I can see the argument for smoking... but why would anyone think someone is a bad parent for drinking a beer during the day?
A lot of people in Europe drink a beer or glass of wine when having lunch. It's completely normal.
A lot of people in Europe drink a beer or glass of wine when having lunch. It's completely normal.
It's not unheard of to drink with lunch in the US, but it isn't common in most subcultures. The whole concept of "happy hour" involves immediately after work being the accepted time for daily drinkers to start. Americans on the whole drink rather less, and have more teetotalers.
The easier thing to do is edit the beer out or replace it with coffee or soda, because the message the mid-day beer sends is in fact a parent who drinks too much in front of the kids.
An American with no experience of European culture might be startled that everyone drinks at lunchtime, but wouldn't consider a European, or American, who has a beer with lunch, to be degenerate or alcoholic. A round of drinks during a business lunch is commonplace, some places it's a Friday thing. What it isn't is totally unremarkable.
So as the exception rather than the norm, including this detail in a fictional context does send a different message. The editor is probably right to cut that line in translation.
I can't agree with that. As a non-European, if I'm buying a translated work from a European author about a European character, I expect them to behave as ordinary Europeans would. I am paying for the authentic foreignness.
If I wanted to see people behaving as they would in my own culture, I'd buy a work from a domestic author.
"happy hour" is the commercial offering of alcoholic drinks at a cheaper price to entice customers to come early. That will create a convivial atmosphere enticing more customers, and once there people will frequently have "just one more" a few times, extending their evening. Pretty sure it's about selling rather than social mores.
Also it's hard to know without further context, but if the Euro was writing a story that would be set in America, that scene would seen somewhat odd to most Americans as mid-day drinking is not all that common, especially mid-week or without an explicit reason, like a birthday or some sort of celebration.
When you live in a culture where a midday drink or drinking in front of children is associated with drinking problems, soon enough you will live in a culture where only people with drinking problems will be having a midday drink or drink in front of their children.