A National Pastime is a sport or game that is consider to be a culturally intrinsic part of a country or nation.
Although there are normally no official parameters towards defining what is a National Pastime, there are some general things most sports or games that are National Pastimes have in common, including...
- The rules and objectives of the sport or game are known in fairly great detail in the country or nation.
- The game or sport is widely played or watched in the country or nation.
- The game or sport has a long history of popularity or extreme current popularity in the country or nation.
In some countries, sport or game can become the official national pastime by mandate of the government, such as with Canada and Lacrosse in 1859. 1
In other countries, where the sport or game has such a long history, such as with Baseball in the United States or Sumo Wrestling in Japan, the sport or game is often considered a de facto "official" National Pastime.
Belgium - Cycling is the most popular sport in Belgium: during winter a variant of Cycling called Cyclocross("veldrijden") is the pastime for most Belgians(certainly in Flanders), Belgium dominates this sport totally. Football is also quite popular.
Brazil - Football is considered the national obsession, and volleyball also has a large number of participants.
Canada - Lacrosse is the official summer sport and ice hockey is the official winter sport, but hockey is by far the sport most closely followed, and most closely linked to national pride. Designating lacrosse as an official sport is more of a nod to history that a reflection of the present-day situation: sports like baseball, Canadian football (but probably also American football), soccer, golf, tennis are all much more popular. Canada is also the world's dominant force in the sport of Curling.
Italy - the traditional sport is bocce, but Football is the national passion. Basketball is also highly popular, and winter sports are followed mostly in the north.
Japan - Sumo wrestling is traditionally viewed as Japan's national sport, but baseball is today more popular, and football is rapidly increasing in popularity. Rugby union also has a substantial following.
Korea - Tae kwon do is traditional, baseball is highly popular, but StarCraft, which is actually a computer game, has sometimes sarcastically been referred to as the national sport. South Korea is also a major force in women's golf.
New Zealand - Rugby union is the most widely followed and most closely linked to national pride (Rugby League not being very far behind), although more children today play soccer. Australian Rules Football is also gaining a stronghold here. Netball is one of the most popular sports among girls and young women, and men have organised some teams of their own. Cricket is played during summer.
Pakistan - Field hockey is the official sport (winners of the Gold in 1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994), but cricket is the most popular (winners of the world cup in 1992)
Scotland - Native sport is Shinty, but football attracts much larger crowds. It was also the birthplace of golf, which is more often associated with Scotland than anywhere else.
Switzerland - Hornussen , a traditional game, is popular in rural Switzerland, although football is most popular overall, and ice hockey is rising in popularity
United States - Baseball is generally named as "the American national pastime", but American football presently has the largest number of viewers, with NASCAR (stock car racing), long popular in the southeastern states, rapidly becoming popular nationwide. Basketball is popular among the young, urban population. Football, known as Soccer in the U.S, is popular with the young, suburban population. The rise of soccer's popularity with children in suburbs have created a political demographic known as the "Soccer mom". Ice Hockey was once very popular in the Northeast, Midwest as well as with Southeastern immigrants from those regions and Canada. However, the popularity of Ice Hockey appears to be waning in recent years.
