Festivals, Holidays and Sports in Britain

Sports- Football Although various countries had some form of football at different times in history, it was in England that the modern rules for playing were developed. The English public schools made up rules for the games of football that were meant to turn the games from the rough and tumble clashes common among the general population into more fair and less violent sports, with more team spirit.

Football (cont’d) Football games are extremely popular, and even though the games themselves are relatively peaceful, spectators can turn violent at times. Troublemakers at British football games are called “hooligans”, and often supporters of opposing teams will form gangs and get into fights with each other, so police put very strict controls upon the people attending games.

Football(cont’d) Football is typically played during the winter, when active, running sports can help people to stay warm in the cold and wet.

Tennis Tennis, like football, had been around in various forms before, in the late 1800s, rules were developed formally and put into practice in Britain. These days tennis is played all over the world, and the Wimbledon tournament in the UK is famous for being held on a grass surface.

Cricket Cricket, unlike football, has not found a worldwide following, and tends to be played only in the UK and former colonies of the British Empire like Australia, India and Pakistan, and the West Indies. Cricket tended to be associated with the upper classes in the UK in historic times, due to its popularity in the public schools.

Cricket(cont’d)

Holidays and Festivals Christmas in the UK, although it is meant to be a christian celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, is these days a holiday mostly associated with gift giving and a national holiday. Religion in current times is less important to most people, and so the social importance of the Christmas celebrations has taken over.

Holidays and Festivals(cont’d) For most non-religious people, Christmas is a time to visit friends and family, and to give gifts to children. Children hang up ‘Christmas stockings’ over the fireplace on Christmas Eve, the night before Christmas Day, and during the night Father Christmas (also known as Santa Claus) is supposed to visit and leave the children presents in their stocking.

Holidays and Festivals The presents are really put in the stockings by the children’s parents, but many children believe in Father Christmas while they are young. Father Christmas is meant to live at the North Pole, where he has elves to help him make all of the toys. He has a sled pulled by magic reindeer in which he flies around delivering presents by coming down the chimney.

Holidays and Festivals Boxing Day is the day after christmas and is a public holiday in Britain. Easter is also a Christian holiday which in modern times is also celebrated by non- Christians. During Easter, there is a national holiday, and often children are visited by the “Easter Bunny”, a made up character like Father Christmas who delivers chocolate eggs.

Holidays and Festivals The actual religious meaning of Easter to Christians is to remember the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and his resurrection from the dead. The Queen’s Birthday is also celebrated in Britain, although it is not on her actual birthday, it is just a standard date when there are various parades and celebrations held around Buckingham Palace, the traditional home of the royal family. The separate countries which make up the UK also celebrate their own various festivals.

Guy Fawkes In 1605, a plan was discovered to blow up the British parliament and kill the king and the parliamentary members inside, called the Gunpowder plot, because they planned to use gunpowder as the explosive. It was planned by catholics in order to replace the Protestant king with a catholic one. The plan failed, and the people planning it were executed.

Guy Fawkes(cont’d) One of the leaders of the plot was Guy Fawkes, who is still remembered today on Bonfire Night, 5 November, when people celebrate the survival of the king by lighting bonfires. The celebration used to be compulsory in historical times, and a model of Guy Fawkes was burnt, but these days it is more often just celebrated with a bonfire lighting.