focus on some of the similarities and differences, though, bear in mind that many of these are my personal observations.

Crabapple Blossoms, Spring 2013

Weather

We have about a foot to a foot and a half of snow right now, so I thought warm memories would be appropriate. This is probably the biggest difference between the two areas: the weather. Western New York is known for snow: lake effect, blizzards, and cold. Lancaster County area is not (though, in recent years it has had a bit of snow fall). The summers in both places are mild, with temps somewhere in the seventies to nineties. Lancaster County is by far more humid than New York is, and this can be especially seen during the two to three weeks that Western New York receives both high temperatures and high humidity. The natives simply don't know what to do with themselves.

Water plays the biggest part in the weather changes. Lake effect is precipitation resulting in cold air over a warm body of water, i.e. the Great Lakes. Western New York receives lake effect from both Lake Erie (to the west) and Lake Ontario (to the north). Occasionally, when the weather is just right, we can receive lake effect off of Lake Huron.

Lancaster County area, on the other hand, keeps mild temperatures throughout the year as a result of the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic, and the Chesapeake Bay. During the summer, these two bodies of water bring the humidity, but during the winter keeps the area usually above freezing. While Western New York is usually colder in temperature, it is normally what is considered a dry cold that can be easily countered with plenty of layers. Lancaster County is usually a wet  cold which rarely allows the body to warm up. The amount of moisture in the air is part of the reason why it sometimes feels colder in Lancaster area than in Buffalo. The same is also true in the summer where the humidity makes it feel warmer than the air temperature is.

People & Faith

Both areas have a large old-family population, the major difference here being when the families arrived. Lancaster has several from before the American Revolution whereas Western New York was primarily settled after the American Revolution. The result in both cases is a large amount of people who claim English or German heritage. Both Western New York and Lancaster area have a diverse religious make-up, partly because of the freedom of religion that both colonies enjoyed.

Lancaster County area is primarily made up of English and German-Americans (the Amish are descendants of Germans as are the Mennonites). The large Baptist population in Lancaster area can trace their lineage back to English roots as do the Quakers. Two other groups growing in the area are the black community and the Hispanic community. Lincoln University, one of the historical all-black colleges, is located in Oxford PA, which is part of the Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

Protestant Christianity is the predominate form of religion in the region, but is made up from Baptists, Quakers, Brethren, Mennonites, Amish, Methodists and more. Catholic Christianity is growing especially since the Hispanic community is growing.

Western New York is also an odd mixture. Once again, a large English and German-American ethnic heritage is present, but Western New York also has a large, vocal Irish, Polish and Italian heritage. Historically, there has also been a solid Jewish population present in Buffalo. Because of the Irish, Italians, Polish and others, Catholic Christianity is the larger influence in religions. In recent decades, Hispanic, Muslim, and other groups have made their way into Western New York.

Like Lancaster County area, Western New York has a thriving black community. Interestingly, the reason for this comes from a similar location: escaped slaves. During the Antebellum Era (time before American Civil War), both Lancaster County and Western New York thrived with abolitionist fervor. The Quakers played a large role in Pennsylvania, whereas Buffalo's and Niagara Falls' locations played the role in Western New York.

Conclusion

The history, heritage and faith of these two areas plays a large portion in how, and what, they celebrate. The Christmas season is important to both locales, but each has a slightly different spin on the holidays. In Western New York, the season of Lent is more noticeable than it is in Lancaster County area. Once Lent rolls around in the new year, I'll introduce you to some of the ways Western New York celebrates, but until then, we'll focus on Christmas and Advent.