Is there cultural differences between the 4 countries of the UK?

[Lynsey953]

I often see a lot on the news about British Culture and UK culture but I know that Scotland has a different education system to England and Wales as well as higher taxes paid to the government and a lot of "free" things paid for by these taxes i.e. free prescriptions, free university tuition etc ... A lot of people in Scotland also identify as Scottish, not British. Do you think this means Scottish people have a different cultural identity than English or Welsh people?

I don’t understand what is meant by this?

Sport. Scots play golf, shinty, curling. We don't play cricket

This is completely untrue. It's a total myth Scots have no interest in, and do not play Cricket.

It's the second most participated in team sport in Scotland after football. There are more cricketers in Scotland per head of population than there are in Pakistan. It's especially prevalent up and down the east coast, but most small towns and villages in Scotland have a cricket team playing somewhere. Cities are packed with them. The National side is one of the better Associate nations, arguably the best non-Test playing nation, they regularly appear at ICC tournaments, the side usually contains more Scots-born players than the English side does English-born.

Football, Rugby, Hockey are all winter sports, Shinty is played mainly in the Highlands and the vast bulk of the population have absolutely no interest in it nor live anywhere close to a club. What do all these sporting types do all summer? They play Cricket.

It might be popular in some areas but I have literally only ever known two Scots who enjoyed it and one was from Edinburgh. I can’t recall where my cricket loving teacher originated from.

I have genuinely never heard anyone else even mention it. Football and rugby yes. Cricket. Literally never. It’s just not on the radar in many areas even if there’s the odd cricket club around.

So I think that it’s very popular in some areas and pretty niche in others.

And I have no interest in rugby but I could tell you where several rugby clubs are. I’d have to Google to find where the cricket clubs are.

It's not just "the odd cricket club". There are over 250 amateur clubs playing league cricket in Scotland. Players tend not to talk about it because it isn't a common topic of conversation with non-players, so it's true that most people don't really have any interest in it, but the fundamental assertion that people "don't play" cricket in Scotland is not true.

If you have cricketers in the family and/or move in the same circles as players, then yes, you'll hear plenty about the sport, but it's hardly surprising that isn't the case if you don't actually know many cricketers.

The only part of Scotland where cricket is not really a thing is the far Highlands, and out in the Islands. Central Belt, Perthshire, Tayside, Aberdeenshire, Moray Coast, Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, Borders, all have active leagues. It isn't just "popular in some areas", it's nationwide, the exception being the extreme North and West.

If there is a town of any size, it's likely there is a club.

I’m English and a few years ago was visiting Scotland quite frequently to see friends. I felt in many ways Scotland had a much more sensible and compassionate approach to various issues than England.

For example, when someone was travelling on buses with a carer, the carer also travelled free of charge. The money involved was not a great loss to the bus companies and may not have made much difference to the carer, but it seemed to me a good way of acknowledging the value of carers.

Also, you didn’t need carer ID. If you were with someone with a disability, you were considered their carer on that journey.

There were other examples. To me it seemed people mattered more there than here

Lived in England most of my adult life, parents born in Scotland, where I was born and brought up. Ethnically (I’ve done my DNA) I’m around 55% Scots, bits of Irish and English and Northern Europe thrown in.

DH is English born, to English born parents, brought up mainly in Scotland. Kids, one Scots born, one English born, always lived in England. We’re all British.

I’m sure that there are plenty of clubs, though far from 1 in every town in my area. I can only find one small club that I didn’t know existed in my whole county and which has to share its home with other sports but I’m very much aware of the county’s rugby clubs. I don’t mix with rugby players but I regularly hear people talking in the local Waitrose about how Hamish is getting on with his rugby, or hear people in the local bar talking about football, rugby and tennis but I have genuinely not heard a single person ever talk about cricket. If I lived in the East it might be very different.

They do learn Country Dancing as part of p.e. No issues with dancing girl/girl or boy/boy. Comes in very handy at weddings with a bit of Ceilidh dancing!

The answer is there are cultural differences, differences in languages of course and cuisine and sport (but let’s not get bogged down in that! 😂) but also festivals and cultural events that are celebrated, such as Guy Fawkes or Hogmanay etc. each place has its unique identity but there are obviously crossovers, and shared commonalities.

I do think the poster has a point that being proudly English is looked at (wrongly) askance, as though you must be a jingoistic thug. I think it's much more acceptable to be ashamed of being English and to focus on the negative history than to be proud of the good, in a way that's not true for Scotland, Wales and NI.

Exactly, we are not allowed to be English because we just get abuse.

No one is telling you aren't allowed to be English. You are imagining your own persecution.

I am too and 1 and 8 are only partly true.

Indeed

There are more people of Celtic ancestry in England than Scotland.

A signifcant percentage of Scots are Germanic too just like the English.

I'm Northern Irish (visit Scotland regularly, have lived in England, not visited Wales to date) and I feel that - while we have culture in common with the other parts of the UK - we have a very very specific culture that people who didn't grow up here cannot truly understand.

We are a melting pot of cultures but tbh I think those that insist on cultural differences between political border lines are ignorant as to our actual history.

A lowland Scot has far more in common with a Northumbrian linguistically, genetically etc..than a highlander for example. And that's to be expected given different invasions in different parts of the country. The western highlands are more Gaelic/Irish because of the Gaels. The east is more Germanic/Norse because of the Angles and Vikings. Scots is a Germanic language not Celtic.

Yes there are cultural differences from what I've seen - lived in two visted one and know people from 4th- but there are within regions of England I've also lived in.

I think the differences in schooling, law, and national government controlled services make it easier to see it between the countries.

I feel that - while we have culture in common with the other parts of the UK - we have a very very specific culture that people who didn't grow up here cannot truly understand.

I think that’s true, there are things I do as a matter of course that are more cultural than I realise until I realise it’s not the done thing in other parts of the UK. There are similarities between the 4 nations and cross overs in culture but the are some clear differences too that are difficult to articulate unless you’ve grown up with them.

I am Scottish and grew up there but have now lived longer in England than Scotland.

I now live in the North East of England very close to the Scottish border and think there are a lot more similarities between there and Scotland than London (where I have also lived) and Scotland. I was quite tickled to see "Bairns" as the description of the baby aisle in Asda in Byker.

I definitely class myself as Scottish first and British second.

Also, as far as the empire is concerned, my Scottish grandfather was an engineer in China and my Scottish uncle was a tea planter in what was then East Pakistan so the Scots were definitely involved.

Yes there definitely are differences but also many similarities. Scots in particular have always moved around although I find that in many cases they do end up back in Scotland. As others have said there are also regional differences within the various nations. I was born in the far north of Scotland and when we moved to the central belt the differences were quite marked although that may also have been because of moving from an incredibly rural setting to a city.

The Celtic Nations are generally more politically left leaning, pro-European & less pro-UK than their Anglo-Saxon neighbours.

The English are also more pro-Royalty & celebrate things like Jubilees more.

Actually, there is now evidence that the Border areas may have been Old Welsh speaking & part of that diaspora.

The book Men of the North is good.

If you live in London or places with lots of jobs, people are often a total mix of cultures. I’m part Irish, part French and part English. I can’t think of a single person from my work or from my friends who only has English heritage.