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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think most of what people call “British” is actually borrowed from other cultures?

206 replies

BlendedByEmpire · 18/09/2025 21:07

From food to fashion to language, it seems like a lot of what’s considered traditionally British has roots elsewhere. Yet people still cling to the idea of a “pure” British culture. AIBU to think the whole concept is more mixed than most are willing to admit?

OP posts:
mathanxiety · 19/09/2025 03:18

Modernity was invented here

Yikes!!

spoonbillstretford · 19/09/2025 02:24

British culture is at least partly about being open to, influenced by, tolerant of and borrowing from other cultures. It's not about purity and authenticity.

mercilousming · 19/09/2025 02:21

Yes I am one of those horrors who read the first page and felt a need to post. Apologies.

British culture. It always interests me as we are literally a nation of immigrants due to the number of times that we were invaded. The Saxons, Romans, Danes, Normans. And that's only England.

Wales and Scotland weren't joined with England until the Middle Ages.

No one born and bred here is ever truly "British". We've been multicultural forever - literally since before "Britain" existed.

HelenaWaiting · 19/09/2025 01:34

BlendedByEmpire · 18/09/2025 21:23

Those are all great examples of what’s become part of British cuisine today, yes. But even many of those have influences or origins outside the UK or have evolved from borrowed techniques over time. I’m not saying there’s no British culture, just that a lot of what we think of as ‘quintessentially British’ often has more global roots than people realise. It’s not a dig, more just an observation about how cultures blend and shift.

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I wonder how long our ancestors sat around not eating a damn thing before someone from abroad arrived to explain. Despite your protestations, I can't see anything here but stirring.

TheBirdintheCave · 19/09/2025 00:07

BlendedByEmpire · 18/09/2025 21:33

Tea’s a great example actually, it’s so associated with Britishness but the leaves come from Asia and the British taste for it was shaped by colonial trade routes. It’s not about shaming, it’s just history. That blend of influences is part of what makes British culture what it is.

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We drink tea because Charles II’s wife, Catherine de Braganza, brought it over from Portugal and made it fashionable :)

RitaFromThePitCanteen · 18/09/2025 23:59

I've read all your posts now, OP, and I can see where you're getting confused. When people talk about celebrating British culture or respecting British values, you're hearing "British culture/British values, which are of course unblemished by the touch of any other culture except Britain's". So you're kind of assuming an underlying xenophobia when people talk about Britishness, where Brits must of course be denying any links to other countries, which isn't necessarily there. I'm not saying it's impossible that someone could be xenophobic while lauding Britishness, but I don't think you should be jumping to conclusions about what people know/mean when they talk about their own culture.

GoodLaudanum · 18/09/2025 23:51

Old English wedding traditions: white dress, some old/something new, the tiered wedding cake . . .

sminted · 18/09/2025 23:48

As a Londoner & a 2nd gen immigrant I always thought one of the best things about our culture is how diverse it is & how it is a big melting pot.

Petitchat · 18/09/2025 23:47

Themagicfarawaytreeismyfav · 18/09/2025 21:55

Not very subtle op! All the British bashing is tedious now.

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About as subtle as a bill in a china shop.

Oh hang on, that's a British saying, isn't it?

Well, I'm sure OP will let us know if we've stolen it from elsewhere...

GoodLaudanum · 18/09/2025 23:47

Town Criers

CallMeMessy · 18/09/2025 23:47

RosesAndHellebores · 18/09/2025 23:33

Britain is an island and we have been invaded many times. Vikings, Romans, French, etc.

With the exception of one great grandparent, I am European.

Multi cultural from year dot. We should be celebrating that, not pretending it’s not true

RitaFromThePitCanteen · 18/09/2025 23:46

I'm a leftie who has always liked that we're a melting pot, but i think it's pointless to use the fact that Britishness has been influenced by other cultures as some kind of "gotcha" because 1. Because almost all Brits know and accept this, and lecturing people about it makes it seem like you think most Brits are ignorant, which won't help whatever your cause is, and 2. Because Britain is not unique in this regard; in fact almost all cultures have been influenced by others, to varying extents.

GoodLaudanum · 18/09/2025 23:43

First footing

AnneShirleyBlythe · 18/09/2025 23:42

So if most of British culture, food etc is imported what did people eat/do for entertainment before we got ideas from abroad?

GoodLaudanum · 18/09/2025 23:42

Kissing under the mistletoe

RitaFromThePitCanteen · 18/09/2025 23:40

All cultures have influences from other cultures, and that includes British cultures (the plural is deliberate).

Whilst we have a lot of influence from elsewhere, huge parts of our culture are distinctly British (and/or Scottish, Welsh, English, Northern Irish etc, not to mention regional identities within all of those countries). I think sometimes if you live in a culture, you are so used to the cultural mores that they become invisible to you, and I wonder if that's what's happened with you, OP.

Petitchat · 18/09/2025 23:40

BlendedByEmpire · 18/09/2025 21:45

Every country has a culture, including Britain. I never said Britain doesn’t have one. I said much of what we think of as ‘British’ has been shaped by outside influences over time, just like every other culture. That doesn’t make it less real or valuable. Culture isn’t a fixed thing - it grows, absorbs and evolves.

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And????

GoodLaudanum · 18/09/2025 23:37

Pancake day

StewkeyBlue · 18/09/2025 23:36

SeaAndStars · 18/09/2025 21:23

Rissoles are French.

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Not the way my Mum made them, they’re not!

RosesAndHellebores · 18/09/2025 23:35

Kendodd · 18/09/2025 23:34

Not mine, I had to google what a rissole was.

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You were lucky!

Kendodd · 18/09/2025 23:34

RosesAndHellebores · 18/09/2025 23:25

Yes, you're right, they were originally but were a staple of generations of British childhoods.

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Not mine, I had to google what a rissole was.

RosesAndHellebores · 18/09/2025 23:33

Britain is an island and we have been invaded many times. Vikings, Romans, French, etc.

With the exception of one great grandparent, I am European.

Petitchat · 18/09/2025 23:31

AlasPoor · 18/09/2025 21:22

Just to save everyone’s time reading posts after this:
no such thing as British culture blah blah they’re racist blah blah blah nation of immigrants blah blah British empire yawn, spices blah blah St George’s flag is foreign blah blah blah etc.
You’re welcome.

Agreed but sad

Brahumbug · 18/09/2025 23:29

Thaimonstera · 18/09/2025 21:20

The king of all - haggis! You aren’t even allowed to import it overseas. So defo Scottish (not British 😂)

Not true, the origins of haggis are in Lancashire.

Petitchat · 18/09/2025 23:26

Sam390 · 18/09/2025 21:16

Roast dinner? Shepherd's pie? Toad in the hole? Steak and kidney pie? Cornish pasty? Scotch eggs?

No idea what you're on about OP.

Yes 👍 and:
Fish n chips.
Afternoon tea.
Toasted teacakes.
Cream tea
Sausage n mash
Corned beef hash
Rhubarb crumble and custard
Apple pie and cream

Yum... hungry now

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