COLEGIUL NAIONAL ,,AVRAM IANCU

CMPENI

LUCRARE DE ATESTARE A COMPETENELOR

LINGVISTICE

Customs and traditions in the

United Kingdom

Profesor coordonator:
Bdu Ramona

Elev: Dandea Mirela

CMPENI, 2013
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD..page 3
Chapter I : British national day....page 5
Chapter II : How do the British celebrate traditional and religious holidays?.........page 9
Chapter III : What are Britains national costumes?.......page 13
Chapter IV : 5 Very Strange British Traditions .........page 16
Chapter V : What are the most common superstitions in Britain?..page 20
CONCLUSION.... ..page 21
BIBLIOGRAPHY...... page 22

FOREWORD
A tradition is a ritual, belief or object passed down within a society,also a basical
character of a society still maintained in the present,with origins in the past.Common
examples include holidays or impractical but socially meaningful clothes (like lawyer
wigs or military officer spurs), but the idea has also been applied to social norms such as
greetings. Traditions can persist and evolve for thousands of years. While it is commonly
assumed that traditions have ancient history, many traditions have been invented on
purpose, whether that be political or cultural, over short periods of time.
Customs is a habitual group pattern of behavior that is transmitted from one
generation to another and is not biologically determined. Since societies are perpetually
changing, no matter how slowly, all customs are basically impermanent. If short-lived,
they are more properly called fashions.
I have chosen this subject related to United Kingdom's customs and traditons
because I have always been very interested in other country's traditions and ways of
behaving.I think that the way how people chose to behave and to celebrate different
occasions in their lives tells very much about their personality.Each country is different in
its own way and of course that people are different too. Each country, each region has its
own culture and its own lifestyle.That influences people and their traditions.Customs and
traditions appeared since a long time ago and each generation has the moral obligation
to respect them and to celebrate them the best they can.

Chapter I: British national day

A proposed British national day would be a national day for the United Kingdom
and a celebration of Britishness. Currently the UK has no single official national day,
although the Queen's Official Birthday is used for this purpose in some contexts.
Recently, this suggestion has been associated with one of its main supporters,
former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
The United Kingdom has no single national holiday. It has a number of days of
celebration which go largely uncelebrated, and others which are associated with
the constituent countries of the UK. The latter category includes St George's Day in
England, St Andrew's Day in Scotland, St Patrick's Day in Northern Ireland and St
David's Day in Wales.

Saint George's Day-England

Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George. It is celebrated by
various Christian churches and by the several nations, kingdoms, countries, and cities of
which Saint George is the patron saint. Saint George's Day is celebrated on 23 April, the
traditionally accepted date of Saint George's death in AD 303. For Eastern Orthodox
Churches which use the Julian calendar, 23 April corresponds to 6 May on the Gregorian
calendar.
As Easter often falls close to Saint George's Day, the church celebration of the
feast may be moved from 23 April. In England and Catalonia, where it is observed as a
solemn feast, for 2011 and 2014 the Anglican and Catholic calendars celebrate Saint
George's Day on the first Monday after Easter Week (2 May and 28 April,
respectively). Similarly, the Eastern Orthodox celebration of the feast moves accordingly
to the first Monday after Easter or, as it is sometimes called, to the Monday of Bright
Week.

Saint Andrew's Day-Scotland

Saint Andrew's Day is the feast day of Saint Andrew. It is celebrated on the 30th
of November.

Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, and St. Andrew's Day (Scots: Saunt
Andra's Day, Scottish Gaelic: Latha Naomh Anndra) is Scotland's official national day. In
2006, the Scottish Parliament designated St Andrew's Day as an official bank holiday. It
is also a national holiday in Romania.
Although most commonly associated with Scotland, at least in the Englishspeaking

world,

Saint

Andrew

is

of Greece, Romania,Russia, Ukraine, Ecumenical

also

the

Patriarchate

patron
of

saint

Constantinople

and Saint Andrew, Barbados.

Saint Patrick's Day- Northern Ireland

Saint Patrick's Day or the Feast of Saint is a cultural and religious holiday
celebrated on 17 March, the anniversary of his death. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the
most commonly recognised of the patron saints of Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity
in Ireland.
It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially
the Church of Ireland),the Eastern Orthodox Church and Lutheran Church. Saint Patrick's
Day was made an official feast day in the early seventeenth century, and has gradually
become a celebration of Irish culture in general.
The day is generally characterised by the attendance of church services, wearing
of green attire, public parades and processions, and the lifting of Lenten restrictions
on eating, and drinking alcohol, which is often proscribed during the rest of the season
Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern
Ireland, Newfoundland and Labrador and Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by
the Irish diaspora, especially in places such as Great Britain, Canada, the United States,
Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand.
Little is known of Patrick's early life, though it is known that he was born in
Roman Britain in the fourth century, into a wealthy Romano-British family. His father
was a deacon and his grandfather was a priest in the Christian church. At the age of
sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken captive to Ireland as a slave.It is
believed he was held somewhere on the west coast of Ireland, possibly Mayo, but the

exact location is unknown. According to his Confession, he was told by God in a dream
to flee from captivity to the coast, where he would board a ship and return to Britain.
Upon returning, he quickly joined the Church in Auxerre in Gaul and studied to be a
priest.
In 432, he again said that he was called back to Ireland, though as a bishop,
to Christianise the Irish from their native polytheism. Irish folklore tells that one of his
teaching methods included using the shamrock to explain the Christian doctrine of
the Trinity to the Irish people. After nearly thirty years of evangelism, he died on
17 March 461, and according to tradition, was buried at Downpatrick. Although there
were other more successful missions to Ireland from Rome, Patrick endured as the
principal champion of Irish Christianity and is held in esteem in the Irish church.

Wearing of the green

Originally, the colour associated with Saint Patrick was blue. Over the years the
colour green and its association with Saint Patrick's day grew. Green ribbons
and shamrocks were worn in celebration of St Patrick's Day as early as the 17th
century Saint Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain
the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish, and the wearing and display of shamrocks and
shamrock-inspired designs have become a ubiquitous feature of the day. In the 1798
rebellion, to make a political statement, Irish soldiers wore full green uniforms on 17
March in hopes of catching public attention.The phrase "the wearing of the green",
meaning to wear a shamrock on one's clothing, derives from a song of the same name.

Saint David's Day-Wales

Saint David's day is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and
falls on the 1st of March each year. The first day of March was chosen in remembrance of
the death of Saint David. Tradition holds that he died on that day in 589.The date was
declared a national day of celebration within Wales in the 18th century.
Cross-party support resulted in the National Assembly for Wales voting
unanimously to make St. David's Day a public holiday in 2000. A poll conducted for
Saint David's Day in 2006 found that 87% of people in Wales wanted it to be a bank
holiday, with 65% prepared to sacrifice a different bank holiday to ensure this.A petition
in 2007 to make St. David's Day a bank holiday was rejected by the office of the British
Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

Chapter II : How do the British celebrate

traditional and religious holidays?
Christmas Day
In Britain, Christmas Day is normally spent at home, with the family, and it is
regarded as a celebration of the family and its continuity. Preparations start well in
advance, with the sending of Christmas cards and installation of a decorated Christmas
tree in a prominent place in the home. Although it is now a firmly established tradition,
the Christmas tree was first popularised by Queen Victorias husband, Prince Albert, who
introduced the custom from his native Germany in 1840.
Some houses are decorated with evergreens (plants which do not lose their leaves
in winter); a wreath of holly on the front door and garlands of holly, ivy and fir indoors.
Bunches of mistletoe are often hung above doorways - any couple passing underneath
must exchange kisses! Traditional food is prepared: sweet mince pies, a rich Christmas
cake and the Christmas pudding. Everyone has their own favourite recipe, but theyre all
packed full of spices, nuts, dried fruit and brandy.
Presents are bought and wrapped, and traditionally placed under the Christmas
tree on Christmas Eve. Christmas is both a secular and a religious holiday, and many
families like to attend a midnight service at church on Christmas Eve, or celebrate
Christmas in church on Christmas morning.
The excitement begins for children on Christmas Eve, when they hang up their
stockings (an old sock or, more ambitiously, pillow cases) around the fireplace or at the
foot of the bed for Father Christmas to fill with presents. The English Father Christmas or
Santa Claus is first recorded in his traditional red and white outfit in a woodcut of 1653,
but the story of Santa arriving in his reindeer-drawn sleigh and descending down the
chimney to fill childrens stockings with presents derives from the USA.
Practically everyone sits down to a Christmas dinner in the early afternoon of Christmas
Day, traditionally roast turkey, but some families prefer goose or roast beef. The turkey is
followed by the Christmas pudding, brought to the table flaming hot. Brandy is poured

over the pudding, then lit. The day ends with everyone relaxing, watching television or
playing guessing-games like charades.

Boxing Day
Boxing Day (26 December) is so-called because its a time when tradespeople
receive a Christmas Box - some money in appreciation of the work theyve carried out
all year.
Traditionally a time for visiting family and friends and indulging in more feasting,
Boxing Day is a popular day for football matches and other sporting fixtures. The day is a
public holiday, so shops and banks are closed. More recently, some shops have broken
with tradition and now open on Boxing Day to encourage shoppers who cant wait to
spend their Christmas money!

New Year
New Year is often launched with a party - either at home with family and friends or a
gathering in the local pubs and clubs. Merrymaking begins on New Years Eve and builds
up to midnight. The stroke of midnight is the cue for much cheering, hooting, whistling,
kissing and the drinking of toasts.
Tradition has it that the first person over the threshold on New Years Day will
dictate the luck brought to the household in the coming year. This is known as First
Footing. At midnight on 31 December, particularly in Scotland and northern England,
first footers (traditionally a tall, dark, good-looking man) step over the threshold
bringing the New Years Luck. The first footer usually brings a piece of coal, a loaf and a
bottle of whisky. On entering he must place the fuel on the fire, put the loaf on the table
and pour a glass for the head of the house, all normally without speaking or being spoken
to until he wishes everyone A Happy New Year. He must, of course, enter by the front
door and leave by the back.

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In Wales the back door is opened to release the Old Year at the first stroke of
midnight. It is then locked up to keep the luck in and at the last stroke the New Year is
let in at the front door.
In Scotland the New Year remains the greatest of all annual festivals. Called
Hogmanay (a word whose meaning has never been satisfactorily established), its
marked by an evening of drinking and merrymaking, culminating at the stroke of
midnight when huge gatherings of people at Edinburghs Tron Kirk and Glasgows
George Square greet the New Year by linking arms and singing Auld Lang Syne.

Halloween
Halloween (31 October) and its associations with witches and ghosts derives from the
Celtic Old Years Night - the night of all witches, when spirits were said to walk the
earth. Witches and supernatural beings are still remembered all over Britain, when bands
of children roam the streets in ghoulish costumes, carrying Halloween lanterns pumpkins hollowed out with a ghostly face cut into one side, which glows when a candle
is placed inside.
In recent years the custom of trick or treating has gained in popularity. Although
we commonly associate this practice with America, the custom originated in England as
Mischief Night when children declared one lawless night of unpunished pranks
(usually May Day eve or Halloween).
Halloween parties (usually for children) include games such as apple bobbing,
where apples are either floated in water or hung by a string. The object of the game is for
the players to put their hands behind their back and try to seize an apple with their teeth
alone.

Easter
Easter day is named after the Saxon goddess of spring, Eostre, whose feast took place at
the spring equinox. Easter is now the spring feast of the Christian church,

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commemorating

the

resurrection

of

Jesus.

It

falls

on

Sunday

between

22 March and 25 April, according to the church calendar.

Traditionally Easter eggs, dyed and decorated or made of chocolate, are given as
presents symbolising new life and the coming of spring.
Egg rolling competitions take place in northern Britain on Easter Monday; hardboiled eggs are rolled down a slope, with the winner being - according to local preference
- the one which rolls the furthest, survives the most rolls, or is successfully aimed
between two pegs! The best publicised event takes place at Avenham Park in Preston,
Lancashire.
Easter parades are also part of the Easter tradition, with those taking part wearing
Easter bonnets or hats, traditionally decorated with spring flowers and ribbons.

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Chapter III : What are Britains national

costumes?
England
Although England is a country rich in folklore and traditions,
it has no definitive national costume. The most well-known folk costumes
are those of the Morris dancers. They can be seen in many country villages
during the summer months performing folk dances that once held ritualistic
and magical meanings associated with the awakening of the earth.
The costume varies from team to team, but basically consists of white trousers, a white
shirt, a pad of bells worn around the calf of the leg, and a hat made of felt or straw,
decorated with ribbons and flowers. The bells and ribbons are said to banish harm and
bring fertility. Morris dancing was originally an all-male tradition, but now some teams
feature women dancers too.

Scotland
Perhaps the most famous national costume in Britain is the Scottish kilt
with its distinctive tartan pattern. The kilt is a length of woollen cloth,
pleated except for sections at each end. The kilt is worn around the waist,
with the pleats at the back and the ends crossed over at the front and
secured with a pin.
Each Scottish Clan or family has its own distinctive tartan pattern, made up of different
colours,

and

an

official

register

of

tartans

is

maintained

by the Scottish Tartans Society in Perthshire.

The kilt forms part of the traditional Highland dress, worn by Scottish clansmen and
Scottish regiments. In addition to the kilt, a plaid or tartan cloak is worn over one
shoulder, and a goatskin pouch or sporran is worn at the front of the kilt. Sometimes
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tartan trousers or trews are worn instead of a kilt. Women do not have their own
distinctive national dress in Scotland, although tartan fabrics are widely used in clothing,
and the kilt is also worn.

Wales
The national costume of Wales is based on the peasant costume of the 18th
and 19th centuries. Because Wales was isolated geographically from the
rest of Britain, many of the individual traits of costume and materials were
retained in Welsh dress long after they had died out elsewhere. Unlike
Scotland, the distinctive folk costume of Wales was worn by the women,
consisting of a long gown (betgwn) or skirt, worn with a petticoat (pais - the favoured
colour was scarlet) and topped with a shawl folded diagonally to form a triangle and
draped around the shoulders, with one corner hanging down and two others pinned in
front. Aprons were universally worn, sometimes simple, sometimes decorated with
colourful embroidery.
The most distinctive part of the costume was the tall black Welsh hat or beaver
hat, thought to have originated in France at the end of the 18th century. The hats had a
tall crown, cylindrical or conical in shape with a wide brim, and were usually trimmed
with a band of silk or crpe.

Northern Ireland

Early Irish dress, based on Gaelic and Norse costumes, consisted of check trews
for men, worn with a fringed cloak or mantle, or a short tunic for both men and women,
worn with a fringed cloak. This style of dressing was prohibited in the 16th century under
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sumptuary laws, passed to suppress the distinctive Irish dress and so overcome Irish
reluctance to become part of England. In particular, the wearing of the fringed cloak was
forbidden, as was the wearing of trews or any saffron-coloured garment (saffron yellow
was an important feature of Irish costume).
Although a strong tradition of wearing folk costume does not survive in Northen
Ireland today, folk music and folk dancing are very important.

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Chapter IV : 5 Very Strange

British Traditions
Cheese Rolling at Coopers Hill

The Coopers Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an annual event held on the Spring
Bank Holiday at Coopers 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. Coopers 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
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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.

Pearly King and Queen

Pearly Kings and Queens, known as pearlies, are an organized charitable tradition
of working class culture in London, England. The practice of wearing clothes decorated
with pearl buttons originated in the 19th century. It is first associated with Henry Croft,
an orphan street sweeper who collected money for charity. In 1911 an organized pearly
society was formed in Finchley, north London.

Guy Fawkes Night

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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.
The Gunpowder Plot was led by Robert Catesby, but Fawkes was put in charge of
its execution. He was arrested a few hours before the planned explosion, during a search
of the cellars underneath Parliament in the early hours of 5 November prompted by the
receipt of an anonymous warning letter. Basically its a celebration of the failed attempt
to blow up the Houses of Parliament in Westminster.

Ascot Ladies Day

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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 UKs 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.

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Chapter V : What are the most common

superstitions in Britain?
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 youve 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 witchs animal-familiar is usually a black cat. It is
especially lucky if a black cat crosses your path - although in America the exact opposite
belief prevails.
Finally, 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!

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CONCLUSION

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
www.wikipedia.com
http://www.anglaisfacile.com/free/civi/Education.php
http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/

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