So many countries so many customs,
an English proverb says. The combination of the words tradition & custom
means a usual manner of doing smth, a believe of principal, of conduct passed
on from generation to generation. English traditions can be subdivided into the
traditions dealing with private life of the English national & religious
holidays, public celebrations, traditional ceremonies & traditional
sporting events. A great number of customs & traditions date back to the
early days of GB & we can justly say that they are the reflection of the country"s
history & the peoples phyhology. To know the customs & traditions means
to understand the people, their art & culture better. In the matter of
holidays the British are less well off than other Europeans. They have such
holidays celebrated: New Years Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day, Spring
Bank Holiday, Summer Bank Holiday, Christmas Day & Boxing Day.
The British have many traditions,
manners & customs of which they can be proud. England has preserved it's
old ceremonies & traditions to a greater extend than any other country in
the world. Most of this traditions have been kept up without interruption since
the thirteenth century. Foreigners coming to England are impressed by a great
number of ceremonies which seem to be incompatible with the modern traffic
& technical conditions of a highly developed country.
Some British customs and traditions are famous all over the world. Bowler
hats, tea and talking about the weather, for example. But what about the
others? Who was Guy Fawkes? Why does the Queen have two birthdays? And what is
the word "pub" short for?
From Scotland to Cornwall, Britain is full of customs
and traditions. A lot of them have very long histories. Some are funny and some
are strange. But they're all interesting. There are all the traditions of
British sport and music. There's the long menu of traditional British food.
There are many royal occasions. There are songs, sayings and superstitions.
They are all part of the British way of life.
A year in Britain
JANUARY
Up-HeIIy-Aa
The Shetlands are islands near Scotland. In the ninth centurv, men from
Norway came to the Shetlands. These were the Vikings. They came to Britain in
ships and carried away animals, gold, and sometimes women and children, too.
Now, 1 ,OOO years later, people in the Shetlands remember the Vikings
with a festival. Fhey call the festival "Up-Helly-Aa".
Every winter the people of Lerwick, a town in the Shetlands, make a model
of a ship. It's a Viking "long-ship", with the head of a dragon at
the front. Then, on Up-Helly-Aa night in January, the Shetlanders dress in
Viking clothes. They carry the ship through the town to the sea. There they
burn it. They do this because the Vikings put their dead men in ships and
burned them. But there aren't any men in the modern ships. Now the festival is
a party for the people of the Shetland Islands.
FEBRUARY
St Valentine's Day
St Valentine is the saint of people in love, and St Valentine's Day is
February 14th. On that day, people send Valentine cards and presents to their
husbands, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends. You can also send a card to a
person you don't know. But traditionally you must never write your name on it.
Some British newspapers have a page for Valentine's Day messages on Februarv
14th.
MARCH
St David's Day
March 1st is a very important day for Welsh people. It's St David's Day.
He's the "patron" or national saint of Wales.
On March 1st, the Welsh celebrate St David's Day and wear daffodils in
the buttonholes of their coats or jackets.
APRIL
April Fool's Day
April 1st is April Fool's Day in Britain. This is a very old tr~dition
from the Middle Ages (between the fifth and fifteenth centuries). At that time
the servants were masters for one day of the year. They gave orders to their
masters, and their masters had to obey.
Now April Fool's Day is different. It's a day for jokes and tricks.
MAY
May Day
May 1st was an important day in
the Middle Ages. In the very early morning, young girls went to the fields and
washed their faces with dew. They believed this made them very beautiful for a
year affer that. Also on May Day the young men of each village tried to win
prizes with their bows and arrows, and people danced round the maypole.
Many English-villages still have
a maypole, and on May 1st, the villagers dance round it. You can see one in the
picture below.
JUNE
Midsummer's
Day
Midsummer's Day, June 24th, is the longest day of the year. On that day
you can see a very old custom at Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, England. Stonehenge
is one of Europe's biggest stone circles. A lot of the stones are ten or twelve
metres high. It's also very old. The earliest part of Stonehenge is nearly
5,000 years old.
But what was Stonehenge? A holy place? A market? Or was it a kind of
calendar? We think the Druids used it for a calendar. The Druids were the
priests in Britain 2,000 years ago. They used the sun and the stones at
Stonehenge to know the start of months and seasons. There are Druids in Britain
today, too. And every June 24th a lot of them go to Stonehenge. On that morning
the sun shines on one famous stone - the Heel stone. For the Druids this is a
very important moment in the year. But for a lot of British people it's just a
strange old custom.
OCTOBER
Hallowe'en
October 31st is Hallowe'en, and you can expect to meet witches and ghosts
that night. Hallowe'en is an old word for "Hallows Evening", the
night before "All Hallows" or "All Saints' Day"
On thai one night of the year, ghosts and witches are free. Well, that's
the traditional story. A long time ago people were afraid and stayed at home on
Hallowe'en. But now in Britain its a time for fun. There are always a lot of
parties on October 31st. At these parties people wear masks and they dress as
ghosts and witches, or as Dracula or Frankenstein's monster. And some people
make special Hallowe'en lamps Irom a large fruit the pumpkin.
First they take out the middle of the pumpkin. Ihen they cut holes for
the eyes, nose and mouth. Finally they put a candle inside the pumpkin.
NOVEMBER
Guy Fawkes' Day
November 5th is Guy Faw kes Day in Britain. All over the country people
build wood fires or “bonfires”, in their gardens. On top of each bonfire is a
guy. That's a figure of Guy Fawkes. People make guys with straw, old clothes
and newspapers. But before November 5th, children use their guys to make money
They stand in the street and shout "Penny for the guy". Then they
spend the money on fireworks. But how did this tradition start? Who was Guy
Fawkes and why do the British remember him on November 5th?
On November 5th 1605, Guy Fawkes tried to kill King James I. He and a
group of friends put a bomb under the Houses of Parliament in London. But the
King's men found the bomb and they found
Guy Fawkes, too. They took him to the Tower of London and there the King's men
cut off his head.
DECEMBER
Christmas and the New Year
There are lots
of Christmas and New Year traditions in Britain.
For example...
London's
Ghristmas decorations Every year the
people 9f
Norway give the city of London a present.. It's a big Christmas tree and it
stands in Trafalgar Square. Also in central London, Oxford Street and Regent
Street always have beautiful decorations at Christmas. Thousands of people come
to look at them.
Cards, trees
and mistletoe In 1846 the first Christmas
cards began in Britain. That was five years after the first Christmas tree.
Queen
Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, brought this German tradition (he was
German) to Britain. He and the Queen had a Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in
1841. A few years after, nearly every house in Britain had one.
Traditionally
people decorate their trees on Christmas Eve - that's December 24th. They take
down the decorations twelve days later, on Twelfth Night (January 5th).
An older tradition is Christmas mistletoe. People put a piece of this
green plant with its white berries over a door. Mistletoe brings good luck,
people say. Also, at Christmas British people kiss their friends and family
under the mistletoe.
Carols
Before Christmas, groups of singers go from house to house. They collect
money and sing traditional Christmas songs or carols. There are a lot of very
popular British Christmas carols. Three fanous ones are:
"Good King Wenceslas", "The Holly and The Ivy" and
"We Three Kings".
Christmas Eve
British children don't open their presents on December 24th. Father
Christmas brings their presents in the night. Then they open them on the
morning of the 25th.
There's
another name for Father Christmas in Britain - Santa Claus. That comes from the
European name for him - Saint Nicholas. In the traditional story he lives at
the North Pole. But now he lives in big shops in towns and cities all over Britain.
Well, that's where children see him in November and
December. Then on Christmas Eve he visits every house. He climbs down the
chimney and leaves lots of presents. Some people leave something for him, too. A glass of wine and some
biscuits, for example.
Christmas Day
In Britain the most important meal on December 25th is
Christmas dinner. Nearly all Christmas food is traditional, but a lot of
the traditions are not very old. For example, there were no turkeys in Britain
before 1800. And even in the nineteenth century, goose was the traditional meat
at Christmas. But not now.
A twentieth-century British Christmas dinner is roast turkey with
carrots, potatoes, peas, Brussels sprouts and gravy. There are sausages and
bacon too. Then, after the turkey, there's Christmas pudding. You can read
about that in the chapter on food.
Crackers are also usual at Christmas dinner. These came to Britain from
China in the nineteenth century. Two people pull a cracker. Usually there's a
small toy in the middle. Often there's a joke on a piece of paper, too. Most of
the jokes in Christmas crackers are not very good. Here's an example:
CUSTOMER: Waiter, there's a frog in my soup.
WAITER: Yes, sir, the fly's on holiday.
Boxing Day
December 26th is Boxing Day. Traditionally boys from the shops in each
town asked for money at Christmas. They went from house to house on December
26th and took boxes made of wood with them. At each house people gave them
money. This was a Christmas present. So the name of December 26th doesn't come
from the sport of boxing - it comes from the boys' wooden boxes. Now, Boxing
Day is an extra holiday after Christmas Day.
First Footing
In Scotland
the name for New Year's Eve is Hogmanay. Affer midnight people visit their
friends. And they take a present - a piece of coal. Why? Because traditionally
the first visitor of the year must carry coal into the house. This is
"first footing". It brings good luck. It also helps to make a fire in
the middle of winter.
New Year
Resolutions What are your worst faults? Do
you want to change them? In Britain a lot of people make New Year Resolutions
on the evening of December 31st. For example, "I'll get up early every
morning next ~ or ''I'll clean my shoes every day.'' But there's a problem.
Most people forget their New Year Resolutions on January 2nd.
Royal traditions
THE TROOPING OF THE
COLOUR
The Queen is the only person in Britain with two birthdays. Her real
birthday is on April 21st, but she has an "official" birthday, too.
That's on the second Saturday in June. And on the Queen's official birthday,
there is a traditional ceremony called the Trooping of the Colour. It's a big
parade with brass bands and hundreds of soldiers at Horse Guards' Parade in
London. A "regiment" of the Queen's soldiers, the Guards, march in
front of her. At the front of the parade is the regiment's flag or
"colour".
The Guards are trooping the colour. Thousands of Londoners and visitors
watch in Horse Guards' Parade. And millions of people at home watch it on
television.
THE
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
This happens every day at Buckingham Palace, the Queen's home in London.
Soldiers stand in front of the palace. Each morning these soldiers (the
"guard") change. One group leaves and another arrives. In summer and
winter tourists stand outside the palace at 11.30 every morning and watch the
Changing of the Guard.
MAUNDY
MONEY
Maun4y Thursday is the day before Good Friday, at Easter. On that day the
Queen gives Maundy money to a group of old people. This tradition is over 1,000
years old. At one time the king or queen washed the feet of poor, old pedple on
Maundy Thursday. That stopped in 1754.
SWAN
UPPING
Here's a very different royal tradition. On the River Thames there are
hundreds of swans. A lot of these beautiful white birds belong, traditionally,
to the king or queen. In July the young swans on the Thames are about two
months old. Then the Queen's swan keeper goes, in a boat, from London Bridge to
Henley. He looks at all the young swans and marks the royal ones. The name of
this strange but interesting custom is Swan Upping.
THE QUEEN'S TELEGRAM
This custom is not very old, but it's for very old people. On his or her
one hundredth birthday, a British person gets a telegram from the Queen.
THE BIRTHDAY HONOURS LIST AND THE NEW
YEAR'S HONOURS LIST
Twice a year at Buckingham Palace, the Queen gives titles or
"honours", once in January and once in June. There are a lot of
different honours. Here are a few:
C.B.E. - Companion of the British Empire
O.B.E. - Order of the British Empire
M.B.E. - Member of the British Empire
(These honours
began in the nineteenth century. Then Britain
had an empire.)
Knighthood- a knight has "Sir" before his name. A new knight kneels in
front of the Queen. She touches first his right shoulder, then his left
shoulder with a sword. Then she says "Arise, Sir. . . [his first
name]", and the knight stands.
Peerage - a pee~ is a lord. Peers sit in the House of Lords. That's one part of
the Houses of Parliament. The other part is the House of Commons. Peers call
the House of Commons "another place".
Dame/Baroness - these are two of the highest honours for a woman.
THE
STATE OPENING OF PARLlAMENT
Parliament, not the Royal Family, controls modern Britain. But traditionally
the Queen opens Parliament every autumn. She travels from Buckingham Palace to
the Houses of Parliament in a gold carriage - the Irish State Coach. At the Houses
of Parliament the Queen sits on a “throne” in the House of Lords. Then she
reads the “Queen's Speech”. At State Opening of Parliament the Queen wears a crown.
She wears other jewels from the Crown Jewels, too.
THE ORDER OF THE GARTER CEREMONY
The Order of the Garter ceremony has a long history. King Edward III
started the Order in the fourteenth centur', that time, the people in the Order
were the twent', four bravest knights inEngland. Now the knights of thc Order
aren't all soldiers. They're members of the House of Lords, church leaders or
politicians. There are some foreign knights, too. For example, the King of
Norway, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and the Emperor of Japan. They're called
Extra Knights of the Garter. The Queen is the Sovereign of the Order of the Garter.
But she isn't the only royal person in the Order. Prince Charles and Prince
Philip are Royal Knights, and the Queen Mother is a Lady of the Garter.
In June the Order his a traditional ceremony at Windsor Castle. This is
the Queen's favourite castle. It's also the home of the Order ~ the Garter. All
the knights walk from the castle to St George's Chapel. the royal church at
Windsor. They wear the traditional Clt)thCS or "robes" of the Order.
These robes are verv heavv. In tact King Edward VIII once called them
'ridiculous". But they're an important part of one ot Britain's oldest
traditions.
THE QUEEN'S CHRISTMAS SPEECH
Now here's a modern royal custom. On Christmas Day at 3.00 in the
afternoon the Queen makes a speech on radio and TV. It's ten minutes long. In
it she talks to the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. The
Commonwealth is a large group of countries. In the past they were all in the
British Empire. Australia, India, Canada and New Zealand are among the 49
members.
The B.B.C. (the British Broadcasting Corporation) sends the Queen's
speech to every Commonwealth countrv. In her speech the Queen talks about the
past year. Traditionallv in speeches, kings or queens say “we” not “I” Queen
Elizabeth II doesn't do this. She says “My husband and I” or just 'I''.
The Queen doesn't make her speech on Christrnas Day. She films it a few
weeks before. Then she spends Christmas with her familY at Windsor. Does she
watch the speech on TV? Nobody knows.
Songs, sayings and superstitions
There are thousands of traditional songs and sayings in English. Many of
them tell stones about British historv. For example, here's one about the Great
Plague.
Ring-a-ring-a roses
A pocket full of posies
A-tishoo, a-tishoo
We all fall down.
The Great Plague was an illness and it killed millions of people in
Europe in the seventeenth century. One of the signs of the illness was j circle
of red marks. Thev looked like roses, and that explains the first line of the
song. In the second line, "posies" are small bunches of flowers.
People carried flowers because of the smell of the Plague. "A-tishoo"
is the sound of a sneeze. That was another sign of the Plague. Then, after a
few days, people "fell down" or died.
How many of these traditional
songs do you know?
Happy Birthday
To You - You sing this song at birthday
parties. People all over the world sing it.
Auld Lang Syne
- This is a song from Scotland.
Most people only sing it once a year, on New Year's Eve. "Auld Lang Syne"
means "a long time ago". The song says, "we must never forget
old friends".
God Save The
Queen - This is Britain's national
song or "anthem."
SUPERSTITIONS
Do vou believe in good luck and bad luck? Most people in the world have
some superstitions. These are a few British superstitions with long traditions.
Good Luck
-Black cats
are lucky
-Clover is a
small plant. Usually it has three leaves, but a few have four. A clover with
four leaves brings good luck.
-A horseshoe over the door of a new home brings good luck. But the
horseshoe must be the right way up. l~he luck runs out of a horseshoe if it's
upside down.
-On the first day of the month it's lucky to say 'White rabbits".
-It's good luck to see two magpies (large black and white birds).
-Catch falling leaves in autumn and you'll have good luck. Everv leaf
means a lucky month in the next year.
Bad Luck
-Never open an umbrella in the house. That's very bad luck. Never break a
mirror - that means seven years' bad luck. It's bad luck to see just one
magpie.
-Don't walk under a ladder.
-Don't walk past soinchody on the stairs.
-The number thirteen i~ very unlucky (and Friday the 13th is a "cry
unlucky date).
SAYINGS
Here are ten British “proverbs” or sayings.
1. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
You have to try or you won't get anything.
2. One man's meal is another man's
poison.
People often don't like the same things.
3. The other man's grass is a/way's
greener.
You always think that other people's lives are better than yours.
4. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Don't question good luck.
5.Every cloud has a silver lining.
There's always some thing good in bad times.
6. It's no use crying over spilt
milk. Don't be too sad after a small acciden~.
7. Out of the frying pan, into the
fire. From one problem to another.
8. Fools rush in where angels fear
to tread.
Stupid people do things that other people never do.
9. You can lead a horse to water
but you cannot make it drink.
You can give a
person a chance, but you can't make him or her take it.
10. A stitch in time saves nine.
Act early and
you can save a lot of trouble.
Food and drink
THE ENGLISH BREAKFAST
In a real English breakfast you have fried eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato
and mushrooms. Then there's toast and marmalade. There's an interesting story
about the word "marmalade". It may come from the French "Marie
est malade", or "Mary is ill." That's because a
seventeenth-century Queen of Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots, liked it. She
always asked for French orange jam when she was ill.
PANCAKES
British people eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday in February or March. For
pancakes you need flour, eggs and milk. Then you eat them with sugar and lemon.
In some parts of Britain there are pancake races on Shrove Tuesday. People race
with a frying pan in one hand. They have to "toss" the pancake, throw
it in the air and catch it again in the frying pan.
ROAST BEEF AND YORKSHIRE PUDDING
This is the traditional Sunday lunch from Yorkshire in the north of
England. It is now popular all over Britain. Yorkshire pudding is not sweet.
It's a simple mixture of eggs, flour and milk, but it's delicious.
Two common vegetables with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding are Brussels
sprouts and carrots. And of course there's always gravy. That's a thick, brown
sauce. You make gravy with the juice from the meat.
HAGGIS
Haggis is a tradinonal food from Scotland. You make it with meat, onions,
flour, salt and pepper. Then you boil it in the skin from a sheep's stomach -
yes, a sheep's stomach.
In Scotland, people eat haggis on Burns Night. Robert Burns (Scots people
call him "Rabbie" Burns), was a Scottish poet in the eighteenth
century. Every year Scots people all over the world remember him and read his
poems.
TEA
Tea
is Britain's favourite drink. It's also a meal in the afternoon. You can eat
tea at home or in a hotel. Tea at the Ritz hotel in London is very good. You
can drink Indian or China tea. There are cucumber sandwiches and scones.
(Scones are plain cakes. You eat them with jam and cream.) There are chocolate
cakes and cream cakes too.
CHRISTMAS PUDDING
Some people make this pudding months before Christmis.
A lot of families have thcir own Christmas pudding recipe~.
Some, for example, use a lot of brandy. Others put in a lot of
fruit or add a silver coin for good luck.
Real Christmas puddings always have a piece of holly on the top. Holly
bushes and trees have red berries at Chris~mas-ume, and so people use holly to
decorate their houses for Christmas. The holly on the pudding is part of the
decoration. Also, you can pour brandy over the pudding and light it with a
match.
HOT CROSS BUNS
The first Christians in Rome made hot cross buns two thousand years ago.
But now they're an Easter tradition in Britain. Here's a storv about hot cross
buns. In 1800 a widow lived in a house in East London. Her only son was a
sailor and went to sea. Everv vear she made hot cross buns and kept one for him.
He never came back, but she kept a bun for him every year. Then, after many, years, she
died. Now, her house is a pub. It's called 'The Widow's Son". For a long
time people remembered the widow. Every Easter they put a hot cross bun in a
special basket in the pub. Now the tradition is different. The owner of the pub
sells the special hot cross bun. Then he gives the money to the British
Sailors' Societv.
PUBS
Pubs are an important part of British life. People talk, eat, drink, meet
their friends and relax there. They are open at lunchtime and again in the
evening. But they close at 11.00 (10.30 on Sundays). This surprises a lot of
tourists. But vou can always go to Scotland - the pubs close later there!
The word "pub" is short for "public house". There are
thousands in Britain, and they nearly all sell pub lunches. One of these is a
Ploughman's Lunch a very simple meal. It's ust bread and cheese.
Pubs also sell beer. (British beer is always warm.) The traditional kind
is called “real ale”. That’s a very strong beer from an old recipe.
An important custom in pubs is 'buying a. round". In a group, one
person buys all the others a drink. This is a "round". Then one by
one all the other people but rounds, too.
If they are with friends, British people sometimes lift their glasses
before they drink and sav "Cheers
This means "Good luck".
In the pubs in south-west Lngland there~s another traditional drink -
scrumpy. You make scrumpy with apples, but it's not a simple fruit juice. It's
very very strong.
Pub names often have a long tradition. Some come from the thirteenth or
fourteenth century.
Every pub has a name and every pub has a sign above its door. The sign
shows a picture of the pub's name.
EMBLEMS
Each country also has a national "emblem" or sign. The English
emblem is a red rose. The Welsh emblem is a vegetable or flower - a leek or a
daffodil. The Scottish emblem is a wild plant - a thistle. And the Irish emblem
is another wild plant - a shamrock.
It's traditional in Britain to wear your country's emblem on its saint's
day. The leek doesn't go in a buttonhole, so the Welsh often wear a daffodil.
These are Britain's patron saints and their days.
England - St
George - April 23rd. Ireland - Si
Patrick - March 17th. Scotland - St Andrew - November 30th. Wales - St David - March 1st.
The Scots, Welsh and English don't really celebrate their national
saint's days. But St Patrick's Day is important for Irish people all over the
world. In New York, for example, the Irish people always have a big St
Patrick's Day parade.
Costumes and
clothes
Many British costumes and uniforms have a long history. One is the
uniform of the Beefeaters at the Tower of London. This came first from France.
Another is the uniform of the Horse Guards at Horse Guards' Parade, not far
from Buckingham Palace. Thousands of visitors take photographs of the Horse
Guards, but the Guards never move or smile. In fact some visitors think the
Guards aren't real. And that brings us to...Britannia. She wears traditional
clothes, too. But she’s not a real person. She is symbol of Britain.
Lots of ordinary clothes have a long tradition. The famous bowler hat,
for example. A man called Beaulieu made the first one in 1850.
The very cold winters in the
Crimea in the war of 1853-56 gave us the names of the cardigan and the
balaclava. Lord Cardigan led the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava
(1854). A "cardigan" is now a warm woollen short coat with buttons,
and a "balaclava" is a woollen hat.
Another British soldier, Wellington, gave his name to a pair of boots.
They have a shorter name today - "Wellies".raced on the river Thames
and the Oxford boat won. That started a tradition. Now, every Spring, the
University Boat Race goes from Putney to Mortlake on the Thames. That's 6.7 kilometres.
The Cambridge rowers wear light blue shirts and the Oxford roWers wear dark
blue. There are eight men in each boat. There's also a "cox". The cox
controls the boat. Traditionally coxes are men, but Susan Brown became the
first woman cox in 1981. She was the cox for Oxford and they won.
ROYAL ASCOT
Ascot is a small, quiet town in the south of England. But in June for one
week it becomes the centre of the horse-racing world. It's called Royal Ascot
because the Queen always goes to Ascot. She has a lot of racehorses and likes
to watch racing. But Ascot week isn't just for horseracing. It's for fashion,
too. One woman, Mrs Gertrude Shilling, always wears very big hats. You can see
the racecourse in the picture below.
WIMBLEDON
The world's most famous tennis tournament is Wimbledon. It started at a
small club in south London in the nineteenth century. Now a lot of the
nineteenth-century traditions have changed. For example, the women players
don't have to wear long skirts. And the men players don't have to wear long
trousers.
But other traditions haven't changed at Wimbledon. The courts are still
grass, and visitors still eat strawberries arid cream. The language of tennis
hasn't changed either. Did you know that "love" (zero) comes from
"l'oeuf" (the egg) in French?
THE LONDON TO BRIGHTON VINTAGE CAR RALLY
"Vintage" cars have to
be. more than fifty years old and in
very good condition. Lots of people keep or collect vintage cars. And on the
first Sunday in November there's a race or "Tally" for them. It
starts in London and it finishes in Brighton, a town on the south coast of
England. That's a distance of seventy kilometres.
Before 1896 a man with a red flag had to walk in front of cars. In 1896
that changed. A group of happy drivers broke their flags and drove to Brighton.
There they had a party. Now the rally is a sporting tradition.
A lot of the people in the rally wear "vintage" clothes, too.
In a 1910 car, for example, the driver and passengers wear 1910 hats and coats.
BOXING DAY HUNTS
Traditionally Boxing Day is a day for foxhunting. The huntsmen and
huntswomen ride horses. They use dogs, too. The dogs (fox hounds) follow the
smell of the fox. Then the huntsmen and huntswomen follow the hounds.
Before a Boxing Day hunt, the huntsmen and huntswomen drink hot wine. But
the tradition of the December 26th hunt is changing. Now, some people want to
stop Boxing Day hunts (and other hunts, too). They don't like foxhunting. For
them it's not a sport - it's cruel.
THE HIGHLAND GAMES
This sporting tradition is Scottish. In the Highlands (the mountains of
Scotland) families, or "clans", started the Games hundreds of years
ago.
Some of the sports at the Games are international: the high jump and the
long jump, for example. But other sports happen only at the Highland Games. One
is tossing the caber "Tossing" means throwing, and a
"caber" is a long, heavy piece of wood. In tossing the caber you lift
the caber (it can be five or six metres tall). Then you throw it in front of
you.
At the Highland Games a lot of men wear kilts. These are traditional
Scottish skirts for men. But they're not all the same. Each clan has a
different "tartan". That's the name for the pattern on the kilt. So
at the Highland Games there are traditional sports and traditional clothes. And
there's traditional music, too, from Scotland's national instrument -the
bagpipes. The bagpipes are very loud. They say Scots soldiers played them
before a battle. The noise frightened the soldiers on the other side.
THE GLORIOUS TWELFTH
The grouse is a small bird. It lives in the north of England and in
Scotland. It tastes very good. But people can't shoot grouse all the time. They
can only shoot them for a few months of the year. And the first day ofthe
grouse "season" is August 12th. On that day, "the glorious
twelfth", hunters send their grouse to London restaurants. There, people
wait for the first grouse of the year. But there's good news for the grouse,
too - the season ends on December 10th each year!
The Arts
THE PROMS
Do you like
classical music? Every summer in London there are two months of special
concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. These are the "Proms". Sir Henry
Wood started the Proms (short for "promenade" concerts) in the
nineteenth century
Now they're a
tradition in British musical life.
A lot of young people go to the Proms. They buy cheap tickets and stand
up for the concerts. They are the "promenaders". There are seats too,
but the tickets for those cost more.
The music at the Proms comes from some of the best singers and
orchestras in the world. And on the last night there's a big party at the Royal
Albert Hall. People bring balloons and paper hats. The orchestra plays popular
classical music and at the end everyone sings "Rule Britannia".
THEATRE TRADITIONS
Actors have lots of traditions and superstitions. For example, you don't
say "good luck" to an actor. You say "break a leg It's strange
but true. "Good luck" is bad luck. Also, actors never say the name of
Shakespeare's famous play "Macbeth". They always call it "The
Scottish Play". In theatres the name Macbeth brings bad luck.
A third tradition is about whistling. You must never whistle in a theatre
dressing room. Someone who whistles must go out of the room and turn around
three times. Only affer that, can they knock on the door and come in again.
THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL
Every August, Edinburgh in Scotland has the biggest art festival in
Europe. There are plays, concerts and exhibitions from countries all over the
world. That's the "official" festival. But there's an
"unofficial" festival, too. This is called the Edinburgh
"Fringe". At the Fringe, visitors can see cheaper concerts and plays
by students.
PANTOMIME
Pantomimes are traditional British plays. They are for children, and you them
at Christmas. Some famous pantomimes are: Cinderella,
Aladdin, Peter Pan and Babes in the Wood.
A lot of these stories are very old. In pantomime there's always a young
hero. He's the Principal Boy, but the actor is usually a woman. Also, there's
always a funny, old woman. She's the Pantomime.
EISTEDDFODS
An Eisteddfod is an arts festival in Wales. People sing and read their
poetry in the Welsh language. The Welsh name for there poets is
"bards". People also play music. The harp is very popular in Wales.
You can always hear harp music at an Eisteddfod. But Eisteddfods aren't lust
festivals. They're also competitions to find the best singers, musicians and
poets in Wales.
London
Britain's capital city is full of traditions and customs. Here's a guide
to just a few of them.
THE LORD MAYOR'S SHOW
Every year there's a new Lord Mayor of London. The Mayor is the city's
traditional leader. And the second Saturday in November is always the day for
the Lord Mayor's Show. This cercnionv
is over six hundred years old. It's also London's biggest parade.
The Lord Mayor drives to the Royal Courts of Justice (near Fleet Street)
in a coach. The coach is two hundred years old. It's red and gold and it has
six horses. You can see it in the picture above.
There's
also a big parade. People make special costumes and act stories from London's
history.
THE NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL
This is Europe's biggest street carnival. A lot of people in the Notting Hill
area of London come from the West Indies - a group of islands in the Caribbean.
And for two days in August, Notting Hill is
the West Indies. There's West Indian food and music in the streets. There's
also a big parade and people dance day and night.
PEARLY KINGS AND QUEENS
Londoners from the east of the citv are "Cockneys". There are a
lot of traditional Cockney expressions. For example, Cockneys don't say
"stairs' - they say "apples and pears". And they don't sav
"face" - they say "boat race". This is Cockney rhyming
slang.
The Cocknevs have kings and queens, too - the 'pearly' kings and queens.
They wear speLial costumes on important days. Each costume has thousands of
pearl buttons.
THE TOWER OF LONDON
William the Conqueror and his army landed in England from France in the
year 1066. In 1078 he started to build the Tower of London. Now, nine hundred
years later, this famous castle is full of history and tradition.
The guards at the Tower are called Beefeaters. Uheir name comes from a
French word - boufitiers. Boufitiers
were guards in the palaces of French kings. They proiceted the king's food.
You will see some large, black birds at the Tower of London. Fliese are
the ravens at the Tower. Ravens have lived al the Tower of London for hundreds
of vears.
People go to see the Beefeaters and the ravens, but that's not all.
Visitors to the Tower go to see the Crown Jewel, too. There are eight crowns. There are also a lot of other verv famous
jewels in the jewel room. In fact the Crown Jewels arc the biggest tourist
attraction in London.
In the evening there is another old custom at the l~ower of London - the
Ceremony of the Keys. At 9.53 exactly, the Beefeaters close the Tower. Then at
10.00 they give the keys to the Governor of the Tower. That's because a long
time ago the Tower of London was a prison for important prisoners:
Anne Boleyn (Henry VIII's second wife), Sir Walter Raleigh, Guy Fawkes,
and many others.
Everyday life
TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER
The British talk about the weather a lot. For example, ''Isn't it a
beautiful morning?" or, '’Very cold today, isn't it?" They talk about
the weather because it changes so often. Wind, rain, sun cloud, snow -- they
can all happen in a British winter -- or a British summer.
QUEUEING
At British banks, shops, cinemas, theatres or bus stops you can always
see people in queues. They stand in a line and wait quietly, often for a long
time. Each new person stands at the end of the queue - sometimes in rain, wind
or snow.
SHAKING HANDS
Hundreds of years ago, soldiers began this custom. They shook hands to
show that they didn't have a sword. Now, shaking hands is a custom in most
countries. In Britain you don't shake hands with your friends and familv. But
you do shake hands when you meet a
person for the first time. You also sav "How do you do?" This is not
reallv a question, it's a tradition. The correct answer is exactlv the same,
"How do you do?"
CARDS
The British sen'd birthday cards and often give birthday presents. There
are cards for other days, too:
Christmas cards, Valentine's Dav cards, Mother's Day cards, Father's Day
cards, Easter cards, Wedding Anniversary cards, Good Luck cards,
"Congratulations On Your New Baby" cards, and "Get Well
Soon" cards.
PARTIES
It's the custom to have a party to celebrate:
A person's birthday
A new house
Christmas (at home, and often in offices, too)
An engagement (a promise to marry)
A wedding (marriage)
New Year's Eve
WRONG SIDE OF THE
BED
When people are
bad tempered we say that they must have got out of bed on the wrong side. Originally,
it was meant quiet literally. People believe that the way they rose in the
morning affected their behavior throughout the day. The wrong side of the bed
was the left side. The left always having been linked with evil.
BLOWING OUT THE
CAND CANDLES
The custom of
having candles on birthday cakes goes back to the ancient Greeks. Worshippers
of Artemis, goddess of the moon and hunting, used to place honey cakes on the
altars of her temples on her birthday. The cakes were round like the full moon
and lit with tapers. This custom was next recorded in the middle ages when
German peasants lit tapers on birthday cakes, the number lit indicating the
person's age, plus an extra one to represent the light of life. From earliest
days burning tapers had been endued with mystical significance and it was
believedthat when blown out they had the power to grant a secret wish and
ensure a happy year ahead.
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