‘What British tradition do you think will disappear in the next 10 years?’ – 21 customs hovering on the brink of obscurity

We get very misty-eyed about long held historical conventions, but are they always good and worth preserving? Anyone who sat in a pillory two hundred years ago and had rotten apples thrown at them would probably say no.

However, there are some that we would miss, and which seem to be threatened by globalisation and the homogenisation of culture. They’ve been discussing this on the AskUK subreddit after user Educational_Jello666 asked this:

What British tradition or custom do you think will disappear in the next 10 years?

I’ve been thinking about how quickly British culture is changing, especially with younger generations having different priorities and technology reshaping daily life. Whether it’s something related to food, social etiquette, workplace culture, or everyday routines . what traditions or customs do you reckon will fade away or become much less common by 2035?

What’s driving that change, and will you miss it or not?

And lots of people chimed in with their thoughts…

1.

‘Sending Christmas cards.’
–frankbowles1962

2.

‘People aren’t just ‘getting on with it’ anymore, they’re not accepting their family trauma history anymore. So maybe eventually we all might be happier?’
–Pale_Slide_3463

3.

‘Using coins to pay for things.’
–SD92z

4.

‘Using British (i.e. ‘real’) spellings, words and sayings. Like zee is taking over from zed. ‘Can I get?’ is taking over from ‘May I have?’.’
–VapourMetro111

5.

‘Being able to find stable employment without very niche skills.’
–perishingtardis

6.

‘Horse racing with any luck. All animal sports.’
–Dennyisthepisslord

7.

‘The stupid word ‘addicting’ will completely replace ‘addictive’ and I hate it.’
–freudvsneo

8.

‘Local terms of endearment. Younger people just don’t use them as often. It’ll be a sad day when the last ‘duck’ ‘hen’ ‘pet’ or ‘la’ is uttered.’
–idontlikemondays321

9.

‘Company leaving cards and leaving parties. Tightening company and personal budgets mean this just doesn’t happen. The first time I left a company I got a leaving card and party (average age like late 40s) and was pretty surprised. In my second I got a leaving card (average age like late 30s).

In my current company (average age early 30s) people come and go few times a year but don’t think we’ve ever had one regardless of how much we liked them. I’m 26 for context. My older brother hasn’t even heard of the concept of leaving cards (works in insurance).’
–calve1234

10.

‘Please, altering clocks twice a year.’
–uttertosser

11.

‘Saying thank you. Already noticed our manners are slipping.’
–HiHiHipeoples

12.

‘…said every old person since the dawn of time.’
–BonzaiTitan

13.

‘First footing, it seems to be slowly disappearing – we’ve not had anyone pop by in years!’
–awesome2701

14.

‘Using cash, Post Offices and banks. Also I reckon that traditional broadcast TV will start to disappear. It will start with the smaller TV stations simply going bust and then the bigger ones will fall, like CH4, CH5 and finally the BBC and Sky.’
–LemmysCodPiece

15.

‘Roasted chestnuts. Sorry to sound like a creaky-voiced 99-year-old, but I used to see them all the time at bonfire night and funfairs and Christmas markets. They smelled amazing and had an interesting flavour, somewhere between a smoky parsnip and a sweet nut. Now it’s just doughnuts and waffles and other junk foods.’
–LazyBarracuda

16.

‘Coronation Street.’
–Richard__Papen

17.

‘Boxing Day sales. Been on its way out for a few years now.’
–Past-Bicycle5959

18.

‘Bonfire night, Christmas cards, harvest festival. BBC Sports Personality award.’
–Mysterious-Sock39

19.

‘Seeing as nobody has mentioned it yet, that points to it leaving our consciousness quite rapidly which is a shame.

The Sunday roast.

It used to be the case that the family gets together on a Sunday and enjoys a big roast dinner with all the trimmings and spends the day in each other’s company. I work Sundays and many of my workmates, especially the younger ones will say that they are having things like pizza or a takeaway after work. It is a bit sad to see that what was once a staple of British family life is quickly becoming left behind.’
–AMightyDwarf

20.

‘Hopefully jellied eels you fecking wronguns.’
–Jrokula

21.

‘I’m delighted to share that I’m currently down the pub and a dropped glass five minutes ago got the correct ‘whey-hey’ response from half the people in here. Some traditions are still alive!’
–plasticirishman

Source r/AskUK Image Screenshot