It isnt the EU, UN, WTO consumerism, Islamism, German culture etc etc ad infinitum.
So what is British culture ;
British culture is the sum total of the organic, endogenous folk cultures of the folk nations of the British Isles. Culture derives from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate " therefore signifying that culture is an organic manifestation of the inner nature of the people who inhabit the British nation and who create British culture. British Culture is therefore the outward manifestation of the inner nature of the British peoples. British Culture and British ethnicity are linked.
It is also the set of shared British attitudes, common values, shared goals, the common ways of life and social and community practices of the British people and the British Nation.
By Nation I refer to the concept of a nation as a body of people, the indigenous British peoples, who share a common history, culture, language, racial and ethnic origin and who have inhabited the British Isles for thousands of years.
British culture incorporates the indigenous Folk cultures and ancestral traditions of Britain - Welsh, Scottish, Anglo-Irish, Anglo-Saxon English
It also includes ;
The British Constitution
The British legal system
British Art
British History
The English language and indigenous languages
Architecture from Stonehenge to St.Pauls Cathedral
Druidism, Odinism, the traditionalist Church of England and Celtic Christianity
British inventions and technology
This is not an exhaustive list.
I do not define culture as 'high' or 'low', working class or aristocratic - I see British Culture as a totality not as a set of social divisions.
It is the consciousness of the self as a component of the nation, an organic connection to the past and ancestors and a sense of a shared destiny in the future as regards the evolution of the nation.
5 comments:
Lee said...
"British culture is the sum total of the organic, endogenous folk cultures of the folk nations of the British Isles."
That's it.
But it is only the Western European folk that are expected to be able to articulate what their culture actually is and moreover have intellectual explanation for such expressions of their culture – this is not asked of any other culture.
You seem to confuse Anglo Saxonism with "Britishness" without realizing that the English throughout their 1500 year history fought against anything that is truly British (ie Celtic). The only real British were the romanized Celts known now as the Welsh. But if you are referring to the British as a political entity rather than a cultural & historical entity you would be correct although it appears you are mixing up two historically different peoples & assuming they share exactly the same history & culture which is not correct.
Hi Hugh,
The Ango-Saxons have been here since the 5th Century, therefore they are Indigenous British - regardless of who they fought.
The term British is not a tribal name, it is a political term and the name of our nation.
The Anglo-Saxons and Kelts are not the same people, as I have stated many time on this blog, and differ both in ethnicity, religion and culture (though both descend from the same racial group) - but both are indigenous British.
Regards,
Lee
Art is the repository of a people
This video is the quintessence of British culture and politics now and our obsession with fame. Couldn't have said it better! It says it all.
Be Beautiful - Mule Thomas
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