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

[BlendedByEmpire]

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?

This reminds me..... apparently the Italians got the idea for pasta from the Chinese.

Well yes. The same is true of almost every culture in the world.

There are a handful of exceptions where certain groups live in extremely isolated circumstances (andaman islanders, brazilian uncontacted tribes etc) but pretty much everywhere else is subject to inbound influences changing and evolving "culture".

Its quite a common tactic of people who are pro mass immigration and the degradation of British culture and people, to ask what is meant by British culture and then ridicule it to insinuate there is no such thing. People just don’t bother engaging with it now.

Obviously yes, the tea plant comes mostly from China and India.

However, there are distinctly British, or English, traditions around tea. In most parts of the world tea is drunk without milk or sugar, for example, but not in England. And the 'afternoon tea' ritual is very English, just as the tea ceremony is uniquely Japanese.

Tomatoes aren’t even native to Europe and didn’t arrive until the 1600s. What would Italian food be like without tomatoes?

You could equally argue no other country has stolen more from the world than Britain.

YANBU, OP.

I think you have had a very hard time on this thread and some PP's have arguably strayed away from 'traditional British politeness' which is quite ironic.

By the way, English is officially classified as a Germanic language.

Good point!

It’s similar story with the traditional British spud!

Christianity is middle - eastern.

Ah, Greggs. Something everyone can rally round 😁

That’s the history of the whole world, not a single unique to Britain.

The fact remains that as a force for good, and as the inventor of modernity, Britain’s legacy has been a positive one of which we should be proud, and should be grateful for. A little gratitude for those who went before us, and enabled us to live freely in this marvellous place, would not go amiss.

as the inventor of modernity...

Is this a line from some 'history' textbook?

What exactly does it mean?

And the Chinese didn't even invent paper - they stole the idea from wasps.

Industrial Revolution

lol….. apparently the Chinese copied it from wasps about 2000 years ago. Chinese history is just incredible. Apparently before that, they used silk, bamboo and parchment.

@LandRites I don't by any means blame a fictional "Craig", although I have seen this kind of narrative. I would however say that the many actual concerns I hear about immigration are often about the loss of jobs and services (if I ignore the outright racism and islamaphobia of some bigger names on the far right). Things that I would say are due to the remnants of various Tory governments - e.g. housing crisis, recession, loss of jobs, privatisation and loss of industry, underfunded NHS. This is by no means a "Craig" problem. The Prime Minister himself has called us an island of strangers and and vowed to stop the small boats. It's easier for those with power and money if we blame each other and scapegoat immigrants and, indeed, "Craig".

Don't forget spotted dick!

What have the Romans ever done for us?

Interested in “the inventor of modernity”. Do you mean the Industrial Revolution?

Many, including established media, are blaming Craig however. My socials feeds are full of posts in which images of white, working-class supposedly foolish flag-wavers are used as shorthand for The Problem.

The Problem is older than Tory or Labour policies - it's how societies change i.e. people currently with power and resources make decisions that materially affect people without them. The Problem is endless.

Life on these islands has been changing so rapidly on multiple fronts that more people may feel they had no say in decisions made or stake in their outcomes - and consensus to try to enact policies for a whole nation has gone, we live in our subcultures now.

I thought Kier Starmer's comment about an island of strangers was a good comment on cultural fragmentation. Typically he swithered and withdrew it, choosing not to address The Problem.

Craig, though, is real - he's just done my bathroom.

What I mean is this: people living in cities are not going to automatically think of dancing round the maypole on May Day, or the annual craft & produce show, or beating the bounds of the village, or the local pancake race, or well dressing as traditions, whereas people living in the countryside will. The English don't celebrate Burns Night, only the Cornish do the Floral Dance, lacemaking is a tradition in some counties, the folk of London are well versed in royal pomp and circumstance, and the annual New Year fireworks display on the Thames. As for swan upping... well, that's a weird one.

The majority of cultural traditions tend to be regional and whether you are rural or urban, don't they?

Well Jesus and his friends and relations are Jewish, for sure. Like tea, however, you can’t be even vaguely aware of the reformation and the King James Bible and the Royal Family's role in the modern church and not think England has its own very special version.

Although ultimately the great specialness of Brit Culture is religious tolerance.

I suppose it’s because the contemporary things are alive and happening all around us and easily accessible. The old things are only known to older or well-educated people and need to be promoted, interpreted and even explained to be understood in their historical context.

Eventually those new things will become old things though!

This is why, when I was teaching music at a not-very-affluent primary school, I used to include lots of classical, folk and world music. I didn’t dismiss contemporary pop, but the children were already immersed in that and had no trouble accessing it. What their families would never have introduced them to were the older genres.

Oh for goodness sake. Can we stop with this nonsense that we’re a nation of immigrants and always have been. Yes, we’ve been invaded a few times a thousand years ago but the numbers were TINY. The entire population of England in 1066 was under 2 million.

Until the Second World War there was minimal immigration. So the whole melting pot nonsense is no more than 75 years old.

And the fact that Hogmanay is more of an event in Scotland is because the Presbyterian church suppressed the celebration of Christmas, so the Scots moved their main mid-winter festival to NYE.

I find all this stuff fascinating!