Britain_and_the_British

UNUSUAL CUSTOMS IN BRITAIN

The Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an annual event held on the Spring Bank Holiday at Cooper’s Hill near Gloucester in the Cotswolds region of England It is traditionally by and for the people of Brockworth – the local village, but now people from all over the world take part. The event takes its name from the hill on which it occurs. The 2010 event has been cancelled due to safety concerns over the number of people visiting the event but it is hoped that it will be held on the late May Bank Holiday in 2011. Due to the steepness and uneven surface of the hill there are usually a number of injuries, ranging from sprained ankles to broken bones and concussion. Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling has been summarized as “twenty young men chase a cheese off a cliff and tumble 200 yards to the bottom, where they are scraped up by paramedics and packed off to hospital”.

Maypole dancing is a form of folk dance from western Europe, especially England, Sweden, Galicia, Portugal and Germany, with two distinctive traditions. In the most widespread, dancers perform circle dances around a tall pole which is decorated with garlands, painted stripes, flowers, flags and other emblems. In the second most common form, dancers dance in a circle each holding a colored ribbon attached to a much smaller pole; the ribbons are intertwined and plaited either on to the pole itself or into a web around the pole. The dancers may then retrace their steps exactly in order to unravel the ribbons.

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 Restorationists 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRITISH TRADITIONS

 

Ascot Racecourse is a famous English racecourse, located in the small town of Ascot, Berkshire, used for thoroughbred horse racing. It is one of the leading racecourses in the United Kingdom, hosting 9 of the UK’s 32 annual Group 1 races, the same number as Newmarket. The course is closely associated with the British Royal Family, being approximately six miles from Windsor Castle, and owned by the Crown Estate. Ascot today stages twenty-five days of racing over the course of the year, comprising sixteen Flat meetings held in the months of May and October. The Royal Meeting, held in June, remains a major draw, the highlight being the Ascot Gold Cup. The most prestigious race is the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes run over the course in July. What makes this so special is that every year the fashion, specifically the hats get bigger, bolder and damn right weirder as the photo illustrates.

Bog Snorkeling. Yes indeed, you read correctly, bog snorkeling. If any of you ever doubted that us Brits are mad, this should make up your minds for you. Basically participants dive into a bog, wearing goggles, a pair of flippers and a snorkel, they then proceed to race each other along a 120ft trench filled with mud. Held every year the participants come from all over the world and raise lots of money for charity.

Straw Bear (Strawboer) Day is an old English tradition held on the 7th of January. It is known in a small area of Fenland on the borders of Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire, including Ramsey Mereside. This day is believed to be traditional start of agricultural year in England. A man or a boy wears a straw costume covering him from his head to toes. He goes from house to house where he dances. As prize for his dancing people give him money, food or beer.

Worm charming is a way to of attracting earthworms from the ground. Many do it to collect bait for fishing. But there are also those who do it as sort of sport. The village of Willaston, near Nantwich, Cheshire is the place where since 1980 the annual World Championships have been organized. The competition was actually initiated by local man Tom Shufflebotham who on the 5th of July, 1980 charmed 511 worms from the ground in only half an hour. The competition has 18 rules. Here are just few of them. Each competitor competes in the 3 x 3 meters area. Music of any kind can be used to charm worms out of the ground. No drugs can be used! Water is considered to be a drug (stimulant).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRITISH TRADITIONS AND SUPERSTITIONS

 

Britain has some traditions and customs that show the typical 'way of life' for British peoples. Not everyone does them, but many do.

Sunday Roast. Roast beef is served with roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, vegetables and gravy. It is usually served on a Sunday, mid to late afternoon.

Yorkshire pudding is batter baked in hot fat in the oven. Gravy is a sauce made from meat juices and stock, thickened with flour.

High Tea. The modern High Tea is served between 3pm and 5pm. It is a pot of tea usually accompanied by thin sandwiches, scones with cream, small cakes, and pastries. High tea can also be called 'afternoon tea' which can be as simple as a cup of tea (a cuppa) and biscuits.

Fish and Chips. Friday Fish and chips can, and are, eaten any day of the week. Fridays became the 'traditional' day to eat them due to a Roman Catholic rule that fish was the only meat to be eaten on a Friday.

There are many superstitions in Britain, but one of the most widely-held is that it is unlucky to walk under a ladder - even if it means stepping off the pavement into a busy street! If you must pass under a ladder you can avoid bad luck by crossing your fingers and keeping them crossed until you've seen a dog. Alternatively, you must lick your finger and make a cross on the toe of your shoe, and not look again at the shoe until the mark has dried.

Another common superstition is that it is unlucky to open an umbrella in the house - it will either bring misfortune to the person that opened it or to the household. Anyone opening an umbrella in fine weather is unpopular, as it inevitably brings rain!

The number 13 is said to be unlucky for some, and when the 13th day of the month falls on a Friday, anyone wishing to avoid an inauspicious event had better stay indoors.

The worst misfortune that can befall you is incurred by breaking a mirror, as it brings seven years of bad luck! The superstition is supposed to have originated in ancient times, when mirrors were considered to be tools of the gods.

Black cats are generally considered lucky in Britain, even though they are associated with witchcraft - a witch's animal-familiar' is usually a black cat. It is especially lucky if a black cat crosses your path.

A commonly-held superstition is that of touching wood for luck. This measure is most often taken if you think you have said something that is tempting fate, such as 'my car has never broken down - touch wood!'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BRITISH NATIONAL IDENTITY

 

Over the past decades a huge variety of different cultures have immigrated to Great Britain. The first reason why people immigrate is the constantly increasing speed of the currently ongoing process of globalization. The fact that Great Britain in particular is a main target for immigration is due to the history of the Kingdom of running colonies all over the world which eventually resulted in the foundation of the Commonwealth. This multiculturalism, though being a benefit in many ways, may cause problems such as how to clearly define the national character of the British. 
According to Robin Cook, who was the British Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001, the national character is one of multiculturalism. In his opinion, the British people cannot be defined as a race but as a “gathering of countless different […] races”, whereas Queen Elizabeth II herself defines the British people in her Golden Jubilee speech on April 30th, 2002 as a people with “traditional values etched across [British] history.

In contrast to the Queen, who often refers to the British history, Robin Cook argues that not even the history of Great Britain is pure British one. Throughout history, Britain has been invaded and therefore influenced by many different countries.

The main difference between Robin Cook’s and Queen Elizabeth’s points of view on the national character of Great Britain is that cook sees Great Britain as a nation with a whole lot of different cultures and ethnicities whereas the Queen sees it as a nation of British people who tolerate other races.

The problem with Cook’s point of view is that with a national character that is solely defined by multiculturalism there cannot be a true national identity. To him, the British national identity is directly linked to the “sheer pluralism of their ancestry”. But when having a closer look at Europe, this identity may actually fit to many European countries and if not to countries, then to smaller areas where, due to migration, people live whose ancestors did not originate there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE BRITISH HAVE THE SMALLEST HOMES IN EUROPE!

In fact they are downright pokey, with only an average usable floor space of 76m sq according to a new report by Bradford & Bingley. The Italians lead the rest of Europe with the most space - an average of 92m sq per dwelling, over a fifth larger than us Brits enjoy.

The report undertaken by the Centre for Economics & Business Research for Bradford & Bingley compares the UK property market to Germany, France, Italy and Spain. It reveals British living space per home is 12 percent smaller than the average Spanish home, 14 percent smaller than in Germany and 16 percent smaller than in France.

Moreover, the gap between the UK and the continent is widening with new homes in France, Germany and Spain getting bigger. On average, newly built homes in France and Germany have over 100m2 of usable floor space, while in Spain modern homes have 95m2. In Britain, new homes remain the same size as existing properties at 76m2.

These figures are more surprising when the types of properties are taken into account as over four-fifths of British households prefer to live in a house. The report reveals that 82 percent of British families live in a house and only 15 percent live in a flat. This is in stark contrast to families on continental Europe where flats are more popular. In Spain, Italy and Germany more than 50 percent of families live in a flat and France is not far behind with 41 percent. Yet almost bizarrely the average British family home has the least usable living space of the countries surveyed.

Nickie Aiken of Bradford & Bingley Estate Agents commented on the findings: "It is interesting that the UK is trailing the continent in terms of living space, particularly when you take the fact that we tend to live in houses rather than flats into account. Quality of life is not only about income and spending, comfort is a core component. Hopefully the Government is aware of these figures as it tackles the increasing demand for new housing in the UK."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHANGING VALUES AND NORMS OF THE BRITISH FAMILY

 

The family in Britain is changing. The once typical British family headed by two parents has undergone substantial changes during the twentieth century. In particular there has been a rise in the number of single-person households, which increased from 18 to 29 per cent of all households between 1971 and 2002. By the year 2020, it is estimated that there will be more single people than married people. Fifty years ago this would have been socially unacceptable in Britain.

In the past, people got married and stayed married. Divorce was very difficult, expensive and took a long time. Today, people's views on marriage are changing. Many couples, mostly in their twenties or thirties, live together (cohabit) without getting married. Only about 60% of these couples will eventually get married

In the past, people married before they had children, but now about 40% of children in Britain are born to unmarried (cohabiting) parents. In 2000, around a quarter of unmarried people between the ages of 16 and 59 were cohabiting in Great Britain. Cohabiting couples are also starting families without first being married. Before 1960 this was very unusual, but in 2001 around 23 per cent of births in the UK were to cohabiting couples.

People are generally getting married at a later age now and many women do not want to have children immediately. They prefer to concentrate on their jobs and put off having a baby until late thirties.

The number of single-parent families is increasing. This is mainly due to more marriages ending in divorce, but some women are also choosing to have children as lone parents without being married.

On average 2.4 people live as a family in one home Britain. This is smaller than most other European countries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE ARTS IN BRITAIN

The arts in Britain are flourishing, and present a varied and lively picture. London has become an international forum of the arts, with major exhibitions of painting and sculpture and theatre, opera and ballet companies and orchestras drawing large audiences. Throughout Britain there are festivals and centres of artistic activity – among them the Edinburgh International Festival, the music festivals at Aldeburgh, Windsor and Cheltenham and opera at Glyndebourne.

The spread of musical interest in Britain owes much to the British Broadcasting Corporation with its daily music programme and its partial financing of the Promenade Concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

There are over 900 museums and art galleries in Britain and art exhibitions are shown all over the country through the Arts Council, which distributes government grants for music, drama, painting and sculpture. Local authorities play an important part in encouraging the arts, supporting galleries, orchestras and arts centres – an example is the ambitious Midlands Art Centre for young people in Birmingham.

British artists, writers, musicians and architects exert a powerful influence abroad. Notable figures include sculptors Henry Moore and Anthony Caro, painters Francis Bacon and Graham Sutherland and, among younger artists, Richard Smith, winner of a major international prize in 1967, Richard Hamilton, who painted the first “pop” picture, and Bridget Riley, internationally known artist whose work has also inspired fashion.

British music owes much to the composer Benjamin Britten, whose influence has produced a new school of British opera. In architecture the work of Sir Basil Spence (Coventry Cathedral, Sussex University) and the collective work of modern British architects in housing and town planning are outstanding.

Literature presents great diversity. Poetry has received fresh stimulus from regional movements including the Liverpool poets, who write for public performance. Among novelists of worldwide reputation are Graham Greene, Angus Wilson, William Golding, Iris Murdoch and Muriel Spark.