Traditions and customs of Great Britain

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Traditions and customs of Great Britain
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Every nation and every country has its own
customs and traditions.

• In Britain traditions play a more important part
  in life of people than in other countries.
• Englishmen are proud of their traditions and
  carefully keep them up. Some traditions are
  rather formal, such as the Changing of the Guard
  at Buckingham Palace.
• Holidays are especially rich in old traditions
  and are different in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and
  England.

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• The English are traditional about their meals.
  They eat eggs and bacon with toasts for
  breakfast, pudding or apple pie for dessert.
  Every English family has five o'clock tea. A
  typical feature of an English house is a
  fireplace, even when there is central heating in
  the house.

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Englishmen have many traditional holidays, such
as Christmas, St.Valentine's Day, Mother's day,
Easter and others.

• English customs   and
   traditions are famous all over the world. Bowler
  hats, tea and talking about the weather, for
  example. From Scotland to Cornwall, the United
  Kingdom is full of customs   and  traditions.
  Here are some of them.

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St. Valentines

• St. Valentine's Day roots in several different
  legends that have found their way to us through
  the ages. One of the earliest popular symbols of
  the day is Cupid, the Roman god of Love, Who is
  represented by the image of a young boy with bow
  and arrow. St. Valentine's Day is now a day for
  sweethearts. It is the day that you show your
  friend of loved one that you care. You can send
  candy to someone you think is special.

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Christmas.
Christmas tree

• What makes an English Christmas ?
• Food drink
• Parties
• Television and the Queens Speech
• A Walk after Dinner
• Midnight Mass Carol Services
• Childrens activities
• Shopping in the dark, fairylit streets
• Sending out cards
• Playing Games
• Carol-singing
• Decorating

Christmas food
Christmas card
Christmas presents
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April Fool's Day - April 1st

• April 1st is the day people try to trick their
  friends, to make them behave like fools.
• In Britain, fooling at this time of year has gone
  on for centuries, however the origin of the
  custom still remains obscure.
• In Scotland, for example, April Fool's Day is
  actually celebrated for two days.

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the 5th of November in almost every town and
village in England one can see fire burning,
fireworks, cracking and lighting up the sky,
small groups of children pulling round in a home
made cart, a figure that looks something like a
man but consists of an old suit of clothes,
stuffed with straw.
November, 5 is Guy Fawkess Day.
'Guy Fawkes Day' also known as 'Bonfire Night' or
'Fireworks Night' by some, marks the date,
November 5, 1605, when Guy Fawkes and his fellow
conspirators attempted to kill King James I and
the Members of Parliament and to blow up the
Houses of Parliament.
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British Elections
Elections are held on Election Day. General
elections do not have fixed dates, but must be
called within five years of the opening of
parliament following the last election. Other
elections are held on fixed dates though in the
case of the devolved assemblies and parliaments,
early elections can occur in certain situations.
Anyone who is a citizen of the UK, the Republic
of Ireland, or of a Commonwealth country, who is
legally resident in the UK, and who is 18 or over
on the date of an election is eligible to vote.
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Cricket

• Sports play an important part of English life,
  particularly football and cricket.
• Cricket is officially recognized as England's
  national sport. The first recorded cricket
  match took place at Coxheath, Kent in the year
  1646. Before the cricket ball was invented,
  players would hurl stones and other lethal
  objects at each other. A formal game of cricket
  can last anything from an afternoon to several
  days.
• The basic concept of cricket is very similar to
  that of baseball teams bat in successive innings
  and attempt to score runs, while the opposite
  team fields and attempts to bring an end to the
  batting team's innings.

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The British Flag a Symbol of Unity

• The Union Jack is a transnational flag full of
  historical significance. It represents the union
  of different countries and the growth of a family
  of nations whose influence extends far beyond the
  British Isles. This far-reaching influence is
  still seen today in the incorporation of the
  Union Jack in other national flags such as that
  of Australia. The British flag is called the
  "Union Jack", an expression that needs to be
  explained.

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Trooping the Colour
The custom of Trooping the Colour dates back to
the time of Charles II in the 17th C when the
Colours of a regiment were used as a rallying
point in battle.The Colours are the flags which
were carried into battle by different regiments,
these flags were the rallying point of each
regiment and in order to ensure that each soldier
could recognise their own Colours the flag was
carried (trooped) in front of them every day. In
London, the Foot Guards used to do this from 1755
onwards as part of their daily Guard Mounting on
Horse Guards and the ceremonial of the present
parade is along similar lines. In 1805 the parade
was carried out for the first time to celebrate
the Sovereign's birthday.