Culture in Burgundie



Culturally, Burgundie is one of the least vernacular and most mechanical nations in the world. This means that there is a level of homongony across the diverse and vast thalossocracy. This is an accidental side effect of the centralized, planned mechanization put forward by the various royal institutions since the New Burgundie Secession War, but especially since the Great Cronan War. These mechanization efforts, namely in the wide spread use of air conditioning, mass transit, and subsidized domestic migration have allowed the Burgundians to live anywhere in the world under the same conditions as they would on the Isle of Burgundie. Many international sociologists term this Laissez-faire Vilauristrification in reference to the fact that the phenomenon was accidental and that the Burgundian cultural experience is becoming more like that of the capital in Vilauristre. This has been more noticeable in the Burgundian territories outside of Levantia, as Levantine Burgundian culture is the core that many other vernacular cultures within the thalassocracy are being pulled towards. Outside of Burgundie, this has been observed across southern Punth. Many in southern Punth see Burgundie as the paragon of modernization and progress and thus have adopted many of the mechanizations that have led to this shift in Burgundie.

=Class and Work=

Social stratification
Burgoignesc society is divided on a number of lines that crisscross familial ties, geographic origin, ethnicity, and professional station. Ones status is taken on the whole so it is possible to have a higher "ranking" in one category but an abyssmally low "ranking" in another and you are therefore viewed as having an average societal status. These stem from the ancient noble stratifications of the post-classical era of the Kingdom of Dericania. By that period that ruling class of coastal Dericania was distinctly more Bergendii than any other culture and the families who helped to establish that cultural shift wanted to maintain their power.

The Alavar, Palacin, Marialanus, Marius, Galen, and Jacobi make up the Six Royal Houses of Burgundie who constitute a portion of the X Estates of Dericania. The "high" noble houses (estates in the Imperial context) rest a top 20-odd patrician houses or the urban aristocracy, a later development that became increasingly powerful after 1848 and the abolishment of the nobility. While the Royal Six still exercises disproportionate power, by the mid 20th century its fortunes were more or less lumped in with the patrician houses and they are collectively known in society as the "nobility".

Professional stratification
=Ethnicity= While often confused, the Bergendii are only a fraction of those who carry the demonym Burgundian. The term Burgundian refers to all peoples who reside in Burgundie, regardless of their ethnicity.

Bergendii


Of the Burgundians, the Bergendii are the largest ethnic group. Sometimes referred to as ethnic Burgundians by other cultures, this group is pervasive across many nations around the world. However, only those who originate from the Latinic group that populated the Isle of Burgundie between 100BC and 11th century AD are considered Bergendii. This Latinic group created a divergent culture with its own traditions and language, and after turning on the Latinic Arani of southeast Faneria, most scholars think that they had become a unique group. Their phenotype also paints a picture of some limited genetic mixing with local ethnic groups, which their linguistics and traditions support. The Bergendii are now truly northern Levantine, despite their equitorial origins.

Common characteristics are that they speak Burgundian, they are primarily Levantine Catholic, although there is a sizable minority of Merchantile Reform Protestants in Flordeterra and the Burgundian Minor Overseas Territories. They are generally paler, taller, and fairer than their Latinic brethern, due to intermixing with the indigenous populations of northern Levantia.

Latinic
The people of Latinic descent in Burgundie mainly come from Caphiria and Urcea, but also make up indigenous majorities in Burgundian Dericania. They are primarily Latin-speaking Levantine and Imperial Catholics, depending on where they originated.

Sinitalian
While genetically part of the Latinic phenotype, the Sintalians are a culturally unique group in central eastern coast of Levantia. In the Burgundian Dericania territories of Drusla, Esquinia, and Pumbria the Sinitalians are the majority group. The Sintalians have dark features, are shorter and squatter then their western Latinic cousins. They speak, an off-shoot of Latin that is so idiomatic and influenced by other languages brought to them by seafaring people, including Burgundian, that linquistically it is considered separate from Latin. The majority of Sintalians are Levantine Catholic but about 15% practice.

Feinii
The Feinii of Burgundie, are a subgroup of the greater Levantine. They make up the majority of the population in Ultmar, but are only the second largest group in all of Burgundie. They often complain of unequal treatment at the hands of the Bergendii establishment. They are tall, pale, a large part of the population have red or fair hair. They are primarily Levantine Catholic but as a sign of resistance against the "foreign" Latinic rule of the Bergendii, some more radical groups adopted and Mormonism in the early 20th century. While these groups are small, about 6% and 3% respectively, they have become some of the most outspoken in favor for addressing the "inherent rascism" in Burgundian society.

Ænglish
The Ænglish are a group of people of northern Urcea. They settled in the area after being brought into the area by the Urcean king in the mid-14th century to form a liege army. The area became known as Angla region in the 1400s as they became the most pervasive culture. They emerged as a unique culture with a unique language around that time and their central location and amalgous language, they provided a bridge between the various Germanic, Feinii, and Latinic cultures in Levantia. Despite being crushed and subsumed into Urcea, their language, English, became very pervasive in the 1500s as a working language of Levantia.

Arani
Other ethnocultural groups in Levantia include the Arani of southeastern Faneria, the Kirhavite Aboriginal tribes, and the Coscivian peoples who migrated from distant Novērda to become the majority in Great Kirav and Uruvun.

Lagyar
Lagyars are an ethnic minority in many Burgundian Dericania territories, particularly Bonavix, Eagaria, Esquinia, and Drusla.

Sondsteadish Tatars
=Religion=

Roman Catholicism
Levantine Catholic Church‎‎ Religious Primates of Ixnay

but Catholic vs

Saddlebag priests organized under the Tarsusian Order wander the countryside looking for poolhalls and other poignant topics in need of a pearl clutch and then foment panic in the middle class to solicit donations to "solve" social ills through the "power of prayer", but with some Catholic spin on it so its not literally the most Protestant sentence in Christendom.

Religious Festivals
=Language=

Body Language
=Education=

Primary and Secondary Education
Primary and secondary education is mandatory in Burgundie. Burgundians parents value education above all else for their children. In addition to public schools, magnet and charter schools thrive. Private schools like independent, parochial, Montessori and Waldorf schools serve 60% of the primary and secondary students in Burgundie. Families are very receptive to the varied learning styles of their children and often choose schools based on their children's needs, as well as by their prestige. As such, the children of Burgundie have some of the highest literacy rates in Ixnay at 99% and about 90% of young Burgundians pursue some form of tertiary education.

Tertiary Education
Burgundie has the highest tertiary education participation rates in Ixnay with about 87% of the adult population having some form of post-secondary education. These programs are classified as Specialized Baccalaureate (SB), Associates (AA/AS), Bachelors (BA/BS), Graduate Certificate (GC), Masters (MA/MS), and Doctorate (varies, depending on the program). Higher education in Burgundie is entirely privatized but, by royal degree, must be run in a non-profit model. This means that many universities, institutes, and academies have diversified beyond just their educational mission. The Seager Corporation (The President and Fellows of Seager Akademi) have led this trend with investments in a variety of museums, private libraries, laboratories, a vineyard and private forests. All of these forms of diversification are run for the benefit of the educational community, but generate a healthy profit for the institutions that operate them.

Quartiary Education
While there are no requirements or standards around quartiary education (continuing education and professional development) in Burgundie, about 48% of the workforce engage in some form of quartiary education annually. There are approximately 954 accredited continuing education or professional development programs in Burgundie. These courses are heavily biased towards the technical fields of engineering, architecture, mathematics, and sciences but almost every type of work in Burgundie maintains its own professional organization with certification criteria.

Oligarchia grammaticorum
Starting in the 1420s a meeting of learned men from the Faneriai principality of Burgundie, Heku, Kiravia and Paulastra occurred to discuss the status of the world. These meetings occurred in 1424, 1426 and 1429, but was outlawed as some topics were considered blasphemous. In 1430, the group formed a codex and started to send encrypted messages to each other and so began the Oligarchia grammaticorum (OG), Oligarchy of Grammarians. Their encryption grew ever more difficult to crack and the imagination of the world was taken by storm. There were conspiracies about every event and the involvement of the Oligarchia grammaticorum. In the 1640s the oligarchy became more transparent and started a number of permanent literary and scientific academies, most notably Universitas Magistrorum in Burgundie, _________ in Heku, Universitas Codicis in Kiravia, and Farpoint University in Paulastra. In the 18th and 19th century the OG was a driver in Enlightenment thought in Northern Levantia and Kiravia but its members suppressed the liberal ideals in Heku and Paulastra. By the 20th century, the OG had become primarily a learned society and a philanthropic entity. At the dawn of the 21st century, the OG has broadened its scope to also include artificial intelligence and cyber technology. It was under the guidance of the OG that Burgundie released its colony at Argaea to become Ixnay's first.

ARGUS
=Science and Technology=

Healing
Despite the preference for in the majority of cases,  has, since the 1980s, had an increasing impact on the preventative care environment in Burgundie. While evidence to support these forms of healing as curative is scant, the medical community is generally accepting of them as part of a continuum of care as long as they are not the sole and ultimate form of care sought by the patient.

Halotherapy
Stemming from the old colonial practice of “taking the salt” in Bulkhawa colony in the 18th century, halotherapy (salt immersion therapy) has become popular again across the nation. The best spas have salt imported directly from Bulkh, but a variety of mineral salts are used in common spas.

Sulin medicine
Following the defection of Surgeon General Zhao Su Lin from Xingkai’pei in 1982 to Burgundie a craze for ensued. Zhao made millions off of book tours, medical tourism summits, and opening franchises of name branded, , , and studios and spas. Sulin became the byword for, a branding effort his public affairs team encouraged.

Faith healing
Since Burgundie is a majority Catholic country, the Church has a monopoly on faith healing. While a variety of parochial hospitals and paramedical services exist, there are services offered for those who prefer  as well. Not all parish priests are trained in the conduct of healing services, but parishes where the practice is more accepted typically have priests who are so trained. All priests in Burgundie are well acquainted with the appeal for the and it has been anecdotally acknowledged that large swaths of the population seek this practice.

Psammotherapy
Stemming from the ancient sand baths of eastern Audonia, Psammotherapy (Burg: sammotherapie), is the total immersion of the body in hot sand, with the exception of the head. It is typically done in the desert but lacking native deserts Burgundie saw a rise in the 2020s of sand bathing beds. The participant lays in a shallow pit in the deserts surface sand and is then covered in a thick layer of sand causing the body to sweat profusely for up to 10 minutes. Then the participant is help out of the sand, is wrapped in a warm blanket and escorted into a tent were they drink large amounts of water. The process is repeated on average four or five times. The effects on the body are the same as a sauna but with dry heat versus moist heat.

Calendar
Burgundie uses the Levantine Calendar, but has names in Burgundian for the months.

=Cuisine=

Food
Due to its proximity to the seas, almost all Burgundian diets are reliant on fish as a protein staple. For richer Burgundians beef from Yytuskia, is also an important part of their meat repertoire. With recently created floating farms, the increase in grains and root vegetables has seen a slight increase in the national average of weight. Previous to this, carbs had played a fairly small part in the Burgundian diet. Vegetables and fruits from around the world are important as well. Because most foodstuffs in Burgundie are imported (with the exception of fish), they are comparatively expensive. This means that grocery bills in Burgundie constitute a higher proportion of a families expenses than most countries in Greater Ixnay. Families often share meals with neighbors and larger families in order to pool resources and afford more expensive foreign imports. This communal style of meal sharing has created a strong sense of community and camaraderie across the country. These grup de menjars (English: meal groups) operate as extended families.

Oysters
, Unlike most shellfish, oysters can have a fairly long shelf life of up to four weeks. However, their taste becomes less pleasant as they age. Oysters should be refrigerated out of water, not frozen, and in 100% humidity. Oysters stored in water under refrigeration will open, consume available oxygen, and die.

Oysters can be eaten on the half shell, raw, smoked, boiled, baked, fried, roasted, stewed, canned, pickled, steamed, or broiled, or used in a variety of drinks. Eating can be as simple as opening the shell and eating the contents, including juice. Butter and salt are often added. In the case of Oysters Rockefeller, preparation can be very elaborate. They are sometimes served on edible seaweed, such as brown algae.

Care should be taken when consuming oysters. Purists, a common occurrence in Burgundie, insist on eating them raw, with no dressing save perhaps lemon juice, vinegar (most commonly shallot vinegar), or cocktail sauce. Upscale restaurants pair raw oysters with mignonette sauce, which consists primarily of fresh chopped shallot, mixed peppercorn, dry white wine and lemon juice or sherry vinegar. Like fine wine, raw oysters have complex flavors that vary greatly among varieties and regions: salty, briny, buttery, metallic, or even fruity. The texture is soft and fleshy, but crisp on the palate. Variations in water salinity, alkalinity, and mineral and nutritional content influence their flavor profile.

Alcohol
Burgundians have a long history of alcohol appreciation. Proto-Burgundians left behind a tradition of spit beer that lasted well into the middle ages. This still exists in more remote areas of the Ultmar. As the agricultural practices of Burgundie improved, large fiefs and abbeys started to focus on viticulture and brewery based agriculture. As a result, barley beer, Glenness being among them, became popular. It was also the beginnings of the modern Burgundie Wine Region. Its vineyards were declared the vineyards of choice by the prince of the Faneriai province of Burgundie. In the 1600s, Kiravian whiskey distilling methods improved to the point of abundance and exports of whiskey started arriving in Burgundie.

Barley beer fell out of favor in the mid-1700s when ships carrying sugarcane from near the equator resulted in a rum boom. This was also coupled with a conservation effort to restore the cedar forests of Burgundie, which curtailed agricultural expansion. Political difficulty with Kiravia resulted in a formal cessation of the imports of Kiravian whiskey, but "whiskey packets" thwarted the sanctions and a black market built up around it. The Burgundian government tried to subsidize local distilleries and created a unique blend, made mostly of corn mash called Burgbon, but the product was sub-par and never caught on in discerning markets.

In the 1970s, after the repair of relations between Burgundie and Kiravia, Kiravian whiskey was formally allowed to be imported into Burgundie once again. Recently, Cair Sinclair distillery in Avercrósan, Irovasdra, Kiravia, has become the most popular imported whiskey brand in Burgundie, clinching a $40million share of the liquor market.

In the 1980s, a group of Burgundians, coming back from study abroad in Yytuskia, brought with them beer made by the Schulburg Abfüller Brewery in Yytuskia. The dark caramel notes and creamy texture was a smash hit and has turned into a $4billion import business in Burgundie. This also ignited the resurgence of local brewers like Glenness.

Gin and Tonic Race
The Gin and Tonic Race in the aftermath of the Alshar Quasi-War resulted in Burgundie dominating the Greater Levantine gin and tonic water markets. To this day Vilauristre Dry Gin and Yonderrian Sloe Gin are considered mass market standards in most countries.

Dieting
=Philosophy=

Social prudence
Burgundian society is predicated heavily on the moral prerogative of a righteous. This has long been the breeding ground for the that developed in Burgundie. It stipulates that the Commonwealth is best served by citizens who are highly independent and intelligent, mindful of their action’s impact on others, and knowledgeable of the definite difference between right and wrong. The concept of a “moral grey area” is a fairly recent development and is mostly utilized solely overseas as an instrument of trade or politics.

This sense of establishing a morally righteous community has long been supported by the Levantine Catholic Church, allowing for the Church to dig its presence deep into the societal consciousness of the average Burgundian citizen. This is best expressed through a 2023 study on, in which Burgundians came in first for the populations most compliant to queues and first for populations most violent against those who thwart queues. In the study's final remarks, it was noted, "that while not scientifically significant it was observed that a Kiraviaian, recently arrived in Vilauristre, was first verbally, then physically assaulted by Burgundians in line at an ice cream parlor. So vicious were the Burgundians in their assumption that the Kiraviaian had spit in the very eye of the Burgundian ethos, that it took 12 police officers 5 minutes to restore order.”

Other tenants of the latent code of Burgundian conduct are as follows:
 * a crime against one Burgundian is a crime against Burgundie as a whole, this applies doubly for crimes against women and children, often leading to community ordained vigilantism
 * poverty is a result of the complicity of society and therefore, it’s existence is the fault of each individual Burgundian
 * clothing is a demonstration of respect, therefore, not wearing the appropriate clothing to the occasion is a slight against society as a whole

The Burgundians look down on societies who do not follow these particular tenants. This is particularly the case on the continents of Levantia, Crona, and Ixnay, as the expectation is that also being from a Judeo-Christian background they would follow similar tenants. It has also led to a paternalistic approach to nations outside of the Abrahamic traditions. As a result of these strict social morays, Burgundians are generally looked upon as snobby, self-righteous, condescending, and morally heavy-handed.

=Heritage= History and heritage are very important to the Burgundians. These leads them to tend toward traditional social morays and cultural interaction. That is not to say that Burgundians are closed or narrow-minded. They welcome other cultures and scientific and technological advancement as these have always been important to the monetary and cultural economy in Burgundie. Furthermore, there is a certain that Burgundians are known for throughout Greater Ixnay. They are renowned hard workers, shrewd businessmen and extremely devoted to the of Burgundie.

Burgundians are very proud of these qualities, in fact, they are proud people in general, but often in a stoic way, never braggadocious or boastful.They sense of assuredness is often perceived by less formal cultures as antiquated and snobby.

In a bit of jingoistic Kiraviaian reportage the Burgundian culture was likened to a strong cup of tea, steeped in its own self importance, bitter to the foreigners taste, but viciously effective at jolting the system.

Hyper-Urbanization
Since the establishment of permanent Latinic city-states in Ipar in the 3rd century BC, urbanization has been a part of the Burgundian mythos. It originally was a symbolic differentiation between the Latinics and the and  tribes who were  and only mildly sedentary, respectively. Burgundie's population has always been concentrated in urban centers, due in large part to the creation of a protectionist society, build up around to protect against attacks and raids from outsiders. This concept was originally expressed in the development of cities surrounded by large where each day the workers and their landlords would return to the safety of the security  walls before returning to the fields each morning. This lead to a strong sense of connection between those in power and those simply working the land, a sense of that remains to this day. This style of city and community building became crucial to the defense of Burgundie and its peoplein the middle ages by thwarting Fiannria' efforts to dominate Burgundie for over 300 years.

Urbanization in Burgundie did not technically meet the definition of "hyper-urbanization" until the turn of the 20th century. From then it enjoyed a 60 year explosion that followed a massive population boom as the benefits of public health started to impact all members of Burgundian society and as immigrants from southern Punth flooded the nation. Urban development stalled in the latter 20th century but renewed commitment to bringing back an important part of the spirit of Burgundie in the early 21st century has jump started it again.

Cultural hegemony
Dating back as far as the Latinic infiltration into the Levantine southeastern coastal plain the resident cultures have been in a struggle for dominance. As was the Latinic culture at the time, they set about for the total displacement of the Impaxi of Ipar. Integration with the Istroyans further branched the Latinics of the Levantine southeastern coastal plain into a increasingly unique branch from their inland cousins. This offshoot of Latinic culture became known as the Bergendii and originally only applied to those from the Isle of Burgundie but as their influnce spread it became a general and unifing description of the coastal peoples who took strong influences from the Audonian traditions from the Kingdom of Gassavelia and/or the seafaring traditions of the Istroyan civilization. The various raiding and adventuring parties that departed these lands took this sense of cultural exceptionalism with them. This was typically furthered by the concepts of crusading or colonization that often accompanied the Bergendii diaspora. Prime examples of these sense of a following the marauding Bergendii are Diamavya and Yonderre, two nations both equally formed and subjugated by the Bergendii's desire for cultural hegemony.

Furthermore, since the Bergendii were often the minority culture at home or the absolute minority abroad they were fierce believers that they were always the "last of their kind" and must defend their beliefs from the sieging barbarianism of those around them. This was encouraged by clerics following the conversion of southern Levantia to christianity. Ferocious proslytizers the Bergendii soon conflated their cultural norms and the dogma of the Levantine Catholic Church. This is most evident in Yonderre.

This continued de jure until the 19th century when, with the thesis of the Two Derics, finally a sense of formalization was attributed to the singular idea of Burgoignesc culture being one consistent set of ideas, ideals, norms, and assumptions. This all occurred in the context of the Kingdom of Dericania a political construct with the least autonomy of the three kingdoms of the Holy Levantine Empire, but also the most illustrious. A strong sense of otherness was pervasive, between rival princlings jockeying at court, between the court and the countryside, between the nobility and the peasantry, between the inland and coastal areas, and between the Latinic core and the Bergendii, Gaelic, and Gothic cultural fringes. The strong sense of cultural unease was pervasive in all of these cultural minorities, but the richer trading ports ruled by the Bergendii had the capital, education, and agency to act on their malaise. The 19th century philosophical debate about the existence of a second type of Deric was fought at first in universities, but later spilled into the political sphere as fear mongering republicans used it drive a wedge not only culturally but also between the nobility and the growing working class. This occurred most vehemently in the "Derian border regions" generally understood as the current border between Burgundie and Vorenia. By the mid-1800s the Kingdom of Dericania was a powder keg. A swelling of republican desire and frustration towards the general perception of exclusion lead to massive riots in 1848. Pro and anti-Derian factions lept on the chaos and ignited First of The Fraternal Wars.

The Fraternal Wars were a series of wars fought over a number of issues but are recognized to have generally started at the collapse of the academic discourse for the Two Derics. The First Fraternal War is also credited with creating a formal Burgoignesc culture. It was during this period that the Burgundie the nation state was formed, the Burgoignesc language was formally adopted as a academic language, and the social morays of the Levantine southeastern coastal plain were collected and recognized as a majority culture within its own realm.

National holidays
=Fine Arts=

Public space, parks, and gardens
Historically, Burgundie has in general, but on the Isle of Burgundie in particular, developed a style of garden/park known as the, literally flower gardens of Themis, the titaness of order. This style of garden is based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. These grand displays of man's might have been cultivated over centuries of the minor princelings of outer Latuim to demonstrate their authority not only over their subjects but also over nature itself. In Burgundie in general there is a sense that the sea is perfect as it is and should be accepted but that land must be tamed and altered to fit the needs of mankind.

Music dellas carboniers
This is a form of folk music typically sung by coal miners, like the. It is typically accapella and sung in an acoustic environment where the echo and reverberation are utilized as a member of the group, like in a deep mine. This has led to the development of special concert halls being built in the coal regions of Burgundie's Burdeboch and Cashen. Its notable for its use of the and short phrases, so as not to require a deep breath in the mines, bringing in coal dust to the lungs. It also utilizing a disproportionate amount of humming, again in an effort to reduce the ingestion of coal dust. It often slow and rhythmic to match the average swing of a pick and other mining tools.

Topics often include Hell, toil, torment, the working man, servitude, darkness, loss, and mortality.

Prenent l'aire
This is a form of folk music typically sung sailors, like the. It literally means "taking the air", in reference to the healthy ocean air. It is typically sung with musical accompaniment. It is a broad genre of music without a standard meter and each ship typically had its own variations on the standards. Its sung almost exclusively in the, using long broad phrases, requiring deep breathing, hence its name.

Topics often include Heaven, freedom, mythical figures (mermaids, sea monsters), far off ports, and women.

Music partisæ
This is a form of folk music typically sung soldiers, like. It literally means "partisan music", in reference to the factionalism of the Fraternal Wars. It is typically accappella and sung in pace with the march.

Topics often include death, battles, women, comrades, and valor/glory.

Orchestral Music
Unlike many of its Occidental compatriots the ochestras of Burgundie are composed not of violins, violas, cellos, and basses but rather include some archaic and ethnic instrumentation. While many Occidental orchestras are composed of instruments played with a bow, Burgundian orchestras have a combination of bowed, picked, and plucked instruments.

In descending order of its typical register the instruments are:



Ballet
Ballet (Burg:Danse deBallais) or more colloquially Ballais, was first formally performed in the Duchy of Marialanus in 1489. The dance has long been integral to the cultural scene of Burgundie. The various principalities, duchies, and that now make up the modern country of Burgundie are well documented to have created two of the four schools of modern ballet, ' and '. Ballais is a mandatory course of study in Burgundian schools from 1st grade through high school graduation. Participation rates remain high as many universities and businesses maintain corps du Ballai.  is the official dance of the country and as such is afforded a prominent part in most demonstrations of national spirit. Participation rates in amateur ballet companies are, on average 5-15% in any municipality. Communities typically have professional or semi-professional ballet companies associated with them and competitions are common spectacles. While less common over all,  is popular in Faramount. The Metropole Forces of the Army of Burgundie have ballet companies down at the Divisional level, but some regiments and Brigades also maintain their own corps du Ballais. Ballet has been a part of the global Burgundian brand since the 1970s. Following the Great War the war weary Burgundians sought to define Burgundie by other means instead of by its centuries of military intervention. Ballet was an obvious choice as it demonstrated the poise and grace of Burgundian high society but also the potential explosive power of its working classes. Some enterprising ballet dancers petitioned for the Imperial Burgundian Ballet School to be opened in Urceopolis, Urcea, and in 1968 it was granted a charter by the Urcean and Imperial crown. The prowess and finesse of the Burgundian dancers was soon recognized beyond Urcea. Touring companies were created to bring the fine arts of Burgundie to the world. Ballet companies were paired with orchestras, theater troupes, and art exhibitions. These “culture fleets” tour the world to this day ensuring that Burgundie is synonymous with high culture the world over.

History of Ballet
Ballet is estimated to have been first formally performed in the Duchy of Marialanus in 1489 at the wedding of the Duke’s son to the eldest daughter of the Duke of the newly formed Duchy of Martilles. The wedding ceremony we spectacular and much admired by those of the Imperial court. It became de rigueur for the nobles to follow suit. The dance master, Joan-Paul deBallais, was in such high demand that the Imperial Court indentured him as the Imperial Dance Master and formed the. DeBallais’s dance, as it become known, spread from the imperial court to the palaces of the Empire as the official court dance and the defining cultural phenomenon of the 17th-18th century in southern Levantia. Where early court ballet differed from its predecessors, is that it was a secular, not religious happening. It was a carefully crafted mixture of art, socializing, and politics, with its primary objective being to exalt the State. The Imperial Court of the Holy Levantine Empire maintained a large ballet complement and recruited from across the world. The Levantine high culture scene was considered one of the best, with some of the most enduring musicians of the. To demonstrate their wealth and to curry favor with the emperors, some dukes and princes across the Empire developed ballet schools of their own to cultivate a healthy stock of dancers to be bargained with in their dealings with the emperor. One such duchy was the Duchy of Burgondia, who in 1507, formed a deBallais school of their own. The school was housed in the ducal palace and formed, with the Orchestral School, the foundation of Burgundian cultural court life. The Royal Faramount deBallais school was formed in 1588 and played a key role in the Imperial court’s recruitment of dance masters and young performers. During the Union of Magnia-Burgondia, the deBallais school in Vilauristre was influenced by the dynamicism and power of the Magnian Kingdom’s Slavic folk dances. The blending of the smooth and effeminate nature of the with the striking and masculine forms favored in Magnia created a new genre of the dance called ‘’Ballais Burgones’’.

Nationalist Ballet
‘’’’ continued as the official dance of the Holy Levantine Empire through the 1830s. As the 19th century saw the rise of, it saw music and dance being influenced by local folk themes. By the 1820s ‘’Ballais della Cort’’ was considered out of fashion and variety of principalities and duchies took the initiative to demonstrate their local variations on the form. ,, , and were particularly popular. As these regional influences changed the classical dance of ballet there was an overall shift in the style and appetites for its performers. The emergence of, the dominance of female dancers, and longer, flowy tutus that attempt to exemplify softness and a delicate aura. This movement occurred during the early to mid-nineteenth century and featured themes that emphasized intense emotion as a source of experience as opposed to a story intended to exalt the state. The plots of many romantic ballets revolved around spirit women (sylphs, wilis, and ghosts) who enslaved the hearts and senses of mortal men. These move away from the participative nature of the ‘’’’ and became spectacles to be watched by a seated audience.

Fashion
Burgundians are traditional, formal, and conservative in their style of dress. Women wear dresses, skirts, and pleated trousers in equal measure, often paired with a cardigan or shawl. Older Burgundian men are rarely out without a jacket, younger men without a sweater. All Burgundians wear headgear, for women in less formal situations a scarf is common, and on more formal occasions elaborate hats or fascinators are de jure. Meanwhile

The stormy weather off of the Kilikas Sea and the cooler climes of Burgundie often require that most people carry an umbrella or a rain slicker, regardless of the weather at the time. Particularly on the Isle of Burgundie where sudden squalls are common during hurricane season. Due to its maritime history, most Burgundian casual wear nautically inspired garments and are considered ever-ready to hop on a yacht should the need arise.

Role of Fashion in Society
Fashion is incredibly important in Burgundie as a signifier of status, type of employment, and wealth. Headgear in particular is

Casual Wear
Prep (abbreviation of the word Preparatoria) refers to a subculture in the Burgundie associated with the old s in the Duchy of Burgundie. The terms are used to denote a person seen as characteristic of a student or alumnus of these schools. Prep has become a colloquialism in the Burgundie and across Levantia and the Kilikas and has become synonymous with Burgundian culture. Characteristics of preps in the past, include a particular subcultural speech, vocabulary, dress, mannerisms, etiquette, reflective of a Burgundian upper-class upbringing.

Some typical frober styles also reflect traditional upper-class leisure activities, once associated with the wealthy Ultmarian nobles who once had a strong political and social position in the Holy Levantine Empire, such as, , , , , , , , , and. This association with Ultmarian inspired outdoor activities can be seen in forber fashion, through stripes and colors, equestrian clothing, plaid shirts, field jackets, and nautical-themed accessories.

Examples of Prep attire include sweaters, crewneck sweaters,  or woven leather belts,, , , button down  shirts,  pearl necklaces and earrings, gold bangle or large chain bracelets, , polo shirts (often with a popped collar), and.

Overseas Styles
=Media=

Podcasts
=Sport=

Horse racing
The various principalities that make up modern Burgundie engaged in horse racing to varying degrees until the 1790s when steeplechasing became ubiquitous across the Kingdom of Dericania. Minor, informal races had occurred across the Kingdom prior to this but it become an unofficial sport of the kingdom around this time. As feudalism fell and professional armies rose across the southern portions of Dericania, young professional cavalry officers sought ways to train and compete. By the 1810s in the few principalities that could afford a professional cavalry corps were requiring forms of flat racing and steeplechasing as part of military training. This became associated with the dashing appearance of cavalry officers and became associated with the officer class and civilian landowners took up the sport as a demonstration of status. By the 1830s, nobles and generous landowners would gives days off to their tenant farmers on race days and it became a joyous communal holiday. The later half of the 19th century, theSouthern Levantine Mediatization Wars saw the dissolution of the aristocracy and as such their grand estates. This coincided with the industrial revolution in Burgundie, which when combined saw workers flooding into the coastal cities. Horse racing became a rare phenomenon and was typically was a game played between wealthy friends rather than a spectator sport. For nearly 20 years horse racings prominence waned and almost disappeared. However, in the 1890s the New Stud Movement revived horse racing in Burgundie. In 1892, future Imperator ofCaphiria Juvano Baldolianti, was granted patriarchy of House Tervarinus by Imperator Arieri II. As part of an austerity plan he sold off his father's race horses. The looking to demonstrate their wealth, but separate themselves from the aristocrats of old, flocked to the various auctions and formed Burgoignesc Breed Registry to maintain records of the new studs they were creating. Of the approximately 1,000 horses in the Tervarinus stables, 629 were brought to Burgundie. Horse racing renewed itself as a spectator sport for the working classes who were lucky enough to have a benefactor who owned horses. For the it was an all out competition, not just on the race track, but who could bring bigger crowds, build bigger and more opulent race tracks, and who could breed faster horses. Concurrent with the rise in the interest in human eugenics, equine eugenics became a craze in the early 1900s. Studding fees became astronomical as the pseudo-science purported to become more exacting. The Burgoignesc Breed Registry's recording fees also sky rocketed and the industry of horse racing and its affiliated services became a driving economic factor in many of the upland regions of the country. It was also one of the first legal forms of gambling in Burgundie.

=Social ideals=

Marriage and divorce
In Burgundie newly married women are more likely to be in their first marriages, more likely to have BA degrees or higher education, less likely to be under age 25, and less likely to have own children in the household, which all impacts the divorce rate and gives Burgundie a fairly low divorce rate for a country with legal divorce.

Given that newly married couples are older and more highly educated, Public Health officials predict the Burgundian divorce rate will continue to drop.

Family structure
Families in Burgundie are typically small, two parent affairs with Bergendii families having 1.75 children, Feinii families have 2.1 children, and immigrant communities vary, but collectively having an average of 3.2 children. In most cases both parents are working and the basic family unit is the nuclear family. Extended families do not typically live together and may even live a world apart.

Contraception
Becoming legal in the 1950s as a result of the Burgundian Women’s Liberation movement, guaranteed access to contraception has faded from general discourse because of its wide acceptance and vast popular support. The Levantine Catholic Church has taken their protests to the pulpit but by the 1980s had lost steam even there as parishioners turned away from the church starting in the 1970s, many young people citing the Churches stance on contraception as a reason.

Induced Abortion
Becoming legal in the 1950s as a result of the Burgoignesc Women’s Liberation movement, induced abortion has faded from general discourse because of its wide acceptance and vast popular support. Access is guaranteed by law and is available at most hospitals that provide maternal-fetal medicine. The Levantine Catholic Church has taken their protests to the pulpit but by the 1980s had lost steam even there as parishioners turned away from the church starting in the 1970s, many young women citing the Churches stance on induced abortion as a reason. In the depths of Roln and Daltmur induced abortion is still socially taboo and is least likely to be practiced. These two areas also have the highest levels of unintended pregnancy, death or impairment of the mother and or child due to birthing complications, unmarried motherhood, parents without college degrees, lowest average income, highest gender pay gaps, and lowest levels of savings in Burgundie. These statistics are often cited as examples of why de-stigmatizing abortion remains important.

The government of Burgundie does not specify when in the gestation process a fetus becomes a person. The medical community has determined that they will not usually conduct abortions after the conclusion of the second trimester out of consideration of the health of the mother. Due to the flexibility of the law, extreme circumstances may warrant an abortion at any time, even in the third trimester.

Protest movements
Because of its entrenched status in the vast majority of society, there is no such thing as a pro-choice movement as this standpoint is considered the norm in Burgundie. An extra-liberal movement started in 2024 that seeks to criminalize the denial of access to abortions or other women’s health services. This group posits that denying the full spectrum of women’s health services is a breach of the mother’s human and civil rights. They seek to have laws codified to penalize parents, male sex partners, priests, and others who preclude mothers from seeking abortions or other proven women’s health services. Efforts to change the laws have been discussed on the floor in the Golden Council of Ten but no action has been taken as yet.

The small but zealous pro-Life movement exists in certain rural parts of Burgundie. The movement is small and generally ignored getting an average of 14 hours of news coverage per year. The pro-Life activists seek to end the guaranteed access to abortions specifically and do not take a stance on access to other women’s health services. They frame their argument as a protection of national security. Since all residents of Burgundie are required to participate in the Standardized Militia Program, pro-Life proponents claim that abortion is an act of treason by murdering “soldiers of Burgundie”. Further, since Standardized Militia Program is a requisite for citizenship in Burgundie, the movement claims that abortion is a denial of a chance of citizenship to deserving residents.

Children and parenting
The average age for mothers in Burgundie to have their first child in 28. This varies widely by province with the lowest average age in Roln being 22 and the highest being 32 on the Isle of Burgundie. Having children in Burgundie is something that happens mostly after mothers have achieved the following:


 * completed high school
 * completed the Standardized Militia Program
 * graduated from their terminal degree, most commonly a bachelors or higher
 * completed 3 years of work
 * gotten married, and
 * bought a domicile

Having this background means that most children in Burgundie are intentional, well provided for, will go to institutions of higher education, will have parents who provide them the opportunity to travel internationally, and will have two parent households. This puts Burgundian children at an advantage over children from a number of different nations in Greater Ixnay. However, it means that the average Burgundian family is small. On average Bergendii families have 1.75 children and Feinii families have 2.1 children. Immigrant communities vary, but collectively have an average of 3.2 children. These small nuclear families mean that more time is devoting to parenting in contrast to general child-rearing, in which children may be expected to take care of each other.

Parenting
Because of the small size, intentional nature, and the high likelihood of the presence of two parents of Burgundian nuclear families, parents take the vast majority of the responsibility of rearing their own children. Traditionalist gender roles are blurred in Burgundie as roles are more likely assigned on meritocratic terms and through compromise. In approximately 16% of heterosexual Burgundian families, the male partner is the primary caregiver to the couple’s children. Because of its moderately long mandatory parental leave laws, Burgundian infants generally have a parent present 24hours for the first 14 months of its life. Following that children are often cared for by parents offsetting schedules when possible and/or seeking childcare alternatives. Wealthier families tending to engage private babysitters/tutors to watch children and edutain them until they are old enough to go to school. These people are highly regulated and often hold a Specialized Baccalaureate in Childcare or higher degrees in their tutoring field. Parents are entrusted with moral education but this is typically reinforced by the Church as 64% of young families reported attending church in the 2030 census. Parents also are responsible for creating a foundation of socialization and are encouraged to have their children play with others in their infancy both as a socialization tactic and also as a public health measure to expose them to as many pathogens for early antigen development. This approach is counter-intuitive to many occidental “bubble boy/helicopter” parenting styles, but in the context of a highly developed pediatric medicine sector is has been long proven to be successful in the long term. It does whoever mean that on the surface Burgundian children appear sicker than many other occidental children, but on average they are healthier adults.

Burgundian parents also allow their children space to play, explore, and make mistakes in a generally unsupervised environment. This is leads to the early establishment of critical thinking skills and creative problem solving skills in Burgundian children who become highly capable adults.

Since culture is highly prized in Burgundian culture parents are encouraged to take their children to cultural events. The government makes admission to museums, theatres, historical attractions, and festivals free to families on a number of occasions throughout the year. This is further supplemented by free tour guides at applicable venues for children so that the parents can either enjoy it at their own pace or some time alone. Museums and historical attractions are particularly popular in the summer and it is common to see the venues packed with children and the cafes packed with parents.

Discipline is an important part of parenting in Burgundie. Children are expected to be respectful and quiet in public places and breaches of this norm is a reflection on the parents. Therefore, as part of the early socialization process, children are taught the tenants of resecting their elders, honoring their family, and prudence in social situations. There is not as much of a taboo regarding corporeal punishment in public if a child isn’t behaving, but it extends only as far as slapping of the hands and posterior. Thusly, with heavy reinforcement from the Church, shame is a powerful aspect of Burgundian life.

Parental leave
Parental leave in Burgundie is 8 months paid leave, with an additional 4 months available to mothers at half pay. While it is common for mothers to take all of their leave consecutively, fathers have the flexibility to take their paid leave at a cadence agreed upon by their employer. Typically, fathers take a month following the birth of their children and then return to work saving the bulk of their remaining time until the end of the mother’s 8 months so that the child will have a parent present 24hours for the first 14 months of its life. The time a father spends at work between parental leaves is known in Burgundie as the ‘’Diesel Period’’ (Burg: Diesel periode), a joke on the low octane content in diesel fuel and the fact that due to lack of sleep it is a generally unproductive time. During this time the worker is given high volumes of menial, low risk tasks.

Stimulants

 * Chewing stimulants- The most commonly available chewing stimulants in Burgundie are from Audonia and  from . They are considerably cheaper than tobacco products and generally more potent. Both are heavily regulated with some provinces banning them outright.

in particularly villianized and is illegal in most provinces in Levantine Burgundie. Its use is associated with the Kharkaars, criminality, and poverty. The import of Khat is illegal but it is suspected that the Martillian Mafia makes millions on its Khat smuggling each year.

is generally legal but its manufaturing and labelling is highly scrutinised. Because of its village manufacture and its non-standardized packaging the versions commonly available are not legal. Gutka sadak (Eng.: Street gutka), unregulated, is the most commonly used and it is not legal in any part of Burgundie. It is very inexpensive and by nature its potency and admixtures vary wildly. It is most popular with the south coastal Alsharite immigrant population in Burgundie but has a strong following in some lower class communities.

Social Programs
Social programs in Burgundie are formally administered through four avenues know as “the legs on which the table of the Burgundian banquet is set”. These four organizations are the Burgundie’s federal government, Burgundie’s royal government, the Levantine Catholic Church, and the Burgundian Board of. These agencies meet every 3 years to determine a wholistic strategy for the alleviation of suffering and the improbvement of the welfare of all Burgundians.

Homelessness
Following the Great Peasants' Revolt in the Grand Duchy of Marialanus, Revenue Guardsmen were authorized under 1383 Burgundian Poor Laws statute to collar vagabonds and force them to show support; if they could not, the penalty was imprisonment.

Vagabonds could be sentenced to the stocks for three days and nights; in 1530, whipping was added, under the presumption was that vagabonds were unlicensed beggars. In 1547, a bill was passed that subjected vagrants to some of the more extreme provisions of the criminal law, namely two years servitude and branding with a "V" as the penalty for the first offense and death for the second.

Large numbers of vagabonds were among the convicts transported to the Punthite colonies in the 18th century.

Homelessness emerged as a national issue in the 1870s. There are no national figures documenting homeless people demography at this time. wrote about, documented, and photographed the poor and destitute, although not specifically homeless people, in NordHalle tenements in the late 19th century. His ground-breaking book, How the Other Half Lives, published in 1890, raised public awareness of living conditions in the slums, causing some changes in building codes and some social conditions.

Port cities saw the greatest numbers of homelessness as those from the interior and the sailors coming from all across the world met in close quarters. The merchant class often felt under siege and, through generous philanthropy, attempted to assuage the influx through charity. This attempt to hold the problem at arm's length as well as a growing movement public health movement sparked the development of rescue missions, such as Burgundie's first rescue mission, the St. Mattius' Rescue Mission, founded in 1872 by the Franciscan monks. The homeless populations congregated around these areas, which became known as mission districts across Burgundie. In smaller towns, there were hobos, who temporarily lived near train tracks and hopped onto trains to various destinations. By 1909, the homelessness issue was declared a nation-wide epidemic, the first public health emergency in Burgundie.

The Great Depression of Burgundie, in the late 1920s and early 1930s caused a devastating epidemic of poverty, hunger, and homelessness. During this time there were two million homeless people migrating across the Burgundian thalassocracy. Many lived in shantytowns they called "Chalets d'August" deriding the Great Prince they blamed for the Depression. Residents lived in shacks and begged for food or went to soup kitchens. Authorities did not officially recognize these Chalets d'August and occasionally violently removed the occupants for technically trespassing on private lands, but they were frequently tolerated out of necessity.

Following the costly victory in the New Burgundie Secession War, many returning veterans, suffering from the emotional trauma of the war, were unable to hold long-term jobs. To address this and the homelessness epidemic, the National Infrastructure Development Program (NIDP) was formed and a works program was created. Using reparations money, infrastructure, mostly on the Isle of Burgundie and in Ultmar, was maintained, repaired, and updated. 4.6 million men across the whole thalassocracy were put to work and the joblessness issue was almost eliminated. Only those who were employed by the program were able to receive benefits and for about 66% of the jobless and homeless population, this was acceptable. The remaining were physically and mentally unable to participate and were thrown into already overcrowded provincial hospitals.

Further complicating the issue was that in the 1950s, as part of the NIDP, new massive highways were built, most of which went through the major cities of Burgundie. Low-income and working-class neighborhoods were demolished without a resettlement plan, and a new population of homeless people were created and, as the largest of the NIDP projects were completed, many of its own laid-off workers joined the ranks. From a homelessness rate of 1.2:100 in 1946 to 18:100 in 1962, the numbers were much higher then at any time in Burgundian history. This, among other societal and ideological discontent, lead to a period known as the Great Tumult. Fear of another Great Peasants' Revolt or even a communist revolution soared and police and the local militias were used to violently suppress and break up any gathering of homeless peoples.

Furthermore, the Community Public Health Act of 1963 was a predisposing factor in setting the stage for modern homelessness in Burgundie. Long term psychiatric patients were released from state hospitals into Single Room Occupancies and sent to community health centers for treatment and follow-up. The move was an immediate disaster, and soon the mission districts across the Isle of Burgundie and Ultmar were teeming with underserved peoples, both with and without psychiatric issues. In the early 1970s city planners, public health departments, social issues advocates, and development proponents alike identified that the homelessness issue was getting out of hand. Academic centers and design firms partnered, with government funding to design the city of the future, to address the needs of all Burgundians.

The Great Society Act of 1974 started what has become known as the Second Burgundian Renaissance. It addressed a number of social issues across Burgundie, among them homelessness. The Act called for areas of compassionate refuge for the homeless within each major city and established the Royal Fund for Public Health. This alleviated the national government from having to tackle social issues, keeping the focus on capitalist policies instead of ideals of socialist degeneracy. The areas of compassionate refuge was a thinly veiled containment policy that established fixed borders to the mission districts of each major city and transferred the lands they were on into corporations of the Burgundian Crown Estate, thus exempting it from any local zoning ordinances. These areas became walless prisons as they were designed to keep the people within their limits. Harsh lighting, the forced centralization of disenfranchisement services, and the rezoning of nearby parks as buildable land made it clear that the homeless populations were expected to go to the mission districts and stay there.

Following the Great Burgundian Recession of 2004-2008, and yet another uptick in homelessness, public health attitudes changed and focused on re-enfranchisement. The mission districts that had long been left to their own devices, but with the establishment of the Crown Prince Guillem's Foundation in 1998 and the Great Prince's interest in public health issues, services that had long lacked were reinstated. Schools for the children, job training for adults, medical facilities and other essential needs functions were restored across many of the mission districts. Buildings that had long lay abandoned or in disrepair were rebuilt and turned into affordable housing. Those who lived in the communities were paid to maintain these new facilities to avoid their return to squalor and local residents were trained as auxiliary police, under the concept of. In 2008 the estimated rate of homelessness in Burgundie was 8:100, by 2020, the number had been reduced to 3:100. This effort was not entirely selfless as the collected tax that the newly enfranchized population provides is estimated at 20% over the cost of the programs. While not every corporation was profitable, the profits of others were reinvested for a net gain. Economists predict that not only will the Crown Prince Guillem's Foundation recoup its investment by 2050 but that the Burgundian Crown Estate, through its ownership of the land, will have increased its value to well over $29 billion.

Private sector socialism
The sense of commonwealth among the Bergendii is born from the ancient raiding traditions. Each man looked out for his fellow boat-mates as though they were his brothers. If the sailors were to die the men of the boat would adopt and support his wife and family until she remarried. When the raiders became "landed" the "boat bond" was continued in each hamlet. They became known as meal groups this meant that the bread winners were collectively responsible for feeding the hamlet at the evening meal. This sense of commonwealth continues to this day with the practice of meal group not only in the neighborhoods around Burgundie but also, starting in the 1920s the rise of public health concepts led major companies to adopt the meal group mind set. In the 1980s many companies were buying apartment blocks and high rises near their factories and subsidizing their rent in order as an incentive. These "company rows" had become standard practice and by the late 80s, every manufacturing plant offered housing to all of its employees. This form of private sector socialism staunched the rise of the communist movement in Burgundie because it staked the fortunes of the working class on the upper class. Communist theorists decried this move as exacerbating the issue of inequity, but by the 1990s the communist movement in Burgundie was essentially dead.

Role of monarchy
=World view=

Citizenship
Citizenship is offered to all by the 1853 Constitution. However, citizenship can only be accepted by those who complete the federal service requirement, (primarily the Standardized Militia Program). Anyone in the world is eligible for application to the Burgoignesc federal service but the most prestigious way to gain Burgoignesc citizenship for non-natives is to serve in the Burgoignesc Foreign Legion.

In this way Burgundie does not follow or  law and is one of the few countries in which all its citizens, native and non-native are.

Foreign Culture
=See Also=
 * Bergendii, Sintalians, Sondsteadish Tatars, Coscivians, Paulastrans
 * Cultures of Levantia
 * Cultures of Crona
 * Demographics of Burgundie