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Traditions, customs and habits of Great Britain

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Ñêà÷àòü ðåôåðàò


PERM STATE UNIVERSITY

TRADITIONS

CUSTOMS AND HABITS

OF GREAT BRITAIN

Boyarskikh Darya

the 2nd year student

Geographic faculty

“social and cultural service

and tourism” speciality

Perm 2002

CONTENTS

Introduction

3

I. Ways of everyday life

4

II. Traditions and parliament

9

III. Pageantry

12

IV. Traditions of university life

14

V. Scottish traditions

16

VI. Welsh traditions

23

VII. Traditions of Northern Ireland

27

Conclusion

28

Glossary

29

Literature

30

INTRODUCTION

I choose this topic because it’s very interesting and urgent for me now. This subject is closely connected with my feature profession. People of different countries have their own traditions. And I think, it is very important to know customs and traditions of that country, which you are going to visit. The national traditions absorb, accumulate and reflect the historic experience of the part generations.

The aim of my work is to describe in details customs and habits of English. And I should say, that English life is full of traditions. Some of them are very beautiful, colorful and picturesque, and seem to be quite reasonable; others are curious, sometimes funny, and they often are maintained simply as a tourist attraction.

In additions, many English traditions have long outlived themselves and became burdensome. Moreover, they make no sense in the present day like and only complicate things. But they are preserved and kept alive because of the well-known traditional English conservatism.

There are many traditions associated with some historical facts, parliamentary, court and state ceremonies, university life, and popular holidays. Others are connected with the mode of everyday life. They deal with customs, manners of behaviour, and habits of the people. Studying them will help us to understand better the English way of life.

I. WAYS OF EVERYDAY LIFE

Very often when speaking of English traditions we think first of some curious theatrical ceremonies of the court* or parliament procedure. There come to our mind the medieval uniforms of the guards, the solemn cloaks and wigs of the judges or the top hats (bowlers) and the invariable umbrellas of the clerks of the London City.

But the word “tradition” does not mean only that. First and foremost “tradition” is the generally accepted made or way of living, acting, behaving of just doing things. There are many very good traditions of this kind in the everyday life of the English.

1. Everything is the Other Way Round

In England everything is the other way round. On Sunday on the Continent even the poorest person puts on his best suit, tries to look respectable, and at the same time the life of the country becomes gay and cheerful; in England even the richest peer or motor-car manufacturer dresses in some peculiar rags, does not shave, and the country becomes dull and dreary.

On the Continent there is one topic, which should be avoided – the weather; in England, if you do not repeat the phrase “Lovely day, isn’t it?” at least two hundred times a day, you are considered a bit dull. On the Continent Sunday papers appear on Monday; in England – a country of exotic oddities – they appear on Sunday.

On a continental bus approaching a request stop the conductor rings the bell if he wants his bus to go on without stopping; in England you ring the bell if you want the bus to stop. On the Continent people have good food; in England people have good table manners.

On the Continent public orators try to learn to speak fluently and smoothly; in England they take a special course in Oxonian stuttering.

On the Continent learned person love to quote Aristotle, Horace, Montaigne and show off their knowledge; in England only uneducated people show off their knowledge, nobody quotes Latin or Greek authors in the course of a conversation, unless he has never read them.

Continental people are sensitive and touchy; the English take everything with an exquisite sense of humour – they are only offended if you tell them that they have no sense of humour.

People on the Continent either tell you the truth or lie; in England they hardly ever lie, but they would not – dream of telling you the truth.

Many continentals think life is a game; the English think cricket is a game.

2. Lunch at 1 o’clock

Many foreigners are sometimes taken aback when they are faced with this typically English custom for the first time.

Whatever one is doing, no matter how important it is, or seems to be – a parliamentary debate or any kind of business routine – as soon as the clock strikes one everybody breaks for lunch.

The time from one to two o’clock is a “sacred” hour in England. And it appears to be not only good for health – having meals at regular times is certainly healthy – but it is very convenient socially as well. Everybody knows that there is no use trying to get in touch with some official, business executive or firm representative at this time. They won’t be in. it is no use no waste your time going from one shop to another at one o’clock sharp they will open. For punctuality is also one of the English traditions.

3. English Sunday

The so called Sunday Observance laws* prohibiting all kind of public entertainment on Sunday date back to the 17-18 century. The idea was to encourage people to go church and not to allow them “to profane the Lord’s Day” by amusing themselves.

Three hundred years have passed since then. Church services are attended by fewer people now than some decades ago. But the old custom of having a quiet Sunday is still alive. This is another English tradition preserved by law.

On Sunday you may visit a museum or go to a concert but all shops, theatres, dance and music halls are closed. This is rather illogical when compared with the unrestricted variety programmes on radio and television or the fact that one can always go to the bingo-club to enjoy himself or to the cinema to see a “thriller” or the latest American “hit”.

Pubs* and restaurants are open only from 12 to 2, and from 5 to 10 p.m. The police are very strict and do not hesitate to withdraw the licence from the proprietors who disregard closing time.

All professional football and cricket matches, as well as horse and dog racing are banned, though you can play tennis or go any excursions would have been considered to be improper. Now there is a great number of people who like to go to the country or to the sea-side and spend their week-ends fishing, camping or hiking.

But still many Englishmen prefer a quiet Sunday at home. They get up late, go to church in the morning, have a big dinner, sleep afterwards, work in their garden until tea, read books and listen to the wireless.

After three centuries the Puritan influence is still to be felt.

4. English Tea

The trouble with the tea is that originally is was quite a good drink. So a group of the most eminent British scientists put their heads together, and made complicated biological experiments to find a way of spoiling it. To eternal glory of British science their labour bore fruit. They suggested that if you do not drink it clear, or with lemon or rum and sugar, but pour a few drops of cold milk into it, and no sugar at all, the desired object is achieved. Once this refreshing, aromatic, oriental beverage was successfully transformed into colorless and tasteless gargling-water*, it suddenly became the national drink of Great Britain and Ireland – still retaining, indeed usurping, the high-sounding title of tea.

There are some occasions when you must not refuse a cup of tea, otherwise you are judged an exotic and barbarous bird without any hope of ever being able to take your place in civilized society.

If you are invited to an English home, at five o’clock in the morning you get a cup of tea. It is either brought in by a heartily smiling hostes or an almost malevolently silent maid. When you are disturbed in your sweetest morning sleep you must not say: “Madame (or Mabel), I think you are a cruel, spiteful and malignant person who deserved

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