British Traditions

Every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions. In Britain traditions play probably a more important part in people's life than in other countries.

The British are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. Some ceremonies are rather formal, such as the changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, trooping the colour, the State Opening of Parliament. Sometimes you will see a group of cavalrymen riding on black horses through the streets of London. They wear red uniforms, shining helmets, long black boots, and long white gloves. These men are Life Guards. Their special duty is to guard the king or the queen of Great Britain and very important guests of the country.

To this day a British family prefers a house with a fireplace and a garden to a flat in a modern house with central heating. Most British love gardens. Sometimes the garden in front of the house is a little square covered with cement painted green in imitation of grass and a flower-bed. They love flowers very much.

The British like animals very much too. In Britain they have special dog shops selling food, clothes, and other things for dogs and cats.

Holidays are especially rich in old traditions and are different in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England. For instance, Christmas is a great English national holiday and in Scotland it is not observed at all.

Time for tea

The British and tea are inseparable. Tea makes up about half of all that a Briton drinks.

It didn't come to Europe until 1610 and was introduced to Britain in 1657 by Catherine of Braganza, King Charles II's wife. But by the 1800s the exotic drink became so popular that special ships were designed to bring it quickly from China.

Most people in Britain drink black tea, although now herbal tea which does not contain caffeine is becoming more popular.

The British are very fussy about how their tea is made. The teapot must be warmed before the tea is put in, the water must be boiled properly, the right quantity of tea – "one spoon for each person and one for the pot" – must be used, and the tea must be brewed for three minutes. They see the drinking of tea as the opportunity to relax for a few minutes. It's also regarded as a great comforter. If you've just suffered a misfortune in Britain and you call on a friend, you're likely to be told, "Oh well, just sit down and I'll make you a nice cup of tea"!

Some British traditions are strange, some are funny, but they are all interesting.

Vocabulary:

caffeine [`kæfi:n] – кофеин

carefully [`keəfuli] – тщательно

cavalrymаn [`kævəlrimən] – кавалерист

cement [si`ment] – цемент

central heating [`sentrəl `hi:tiŋ] – центральное отопление

ceremony [`seriməni] – обряд, ритуал, церемония

Сhanging of the Guard [ga:d] at Buckingham Palace [`bΛkiŋəm `pælis] – смена караула королевских гвардейцев у Букенгемского Дворца

comforter [kəm`fo:tə] – утешитель

custom [`kΛstəm] – обычай, традиция (в масштабах одной культуры)

fireplace [`faiə,pleis] – камин

flower-bed [`flauə,bed] – клумба с цветами

Life Guards [ga:dz] – лейб-гвардия

national holiday – национальный праздник

opportunity [,opə`tju:niti] – возможность

properly [`propəli] – правильно, нужным образом

right quantity [`kwontiti] of tea – нужное количество чая

spoon [spu:n] – ложка

State Opening of Parliament [`pa:ləment] – официальное открытие сессии парламента

teapot, pot – заварочный чайник

tradition – традиция, предание

to be funny – быть забавным, смешным

to be fussy [`fΛsi] about smth. – суетиться, нервничать из-за чего-л.

to be inseparable [in`sep(ə)rəbl] – быть неразделимым

to be interesting – быть интересным

to be proud [praud] of smth. – гордиться чем-л.

to be regarded [ri`ga:did] as – рассматриваться как

to be rich in smth. – изобиловать чем-л.

to be strange – быть странным

to boil – кипятить(ся), варить(ся), to be boiled – (о воде) быть вскипячённой

to brew [bru:] – заваривать, be brewed – быть заваренным

to call on smb. – зайти к кому-л.

to contain – зд.: содержать, включать в себя

to keep up – поддерживать, соблюдать, придерживаться

to introduce – знакомить с кем / чем-л, вводить в курс чего-л., be introduced to smb. – быть представленным кому-л.

to observe [əb`ze:v] – зд.: соблюдать, придерживаться, to be observed – быть соблюдаемым

to suffer a misfortune [mis`fo:t∫u:n] – потерпеть неудачу

to warm [wo:m] – греть(ся), нагревать(ся), to be warmed – быть нагретым

Trooping the Colour [`kΛlə] – торжественный вынос знамени

Language practice

Practise the dialogue and then make up your own dialogues, discussing the British and American national holidays and traditions. Compare them with the Russian ones.

Mike: Hi, John! Are you going somewhere on these winter holidays?

Gohn: Hi, Mike! Yes, I’m going to visit my aunt. She lives in Chicago.

Mike: Really? You are lucky. You’ll surely have a lot of fun there.

Gohn: Yeah, we’ll have a good time with my cousins on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Mike: I wonder (интересно), do Americans celebrate these holidays the same way as we do?

Gohn: Not exactly. For example, New Year’s Day is not widely celebrated in the USA. Some people ignore it and may go to bed as usual.

Mike: Don’t they give any presents to each other?

Gohn: They do it on Christmas. This holiday is more popular in the USA than New Year’s Day.

Mike: Is it celebrated on January 7?

Gohn: No, it is celebrated on the 25^th of December. In most families they put up a Christmas tree the day before and decorate it. Then the whole family makes the Christmas pudding.

Mike: How interesting! Do Americans visit churches on Christmas?

John: Some people do, as it is a religious holiday.