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.

Marmite

Knit & natter groups

National Trust properties

Tins of Quality Street & Roses chocolates at Christmas

Comedy programmes such as Dad's Army "Don't tell him, Pike!" and The Good Life

Following the Royal Family through all the ups and downs of their lives

Tea & biscuits

Cream teas (especially in the West Country)

Fish & chip suppers (particularly at the seaside)

Buying underwear from M&S

Quiz nights in pubs

Picky teas & beige buffets

Talking about the weather

Glaring at people who talk in the quiet carriage on trains and expecting them to know why you are glaring about them!

I remember watching Danny Boyle's 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony and getting goosebumps because it was everything that made me proud to be British. For me, that really encapsulated Britishness, right down to championing diversity of all kinds. We feel like a different country at the moment, which makes me incredibly sad.

I do think the British sense of humour is a real thing as well. I've loved reading some of the responses on social media to outrage that New York elected a muslim mayor and would now "become like London, which is a hellhole". Cue lots of idyllic photos of life continuing in London with captions like "it's such a hellhole here. I've just had to put my brolly up and queue for my morning cuppa" type of posts.

I think not being aware of any identity when I'm at home is what makes it home. I never feel Irish in Ireland, because that's where I grew up. It wouldn't make sense to me otherwise.

I remember, a while ago, reading a list of things that Americans were surprised by when visiting the U.K. One of them was passengers saying "thank you" to the driver when getting off a bus. That really surprised me . . . I never realised it was a 'British' thing

I have just met a married couple who have worked in many European countries during the past 30 years . . . on a recent visit to England, they encountered their first ever Quiz Night

Green hills, grey skies
Humour
Sitting on the step chatting to neighbours over the wall
Museums, art galleries, gigs, comedy nights, pub quizzes
Waiting for the bus in the rain

Interesting! I wonder if the Finnish ancestors were Vikings? I know Vikings were mainly Norwegian or Danish, but perhaps all Scandinavians thought they’d come and have a go!

I tripped on a step at the gym today and sprained my ankle - not one person came over - I thought of you and wondered where all the lovely Brits were.
A few years ago I fell over when out running in Paris (it's a special talent of mine - falling over when exercising) I couldn't believe how lovely the Parisians were to me - loads of them came over - I was really touched.

Yup. The Thatcher post was mine.

I will also add having 1966 rammed down our throats at every chance. Andy Murray etc bring Scottish when they lose, British when they win :-)

Like yourself, I live abroad now, and culture does not mean a lot to me really. There is not that much of a difference when it comes down to it. We are all the same species. For sure there are culture differences, but the gap is subjective, I think.

Sure, I dream of being fishing by a Scottish Loch, but there are fish everywhere.

You make a good point re the UK class system. I agree. And I think when you get a certain type of visitor from the UK it can be fairly obvious, because they bring it with them. But,that's probably more the exception than the norm. And they don't tend to want to hang about.

Everyone letting out a big cheer when someone drops a/some glass(es) in the pub 😂

A certain quirkiness and respect for individuality. Britain is much less conformist than many European countries. You really notice this if you've spent some time abroad, and it's something immigrants and visitors often remark upon. In a positive way.

For me it is living under a stable and democratic government. We might hate them but it is stable and that is one of the reasons so many people want to live here.
The NHS- everyone collectively chipping in to ensure that everyone gets healthcare regardless of their income.
The disgusting reform nutters aside, the tolerance for people who are different to ourselves. The freedom to be different being laid down in the law.

Also- cups of tea as a cure all . It really does help in almost every situation!

I agree. It’s part of the individualistic culture. And it goes back a long way way - it’s satirised (along with lots of other national quirks) in Dad’s Army!

Just thought of another typically English, think, rather than Britishtradition’: the awful, awful, pathetic Winter Wonderlands which we usually hear about near to Christmas. These are hopeless enterprises, usually in a muddy field, with absolutely nothing to wonder at. They normally get sued by disappointed punters at some point.

I always feel very sorry for the little children who are disappointed, but the news reports are hilarious - at one, the elves were seen dragging on dog-ends while effing and blinding in full view of visitors. Santa is usually some reprehensible bloke in a terrible cheap outfit. This is one tradition I’m not proud of!🤣

Look, you've got it all wrong! You don't need to follow me. You don't need to follow anybody! You've got to think for yourselves! You're all individuals!

Yes! We're all individuals!

You're all different!

Yes, we are all different!

I'm not...

I'm sorry about that, sprained ankles are horrible!

I've got very lax ligaments in my ankles (self diagnosing here, they roll over every couple of months (happily not together), leaving me splat on the floor.

I'd be delighted if no-one noticed! Lady time a bunch of sixth formers rushed over to me, highly concerned and very sweet. I did want the ground to open up and swallow me.

I get that, but falling and having to pick yourself up while people stare from afar doesn't feel any less embarrassing, unfortunately - it just felt like no one give a shit.😳

Understanding exactly what other people mean when they use a single word, or even a facial expression because we've not only got a shared language but shared points of reference.

Sorry, I didn't intend to minimise it. I would have helped you up!

No worries - I didn't take it like that at all!😊Thank you for the virtual help up!😁

@ShaneWalshgirlfriend I don't mean to derail the thread but I noticed your post about lax ligaments and rolling ankles. Have you looked into a Hypermobility diagnosis as this is a common symptom. Might be helpful to see if any support can be given.

PS I would also have helped you up

England is my country. I'm proud of it, and I'm proud to be English.

Top thing I love about being British is our humour. Dry, acerbic, self-deprecating, banterous sarcastic. We have something for every occasion.
We produce world class TV. Think Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax, Detectorists, Line of Duty.
We have the most astonishing range of amazing regional accents given the size of our little islands. We even have several languages.
Our history is extraordinary - colourful and barbaric in equal measure. How many countries can say they had a king with six wives, two of whose heads he had removed?
We are unassuming. A typical response to 'Well done!' might be 'It was nothing.' A 'How are you?' at the doctor's is usually met with 'Fine thanks.'
We have masses of talent in the arts - literature, painting, pop. We produced the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Coldplay and Radiohead.
And then we have a load of nutty traditions that sometimes commemorate historical events - like Bonfire Night, well dressing in Derbyshire, trooping the colour. And others that have been performed for hundreds of years - maypole dancing, cheese rolling, harvest festivals.
And we have the most quietly beautiful countryside. That's always the first thing to put a smile on my face when I've been away.

Thanking the bus driver isn’t ‘British’, or certainly not exclusively, at any rate.

Surely Scottish is very much a nationality, though it isn't (yet) a nation able to confer its own citizenship. Welsh too, of course.
If you doubt it, consider the Six Nations tournament!

(As for Norn Iron, Irish citizenship is probably available, even alongside a British one)

Hmm...do any of these strike a chord?

BBC TV series
Shakespeare & the Globe
Dickens
London stuff like Royal Albert Hall, National Gallery, Royal Opera House, West End
Beatles
Traditional food like fish & chips, bangers & mash, desserts etc
Football
Harry Potter
70s sitcoms & comedy, stuff like Monty Python, Dad's Army

School dinners, going up for seconds, turkey twizzlers, tea for every occasion, "tea and consent" boaty Mc boat face, moaning about a queue then when you get to the front and the server Apologises saying "no worries". Having wanky names for things, hollibobs etc

For me its not places exactly. More so just the way we are. I think we are mostly quite predictable. And thats comforting