Pugwash magazine

Eroding Traditions, Changing Times

When it was suggested I write about ‘culture’ for this issue of Pugwash I thought I had better glean an understanding of what culture is, so, being a typical student, I surfed the net hoping to find the answers.

According to Wikipedia, culture is “the way of life for an entire society.” I remember when I went to Andalucía. Everything was so relaxed. One has a siesta in the afternoon and then works until the evening. One eats late but dinner time is shared with family and friends, a time to enjoy the company of others.

The same goes for the Chinese. When discussing part of Chinese culture with my friend who lives in Shanghai he tells me how dinnertime is always spent at the dinner table with his mother and father and usually takes over an hour each day. That makes me think of dinnertime in my house. Dinner is usually eaten with the television for company, on a tray on my plate. I gracefully polish my food off in no time at all, usually before the first part of Hollyoaks is over. You might be reading this and thinking that you to do the same, after all we are students. But British families also sit down in front of the television when eating their dinner. They might make an odd exception on a Sunday and eat a roast around the table, but in some cases this is consumed while being balanced artfully on a lap. Part of our culture as British people was once to sit at a table with the family and enjoy our meals and take time over them.

Afternoon tea was once a British pass-time that involved ladies (and sometimes gentlemen) eating scones with jam and clotted cream and sipping tea. Now it is rare to even see a traditional English tea shop, although some still do exist. Afternoon tea usually took place about 4’o clock in the afternoon. Nowadays that is an unusual time to eat as the majority of British people work from 9 until 5 and don’t have time for scones. Still, the English find time to drink more tea than any other nation.

We British love to celebrate, and therefore Easter, Shrove Tuesday, Bonfire Night, Christmas and New Years are all still very much part of our life. But the reasons for celebrating such events have changed. The amount of British people that are either agnostic or even atheist has risen over the decades. Going to church on a Sunday is no longer seen as a necessity in a British person’s life. Therefore religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter are now celebrated for commercial reasons as well as, or instead of, celebrating the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ. British people are happy to exchange presents on such days but the amount of people that attend mass on Christmas has decreased. One of our favourite occasions as Brits is probably New Years Eve, as this usually involves attending a party and becoming joyfully intoxicated. Our New Year is nothing spectacular compared to that of the Chinese New Year which lasts fifteen days and includes feasts, parties and beautiful decorations.

Britain does have culture like China does, like Spain does and many other countries. We have beautiful architecture, great artists and writers and musicians, traditional food and national events. But do we really care about all this? England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all have their own history and ways of life. When it comes to national saints the Irish celebrate like there is no tomorrow on St. Patrick’s Day, while many English people do not even realise when it is St. George’s stab at the calendar. In fact, the English tend to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day more than St. George’s as they see it as an excuse to have a few drinks.

British people in general have become so interested in the lives of the rich and famous that they want to know which B-list celebrity is doing who. More interest is shown in The Monarchy (a part of our heritage) when a scandal is released, usually Prince Harry involving Prince Harry dressing as a Nazi or getting drunk at a party. Obviously this is not true of all British people, but this could be an indication of the end of culture as was once known.

Maybe the current British way of life will be retrospectively as an amalgamation of material acquisitions, celebrity magazines and binge drinking. There is nothing wrong with change but it would be nice to appreciate how British life once was and try to maintain some of our traditions. So the next time you have a cup of tea think about what it means to be British. Try cooking a Sunday Roast with your friends and sit down for a civilised meal and if you’re English, go out next St. Georges’ day and celebrate. After all, it is an excuse for a drink or two.

/Kerry Savage