People will soon be able to nominate their favourite traditions to be included within official inventories of the UK’s living heritage.
The Government is planning to create the inventories to celebrate and record the traditions that are central to the rich tapestry of the UK’s cultures and identity.
Cumbria has more than a few likely candidates – from Egremont’s Crab Fair and Appleby Horse Fair to Workington’s Uppies and Downies.
The county’s food, Cumberland & Westmorland Wrestling and its dialect(s) could also be considered.
Submissions to the inventories will be encouraged from communities and groups practising living heritage, including from those who practise traditions brought to the UK by immigrant communities.
The Government said: “This UK-wide inventory will start a national conversation about the crafts, customs and celebrations that are valued across the UK and raise awareness of them, in order to help protect them for future generations.”
Nominations for the inventory are expected to open later this year.
It follows the UK ratifying the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage last year, which requires each member state to compile their own inventory of living heritage practiced by communities in their country.
This can include the folklore, performance, customs and crafts that play an important role in telling our national story and making people feel proud of where they live.
Heritage Minister Baroness Twycross said: “The UK is rich with wonderful traditions, from Gloucestershire’s cheese rolling to folk music and dancing and the many heritage crafts that we practice, such as tartan weaving and carving Welsh love spoons.
“I would encourage everyone to think about what traditions they value so that we can continue to celebrate them, tell our national story to the rest of the world and safeguard the traditions that make us who we are.”
Nominations will be accepted under seven categories:
- Oral expressions, which could include poetry and storytelling
- Performing arts
- Social practices, which could include festivals and customs
- Nature, land and spirituality, which could include land practices and living heritage knowledge and practice relating to nature and the environment
- Crafts
- Sports and games
- Culinary practices
Further information about how to nominate traditions and crafts to be included on the inventories, including gaining support and consent from the community, will be available when the call for submissions opens later this year.
Cumbria’s traditions and heritage
We’ve given you a starter for 10 – Cumbria Crack could also set up our own Cumbrian inventory of living heritage. If you’ve got suggestions, please email [email protected]
And if you’ve got a photo or two to accompany it, even better – please send that too!
If we get enough submissions, we’ll publish our own list to help the Government get started…..
Uppies and Downies
Workington’s Uppies and Downies is nearly upon us – to find out all you need to know about the tradition, visit our special section here.
