What parts of our traditions and culture makes you feel like you belong in Britain

[Lionsandtigersandbears7]

Inspired by another thread ,it got me thinking I don't really have a strong sense of my identity being British..
I'm born in UK ,but moved around a lot ,so don't have an area I feel is home either ,or a strong sense of being British.
There's Christian festivals.christmas and Easter ..is that classed as our culture ?or is that religion?..I suppose there were mods and rockers and teddy boys ,that would of given people a sense of identity..then skinheads and skar ..moving in to music , different types like rock and indie gives people an identity...I missed all that though..
On postcards you get beaches and the seaside towns .. Blackpool was part of my childhood holidays,does that make up part of my identity then ?..
What makes me British other than just being born here ..I feel like culture and identity has passed me by .
I get what it would mean to be Scottish or Irish..I can see an identity with that ..but all I can think of for British is morris dancing.

I realise that I forgot to add something really important to my previous post, which is the fabulous multiculturalism, and the feeling it gives me that everyone is welcome and accepted.

(Important to me as an autistic oddball, even though my family is white English as far back as I have been able to research).

(And also because it has made the choice of food a million times better, especially as a vegetarian).

Ha ha yup.

And Turkey, Not a native bird.

I have had a very English weekend. My neighbour came round to talk about getting the fence between our gardens repaired, we sat and had a cuppa with a slice of cake with our polite "I can arrange...", "oh no, I will...". Afterwards DH and I went to a garden centre (spelt the proper English way -re, not -er ) for the afternoon to look at the fantastic Christmas displays. Came home and put our feet up, with another cuppa, then had a roast dinner for our tea watching Strictly.

Omg jumble sales!! Not as common as they used to be, but our local refugee aid charity runs them sometimes, and I look forward to them so much!

And yes, village fetes- but there has to be a decent tombola, and also Splat the Rat, even though neither I nor my descendants have ever- or will ever- managed to splat a single rat 😆

@ClamChowdersfabulous reply.

British culture is amazing.

Just because an individual doesn’t identify with every aspect, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

Rain, rain and more rain.
Escaping the rain with a cup of tea.
Discussing the rain.
The SENSE OF HUMOUR!!! Sorry but it’s the best!
Apologising for everything - as above!
Guy Fawkes, bonfires, May Day, then there’s more local traditions
Christmas - we have our meal on the day! Tins of Quality Street, eating leftover turkey on Boxing Day…
Amazing National Trust properties where, when the suns out, it’s just gorgeous walking around and looking at the scenery
Green rolling hills, forests and windswept beaches
The same songs we’ve all sang at Primary school forever… He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands,..
The Royals, whether supporting them or slagging them off!
Music - Britpop is the King
Pubs with carpets and darts boards (don’t miss the smoking though) and declaring IT’s PUB GARDEN WEATHER whenever the sun comes out in the summer
Carnival Night - local men dressed as nuns
and majorettes

It’s always so petty when people ‘have no idea what British culture is’ - we all know!

Parliamentary democracy. Enjoy it while you can.

Evergreens brought inside in winter is a very ancient Celtic tradition though, so I figure the tree thing was an adaptation of that.

We banter brutally with loved ones and are icily polite to enemies.

Don’t forget the ‘hard stare’!

School uniforms, seaside holidays, traditions around Christmas, pattern of school holidays, the food we eat, (the everyday stuff and celebrations), red post boxes, letter boxes in the door, jokes about British rail, the weather, bonfire night, gardens, housing types, the shops and supermarkets, police, fire service and ambulance services, NHS, politics and political parties, the way our shop doors open, our use of language that differs from other English speaking countries, conkers, autumn colours, the flowers and vegetables we grow,

(I have friends/relatives that are immigrants and sometimes it's the little differences between countries that build up the feel of the country and culture, eh not all countries have school uniform, or half terms or access to the coast, or public transport, )

I went to the US and the extensively decorated for Halloween mom and pop general store was very different to our general sell everything corner shops.

the tea alarm

that was a big joke about the British stopping for tea each time the alarm went off

I like the humour we have and make about ourselves

ive recently seen a jumble sale advertised

its probably what people can't sell on vinted!

Probably yes - I suspect there was a common root (pun intended) for that tradition across Europe. But the lights in the tree, definitely a German thing.

No, the Christmas tree originated with Queen Victoria

This has become fashionable, but I can’t remember the last time someone Indian or Japanese was asked to define what Indian-ness or Japanese-ness. It’s so reductive.

My answer is simply that all of my ancestors forever and a day come from these islands. All of their expressions and decisions - for good and for bad, big and small - have contributed to what makes us who we are and how we respond to the world around us. This includes our dispositions, unspoken norms, our built environment, art, literature, music and food, our local and national traditions. Everyone who has British ancestry is my distant relative. We are all kin because we share that same history. It is our family history and the well from which we have sprung.

To answer OP's question, defining identity and a sense of belonging is such a personal thing it's very hard to pinpoint an objective set of tastes, behaviours and emotions that 'make' you something. I suppose it's a mix of common experiences and behavioural expectations... My contribution would be that nothing screams British summer like a windy beach where everyone pretends it's super hot just because it's July even though the temperature is in the low teens, or the sound of the ice cream van on a late afternoon. Or the smell of a wood burner in a country pub. My daughter asked me how you know where 'home' is - I told her it's usually the place that you feel is the least special to you right now but that you would miss the most when you leave.

Our public footpaths, right to roam. Kinder scout trespass was a very English thing. My Spanish colleagues were impressed by that.
A bunch of people getting quietly fed up till they decided to get together and do something, and it was more a quiet expression of disgruntlement than a riot.
Also I think of the Rochdale pioneers, the Jarrow marchers, The Tolpuddle martyrs, the Luddites and Swing rioters. Ordinary people fighting for change. I wish the labour party would remember it's roots.

Democracy, rule of law, abortion rights, a welfare state… I think you would very quickly feel
British if you were plonked down into some other countries

I know ,I knew that when i posted ,and I'm so greatful to all the replies giving me much to think about

It’s only ever asked by self loathing Brits desperate to prove they’re SO not ‘Little Englander’. People from other countries can easily identify British culture.

Morris dancing for sure. Look up Stealing Sheep and Apparition on YouTube. Love it.
Sorry can't do link on my phone.

Graffiti in highschool textbooks:
"Turn to page 34"
Then on page 34:
"ya mum"

I think you can’t see the water you swim in. I lived and worked abroad in my younger adult life. Swimming in other people’s water for a while helps you learn to see your own.

nice legs shame about the face Ahhhh the casual misogyny of those dear old times...

When I was a teenager this morphed into BOBFOC - ‘body of Baywatch, face of Crimewatch’ (or the reverse)