ABOUT ENGLISH CULTURE AND HABITS
ABOUT ENGLISH CULTURE AND HABITS
England is a country with a widely-recognized cultural identity. Whenever anything such as tea or fish and chips are mentioned, the standard response is to think of England and its people. However, English culture and habits, like the country itself, contain a mixture of the traditional and the newly-developed, and the following are just a few of the cultural characteristics of the English populace. It's important to note that, when we speak about England and its culture, this pertains only to England, and not to the other constituent countries of the United Kingdom. Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish customs and identity are quite different, despite the fact that Britain is often identified as "England" in the worldwide media.
The first thing to note about English culture today is that it has been heavily influenced by the large number of foreign customs it has incorporated into its society. Britain in general has been, for the recent past, an extremely multicultural place to be, with a variety of people of different ethnic origins contributing to its overarching identity. As an example of this, the curry dish Chicken Tikka Masala has been proclaimed by many as a British national dish, and this is as true of England as the other countries in Britain. It has an inclusive, conglomerate nature and this is one of its great strengths as a nation.
English manners are a well-known part of English identity, and this is one of those rare stereotypes that is absolutely true. Observing social etiquette is extremely important in English society, and politeness is the foundation upon which that is based. Obviously, saying "please", "thank you" and "excuse me" are expected of you all the time, as well as observing social rules such as queuing in an orderly fashion. A standard custom is allowing certain members of society (for example, pregnant women, the elderly and infirm) to go ahead of you in a queue or to have your seat on the bus or train.
England is a country with a widely-recognized cultural identity. Whenever anything such as tea or fish and chips are mentioned, the standard response is to think of England and its people. However, English culture and habits, like the country itself, contain a mixture of the traditional and the newly-developed, and the following are just a few of the cultural characteristics of the English populace. It's important to note that, when we speak about England and its culture, this pertains only to England, and not to the other constituent countries of the United Kingdom. Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish customs and identity are quite different, despite the fact that Britain is often identified as "England" in the worldwide media.
The first thing to note about English culture today is that it has been heavily influenced by the large number of foreign customs it has incorporated into its society. Britain in general has been, for the recent past, an extremely multicultural place to be, with a variety of people of different ethnic origins contributing to its overarching identity. As an example of this, the curry dish Chicken Tikka Masala has been proclaimed by many as a British national dish, and this is as true of England as the other countries in Britain. It has an inclusive, conglomerate nature and this is one of its great strengths as a nation.
English manners are a well-known part of English identity, and this is one of those rare stereotypes that is absolutely true. Observing social etiquette is extremely important in English society, and politeness is the foundation upon which that is based. Obviously, saying "please", "thank you" and "excuse me" are expected of you all the time, as well as observing social rules such as queuing in an orderly fashion. A standard custom is allowing certain members of society (for example, pregnant women, the elderly and infirm) to go ahead of you in a queue or to have your seat on the bus or train.