English traditions

ENGLISH TRADITIONS
English life is full of traditions and the English are said to be steeped in traditions. Traditions can be divided into those connected with sports, with entertainments, with holidays and those with no particular connection.
When foreigners come to England, they are struck at once by a great number of customs and traditions in English life. They may seem strange to visitors but the English still keep up these old customs and traditions.
The English are great lovers of sports and when they are neither playing nor watching games, they like to talk about them. Such sports and games as football, volleyball, basket-ball, and tennis are quite popular in England just as all over the world. But there are games which the English are especially fond of. They are cricket and golf. They like to discuss these games for hours. Racing is also very popular in Britain. There are all kinds of racing: motor-racing, three-legged acing, horse-racing and even racing for dogs and donkey. Boat racing has been popular since the 19^th century. Very often there are neither cups nor medals.The only reward is the satisfaction and pride of taking part in it, win or lose. The annual boat competition between Oxford and Cambridge Universities dates back to 1829. It takes place in London on the Thames.
Much time is spent in the gardens. Most English people like gardening and this is one of the reasons why so many people prefer to live in the country. Flower-shows and vegetable-shows are very popular in Great Britain.
Britain is a nation of animallovers. Everybody knows that. They will speak affectionately of their dogs and cats whom they consider to be their friends and family. The English people are great pet lovers. Practically every family has a dog or a cat or both. They have special shops sailing food, clothes and other things for dogs. There are dog hairdressing saloons and dog cemeteries.
One of the traditional features of the British character is their self-discipline and politeness. They are never tired in saying "Thank you", ''I'm sorry"
The most important and spectacular traditions are those connected with Parliament and Government. One of them IS the opening of Parliament. The Queen drives in astate coach pulled by six horses from Buckingham Palace to Westminster. The ceremony takes place in the House of Lords with a few members of the House of Commons standing opposite the throne. This is alsodictated by the tradition. Traditional uniforms are still preserved in Great Britain. You can see a group of cavalrymen riding on black horses through the central streets of London. They wear red uniforms, shining helmets, long black boots and long white gloves. They carry swords. These men are Life Guards and their special duty is to guard the king or queen. In the Tower of London you can see the warders (or Beefeaters) with their funny flat hats. On each second Saturday in November, the newly–elected Lord Mayor of London rides in procession through the streets of the city in his medieval carriage. This Lord Mayor's show is a great traditional event for Londoners. There are a number of other formal ceremonies, such as the Changing, of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, Trooping the Colour which is performed on Horse Guards Parade every year on the Queen's official birthday.
Among other traditions that most Englishmen observe is 5 o'clock tea which people can have at any time between 4 and 6 o'clock p.m. It is a very light, meal and the time when “everything stops for tea” in England and this became a kind of ritual. Beer is also a popular drink in England and the best place where you can try different kinds of beer is the pub. You can have a glass of it, called a pint, or a small glass, which they call a half. English pubs open at 10.30 in the morning and close at 11 in the evening; they are very popular both with the local people and with the visitors.
Sunday is a very quiet day in London. All the shops, the theatres and most of the cinemas are closed. Londoners like to get out of town on Sundays. The sea is not far – only 50 or 60 miles away and people like to go down to the sea in summer. All these traditions mix with the everyday life in the streets of busy London and together they make the strength of the country. Every people have his own traditions, customs and holidays. British nation is considered to be the most conservative in Europe. The British people are famous for its old traditions, customs and holidays. In Great Britain people attach greater importance to traditions and customs than in other European countries. Englishmen are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up.

Holidays of the United Kingdom of Great Britain is the holidays of British people connected with widespread national traditions of their carrying out. English traditions known for the whole world. Traditional dividing of London by three parts: the West End, the East end, and the City.

Britain is full of culture and traditions which have been around for hundreds of years. Traditions, customs and holidays are the interlay to communicate with the other people, study their culture and lifestyle, also to attach the main things of the people.

Traditions, customs and holidays are the most peculiar features of British life given the national particularities and character (tea with milk, festival of street entertainment, the whole town turns into a "place for a walk", parade the Lord Mayor and the international festival of street theater).

When people think of Britain they think of people drinking tea, eating fish and chips and wearing bowler hats, but there is more to Britain than just those things. We have British traditions of sport, music, food and many royal occasions. There are also songs, sayings and superstitions.

The combination of the state holidays remained from the previous historical periods and new come to a life finding. A long time ago the year was marked out with special days which marked the passing year. These were days of celebrations where people would do things, eat things or make things which they would not normally doing. Cheese rolling, Nettle Eating, Toe Wrestling, Bog Snorkelling are just a few of the strange, bizarre, wacky, eccentric and even mad festivals still taking place in Britain today.

Britain has a long and varied past – it has been conquered repeatedly, it has conquered others, and it has colonized half the planet. Through its history, many strange traditions and festivals have arisen.

The problem of this work is to study and to give the interpretation of British traditions and customs, and holidays and to give the own attitude to these facts, representing the differences and particularities, the special features and faucets.

The goal of this essay is to touch the historical pages of the British traditions and customs, and holidays. To achieve this goal there are the following tasks:

• To analyze the theoretical aspect on British traditions, customs and Holiday (sense of British traditions, customs and holidays);

  
  

• To define the particularities of British traditions, customs and holiday

  
  

• To develop the practical aspect on the problem British traditions, customs and Holidays (problems and opportunities);

  
  

• To work out the tests and exercises for the students.

  
  

This theme is actually interested in studying a lot. These are some reasons of it.

Each of us should know and have an image of the traditions, customs and holidays of the other people to understand the own culture and history, to explain the reasons of creating of the own traditions, to understand the succession to the old and new holidays.

The basic of this essay is consisted of the works of the well-known authors, authors’ works and essays, researches and different articles. There are many customs and some of them are very old. For example, there is the Marble Championship, where the British Champion is crowned. He wins a silver cup known among folk dancers as Morris Dancing.

Morris Dancing is an event where people, worn in beautiful clothes with ribbons and bells, dance with handkerchiefs or big sticks in their hands, while traditional music- sounds.

The Boat Race takes place on the river Thames, often on Easter Sunday. A boat with a team from Oxford University and one with a team from Cambridge University hold a race.

British people think that the Grand National horse race is the most exciting horse race in the world. It takes place near Liverpool every year. Sometimes it happens the same day as the Boat Race takes place, sometimes a week later. Amateur riders as well as professional jockeys can participate. It is a very famous event.

There are many celebrations in May, especially in the countryside.

Sunday’s theatres and shops are closed; people do not get letters and newspapers. Very few trams and buses run in the streets of London on Sundays.¹

Uniforms are not particularly characteristic of this fact. However, when one sees the warders at the Tower of London with their funny flat hats, their trousers bound at the knee, and the royal monogram on their breast, one feels carried back to the age of Queen Elisabeth I.

And should you chance to see the Lord Mayor of London riding through the streets of the city with the black robe and gold chain, his medieval carriage, and all sheriffs, councilors and other members of the suit, you have a picture of living history.

Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the Queen and the King. The house was bought by George III from the Duke of Buckingham, from whom it takes the name.

Queen Victoria was the first to make the Palace the official residence of the Sovereign. The colorful ceremony of the Changing of the Guard before the Palace is of great interest for a newcomer.

The Guardsmen in their red coats and bearskin caps march behind the Drum Mayor and the Band. Whenever the Irish Guards are responsible for the quad duties at Buckingham Palace an Irish wolfhound appears on regimental ceremonial parades and marches at the head of the band.

A number of other ceremonies are of a similarly formal character, such as the King's or Queen's receptions and the State Opening of Parliament.

There are other customs of a similar peculiar character, such as the searching of the cellars underneath the Houses of Parliament by half a dozen “Beefeaters” before the opening of Parliament, in memory of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot in 1605.²

Every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions.

So, English people tend to be rather conservative. The conservative attitude consists of an acceptance of things which are familiar. All the same, several symbols of conservatism are being abandoned.

British nation is considered to be the most conservative in Europe. In Great Britain people attach greater importance to traditions and customs than in other European countries. Englishmen are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. The best examples are their queen, money system, their weights and measures.

English people tend to be rather conservative. The conservative attitude consists of an acceptance of things which are familiar. All the same, several symbols of conservatism are being abandoned. On the 31st of October a Halloween is a day on which many children dress up in unusual costumes. In fact, this holiday has a Celtic origin. The day was originally called All Halloween's Eve, because it happens on October 31, the eve of all Saint's Day. The name was later shortened to Halloween. The Celts celebrated the coming of New Year on that day.

On this day they say ghosts and witches come out on Halloween. People make lanterns out of pumpkins. Some people have Halloween parties and dress as witches and ghosts.

Another tradition is the holiday called Bonfire Night.

On November 5, 1605, a man called Guy Fawkes planned to blow up the Houses of Parliament where the king James 1st was to open Parliament on that day. But Guy Fawkes was unable to realize his plan and was caught and later, hanged.

The British still remember that Guy Fawkes' Night. It is another name for this holiday. This day one can see children with figures, made of sacks and straw and dressed in old clothes. On November 5th, children put their figures on the bonfire, burn them, and light their fireworks.³

Guy Fawkes Night (or “bonfire night”), held on 5 November in the United Kingdom and some parts of the Commonwealth, is a commemoration of the plot, during which an effigy of Fawkes is burned, often accompanied by a fireworks display. The word “guy”, meaning “man” or “person”, is derived from his name.

Guy Fawkes (13 April 1570 – 31 January 1606), also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, belonged to a group of Catholic Restorations from England who planned the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Their aim was to displace Protestant rule by blowing up the Houses of Parliament while King James I and the entire Protestant, and even most of the Catholic, aristocracy and nobility were inside. The conspirators saw this as a necessary reaction to the systematic discrimination against English Catholics.

The Gunpowder Plot was led by Robert Catesby, but Fawkes was put in charge of its execution. He was arrested a few hours before the planned explosion, during a search of the cellars underneath Parliament in the early hours of 5 November prompted by the receipt of an anonymous warning letter. Basically it’s a celebration of the failed attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament in Westminster.

In the end of the year, there is the most famous New Year celebration. In London, many people go to Trafalgar Square on New Year's Eve. There is singing and dancing at 12 o'clock on December 31st.

A popular Scottish event is the Edinburgh Festival of music and drama, which takes place every year. A truly Welsh event is the Eisteddfod, a national festival of traditional poetry and music, with a competition for the best new poem in Welsh.

If we look at English weights and measures, we can be convinced that the British are very conservative people. They do not use the internationally accepted measurements. They have conserved their old measures. There are nine essential measures. For general use, the smallest weight is one ounce, and then 16 ounce is equal to a pound. Fourteen pounds is one stone.

The English always give people's weight in pounds and stones. Liquids they measure in pints, quarts and gallons. There are two pints in a quart and four quarts or eight pints are in one gallon. For length, they have inches» foot, yards and miles.

If we have always been used to the metric system therefore the English monetary system could be found rather difficult for us. They have a pound sterling, which is divided into twenty shillings, half-crown is cost two shillings and sixpence, shilling is worth twelve pennies and two halfpennies could change one penny.⁴

The metric system came into general use in 1975. The twenty-four-hour clock was at last adopted for railway timetables in the 1960s-though not for most other timetables, such as radio programs.

The decimal money was introduced, but the pound sterling as the basic unit was kept, one-hundredth part of it being a new penny. Temperatures have been measured in Centigrade as well as Fahrengrade for a number of years, tend to use Fahrengrade for general purpose.

The veteran car run is a new tradition in England now. Every year a large number of veteran cars drive from London to Brighton. Veteran cars are those which are made before 1904. The run takes place on the first Sunday in November. In November, 1896, a law was published. It said that a man with a red flag must walk in front of every car when it moved in the streets. In those days people were afraid of the cars.

The run begins at 8 o'clock in the morning from Hyde Park. Some cars look very funny. The drivers are dressed in the clothes of those times. The oldest cars move in front. The run is not a competition but a demonstration. Some cars reach Brighton, which is about a hundred kilometers from London, only late in the evening, others don't get there; they have to stop on the way.

The Stone of Destiny. In Westminster Abbey in London there is a large stone which has an interesting history. Many hundreds of years ago it was a seat on which the kings of Scotland sat when they were crowned. When Scotland became part of Britain, the English king brought this stone to London. A large chair was made and the Stone of Destiny was put into the seat of the chair. Since that time the English kings sit on that chair when they are crowned. The Theatre Royal in Drury Lane of the oldest theatres in London. It was opened in 1663. The king was present at the performance that is why it was called the Theatre Royal. Today most people call it Drury Lane by the name of the street in which it stands. The theatre has many traditions. One of them is the Barely cake, which began in the 18 century. Robert Barely was a pastry-cook who became an actor and joined the Theatre Royal. He was a good actor, and the plays in which he acted were always a great success with the people of London. When R. Barely was very old, he left some money to the theatre. Robert Barely asked to buy cake and offer a piece of it to each actor and actress of the theatre on Twelfth Night every year. Twelfth Night is the 6^th of January, the 12^th Night after Christmas. So, after the evening performance on Twelfth Night, the actors and actresses cone down into the hall in their stage clothes and eat the Barely cake. Races in England. In England there is a day for pancakes. It is usually in March. At homes families have pancakes for dinner. At school children and teachers have pancakes for school dinner. In some villages and towns in England there is a pancake race every year. Mothers of families run these races. First they must make the pancake and then run 4 hundred meters with the pancake on the frying-pan in their hands. When they are running this race they must throw the pancake up 3 times and catch it on the frying-pan.⁵ They must not drop it. The fathers and the children watch the mothers and call out to them: “Run, mum, run quickly!” At some universities and colleges students run pancake races too. They run with their pancakes on the frying-pans and throw them up.

If the university or college is near the sea there are swimming pancake races. The students take their frying-pans with the pancakes into the cold water and swim with them. They hold the frying-pan in one hand. They must also throw the pancake up and catch it on the pan.