1,000 Words About Their Culture

Like all countries, England’s culture is hugely affected by its climate.  The weather in Manchester is generally dreary, with it being gray and rainy 70% of the time.  Summers are cool and winters are warm, making this an island that perpetually swings between spring and fall.  There’s very little variation, and English people reflect this.  They seem to expect life to be as miserable and predictable as the weather.  I was warned to ‘keep a constant air of suspicion’ any time it wasn’t raining, and not to trust the very frequent rainbows that grace the British Isles after the rain lets up, mostly because they promise more rain to come.  

British people do, however, appreciate good weather when they have it.  Never before have I seen people take such full advantage of sunshine, even if it is only for a few brief minutes.  They revel in it.  In Britain, no one is allowed to complain about it being ‘too sunny’ or ‘too warm’ -- these things are never taken for granted.  

British people also love their animals.  I mean both pets and the wild ones.  People in Britain seem to place a lot of value on the comforts of their dogs -- to the point of pampering them in some cases.  And the treatment of wild and farm animals is also a matter of great concern.  Every type of meat available comes in the ‘free-range’ variety, and you get dirty looks for buying eggs from caged chickens.  It may come as no surprise, but fur coats aren’t fawned over, either.

English tea service with teacakes

People often stereotype Brits as having incredibly foul language, and I would say I agree with that.  There is nothing you can’t say in this country.  Sure it’s rude, but it doesn’t carry the same weight as, say, blasphemy in southern Italy or racial slurs in America.  British people kind of just roll with anything.  Maybe it comes from the confidence of having colonised lands in all corners of the world,  but British people seem to be pretty invincible when it comes to insults.  And they think everyone else should stop getting in a twist and just roll with it all, too.  

A classic Indian curry

The whole issue of colonies actually plays a pretty big role in English culture.  Many, many parts of daily British life were adopted from the lands they colonised.  Tea is perhaps the best example of this.  What is now seen as the most English of traditions, tea time, is actually an import from the Orient, brought back to England and Anglicanised with cakes and biscuits.  Indian food, too, is an imported habit that has become a ubiquitous part of British fare.  Any pub in England has at least one curry on its menu, and chippys almost always serve chips with curry sauce.  See?  It’s even part of their fast food.  

Supporters at a football match

Sport is another huge issue that’s linked back to England’s colonial history.  Naturally Britain’s most prominent sport is football, but rugby and cricket are very popular, as well.  And the only other countries in the world that play rugby and cricket are ex-colonies like Australia, South Africa, and India.  Nevertheless, sport remains a huge part of British culture, especially in Manchester.  Home to Manchester United, the best football team in the United Kingdom (and one of the best in Europe), Manchester as a whole has incredible spirit for its team.  

There’s a hope in England that their football culture can be exported to America, but this is not going to happen.  Besides, they’ve exported far too much already.  British people like to think that Americans are ‘forcing’ their crap culture onto Britain and that we’re destroying proper, respectable British culture.  This is a bit rich, when in fact, Britain delivered the concepts for American Idol, American’s Next Top Model, America’s Got Talent, and basically every other reality TV show you can think of.  So who is really exporting their culture in this scenario?  Correct, it’s Britain.

Typical British fashionista

FASHION.  British people are all about it.  It was a bit shocking for me at first, but in Britain, nearly everyone’s clothing is screaming for attention, whether it be with loud colors and patterns, retro styles being reinstated, or suggestively revealing choices in attire.  And it doesn’t stop there.  It’s normal for English girls to use far more makeup than girls in other countries, and hairstyles are equally deliberate.  Many of the women I saw everyday had their hair teased and sprayed and combed into a perfectly planned coif.  And because nearly everyone is so wild with their fashion, it’s easy for anyone to be experimental.  

More surprising to me was the way religion is treated in England.  It’s given hardly any attention, despite being such a personal issue.  It seems like people just keep it to themselves more.  This is a place where there are no soapbox preachers on university campuses and no one hands out pocket-sized bibles in the city centre.  There are far fewer hissy fits over the separation of church and state, and it’s not an act of rebellion to label yourself as an atheist.  For heaven’s sake, Darwin’s face is on the back of a ₤10 note!  Pride for the development of the theory of evolution?  The US government could never say such a thing.

If we want to get political about it, Britain is more socialist than any place I’ve known, yet it hates the label ‘socialist’.  Brits hate capitalism even more.  In many ways, England is like the more progressive cousin of the US -- it has national healthcare and labour unions, and until recently had very affordable university tuition.  The US doesn’t provide these services with anywhere near the same efficacy.   

It’s hard make generalisations about all of British culture because there is as much variation within as there is between it and the culture of other places I’ve visited.  Maybe not as much variation as there is in the US, but for a nation that is constantly comparing itself to America, I found more than enough differences.  I was still discovering new things, even on my last day.  And I’m sure I’ll feel the same each time I go back.