Customs and Traditions in the UK

Britain is full of culture and traditions which have been around for hundreds of years. British customs and traditions are famous all over the world. When people think of Britain they often think of people drinking tea, eating fish and chips and wearing bowler hats, but there is more to Britain than just those things. They have English and British traditions of sport, music, food and many royal occasions Introduction

The Union Flag, popularly known as the Union Jack, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. It is the British flag. It is called the Union Flag because it symbolises the administrative union of the countries of the United Kingdom. It is made up up of the individual Flags of three of the Kingdom's countries all united under one Sovereign - the countries of 'England, of 'Scotland' and of 'Northern Ireland' (since 1921 only Northern Ireland has been part of the United Kingdom). As Wales was not a Kingdom but a Principality it could not be included on the flag.

Britain is a tea- drinking nation. Every day they drink 165 million cups of the stuff Tea in Britain is traditionally brewed in a warmed china teapot, adding one spoonful of tea per person and one for the pot. Most Britains like their tea strong and dark, but with a lot of milk. Did you know? If someone asks you if you 'would like a cuppa', they are asking if you would like a cup of tea. If someone says 'let me be mother' or 'shall I be mother', they are offering to pour out the tea from the teapot. Crumpets

Fish and Chips Fish and chips is the classic English take-away food and is the traditional national food of England. It became popular in the 1860's when railways began to bring fresh fish straight from the east coast to the our cities over night. The fish (cod, haddock, huss, plaice) is deep fried in flour batter and is eaten with chips. Traditionally, the fish and chips are covered with salt and malt vinegar and, using your fingers, eaten straight out of the newspaper which they were wrapped in. Now-a-days small wooden forks are provided and the fish and chips are wrapped in more hygienic paper.

Full breakfast "Full breakfast" refers to a traditional cooked dish, typically and originally eaten at breakfast, though now often served at other times during the day. Common alternative names for the dish include bacon and eggs, or the fry-up. The normal ingredients of a traditional full English breakfast are bacon (traditionally back bacon, less commonly streaky bacon), poached or fried eggs, fried or grilled tomatoes, fried mushrooms, fried bread or toast with butter and sausages, usually served with a mug of tea. Baked beans and hash browns are also commonly considered an important part of the breakfast. As nearly everything is fried in this meal, the term "fry-up" is quite accurate. Black pudding is added in some regions

Why does the queen have 2 birthdays? Monarchs have traditionally had two birthday celebrations: a private celebration on the day of their birth,and a public parade,held on a day when the weather will be nice The Sovereign's birthday is officially celebrated by the ceremony of Trooping the Colour on a Saturday in June. Although The Queen was born on 21 April, it has long been the tradition to celebrate the Sovereign's birthday publicly on a day in the summer, when good weather is more likely.

The English are said to be reserved in manners, dress and speech.They are famous for their politeness, self-discipline and especially for their sense of humour. Basic politeness (please, thank you, excuse me) is expected. English people are quite reserved when greeting one another. A greeting can be a bright 'Hello' 'Hi' or 'Good morning', when you arrive at work or at school.. Visiting people in their houses When being entertained at someone's home it is nice to take a gift for the host and hostess. A bottle of wine, bunch of flowers or chocolates are all acceptable. ENGLISH PEOPLE

BOXING DAY (fox hunting )

Glastonbury - or Glasto to it's friends - is a multi-headed behemoth of an event, a legendary hippie gathering and the largest greenfield music and performing arts festival in the world. Today it's headline musicians are plucked from a pouch of the biggest players of the day but it doesn't stop with the live tunes. For four days each and every June 170,000+ festival-goers are treated to over 700 performances of music, dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and a myriad of other arts on the 900 acre grounds - rain, hail or shine, though it's often the former. So if you're taste in music is eclectic, your need for sleep non- existent and there's a touch of hippie stirring somewhere deep inside, then a trip to Glastonbury is a must at least once in this lifetime MUSIC FESTIVAL

May Day - Morris Dancing A traditional dance seen throughout the month of May is Morris Dancing. It is a traditional English form of folkdancing, performed by groups of men or women. Morris Dancing has been danced for hundreds of years, and passed down through the generations in the villages of rural England There are several thoughts to the origins of Morris Dancing. The name may refer to the possibility of the form of dancing coming to England from the Moors of North Africa; or it may have been called 'Moor-ish' simply because the dancers sometimes painted their faces black, and people compared this to the dark-skinned Moors.

SYMBOLS OF ENGLAND

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