Reading. British Customs and Traditions

British Customs and Traditions

Every nation and every country has its own customs and traditions. Englishmen are very proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. There are many traditions associated with some historical facts, parliamentary, court and state ceremonies, university life, popular holidays, everyday life, etc.

Everyday Life Customs

One of the most striking features of English life is the self-discipline and courtesy of people of all classes. There is little noisy behavior¹, no loud disputing in the streets. Nobody rushes for seats in buses or trains. The remarkable politeness of the English people is known all over the world. They are never tired of saying “Thank you”, “I am sorry”. If you follow anyone who is entering the building or a room, he will hold the door open for you.

The Englishman prefers his own house to an apartment in a block of flats. Traditionally, it is a two-storey house with a lawn² in front of it and a garden behind it. They say: “An Englishman’s home is his castle” and it’s true.

The typically English custom is “lunch at 1 o'clock“. The time from one to two o'clock is a “sacred”³ hour in England. Whatever one is doing, no matter how important it is, as soon as the clock strikes one everybody breaks for lunch. All the shops, offices are closed for an hour. At two o'clock sharp they will open, the punctuality is also one of the English traditions.

Englishmen are famous for their three hobbies: gardening, collecting and animals. As a rule there is a pet in every English home. It can be a dog, a cat, a bird, a hedgehog, even a snake or a monkey.

Some Parliamentary Traditions

The opening of Parliament is the most colourful as well as the most important ceremony of the year. Her Majesty the Queen, attended by a sovereign escourt of the Cavalry drives from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster.

The sitting of the House of Commons each day is opened by the Procession of the Speaker. Wearing his wig and gown⁴, he is accompanied by the Chaplain (священник), his Secretary and the Sergeant-at-Arms (парламентский пристав), carrying the Mace (булава).

At the end of the House of Lords stands the Throne. In front of it is the Woolsack⁵ where the Lord Chancellor, wearing a wig, court dress and a gown, sits as Speaker of the House of Lords. For hundred of years wool had been known as one of the most important exports of the country.

Royal Ceremonies

Changing the Guard⁶ is the traditional ceremony which has taken place at Buckingham Palace since 1837. The Guards march from Wellington or Chelsea Barracks (казармы) to Buckingham Palace with a band. First the band marches through the gates of the Palace, then the “new” guard marches through the gates. The guardsmen wear traditional uniform: a red coat and a black bearskin (кивер из медвежьей шкуры).

The Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower is another very interesting tradition. Every night at 9.53 p.m. the Chief Warder of the Tower carries out tradition of locking up the Tower. The Chief Warder and his escort of four approach the gates⁷. The sentry⁸ calls out: “Halt! Who comes there? ” “The Keys”. “Whose Keys? ” “Queen Elisabeth’s Keys”. “Advance, Queen Elisabeth’s Keys. All is well”. The Ceremony of the Keys dates back 700 years.

A number of ravens⁹ have their home at the Tower. There is a superstition (суеверие) that when the ravens fly away, the Tower will fall down and that will be the sign of the downfall of the British Empire. Because of this superstition the wings of the ravens are regularly clipped.

Notes:

1. behavior – поведение

2. lawn – лужайка

3. sacred – священный

4. wig and gown – парик и мантия

5. Woolsack – мешок с шерстью

6. Changing the Guard – смена караула

7. approach the gates – приближаются к воротам

8. sentry – часовой, караул

9. raven – ворон

V. Прочитайте текст и укажите основные отличия в американской и британской культуре:

Text 2

Englishmen and Americans

You can often hear of the Englishman’s “reserve”, how he likes to “keep himself to himself, and how on a long railway journey, with four Englishmen in the carriage, often there won’t be a word spoken during the whole journey. That isn’t the case in America. The Englishman thinks it is a bad manner to ask personal questions. The American doesn’t feel that at all. During a short drive in New York the taxi driver will tell you all about himself, his wife and his family. He will ask where you have come from, what your job is, how you like America and how long you are staying in New York.

The Englishman likes privacy, the American prefers sociability. The Englishman’s house has its little garden with a hedge (забор) all round it to shut him off from his neighbors. The American houses have no hedges separating them from the pavement (тротуар) or from each other. The American in his home doesn’t object (не против) to being seen by everyone — he actually likes it. And in case someone asks him if he doesn’t sometimes like privacy, the American will answer, that if he wants privacy, he goes to bed.

The well-mannered Englishman at table holds his knife in his right hand, his fork in his left, cuts his meat and presses the vegetables on to his fork. The well-mannered American first cuts up all his meat, then places his knife down on the right of his plate, takes his fork in his right hand and with the fork lifts the food to his mouth. He will have his coffee (generally with cream) half-way through his dinner before the pudding. The Englishman drinks his coffee (usually black) after the dinner. And, of course, Americans are coffee-drinkers rather than tea-drinkers.

In Europe there are people who have lived in the same house and have been in the same job for twenty, thirty, forty years and who would hate to change to something new. That’s not the American way of life. They love change, they call it “the spirit of adventure”. They like to move away, to change homes and jobs. They throw away old things, having none of the Englishman’s sentimental love for things because they are old.

Many Americans are greatly impressed with the size; to them “bigger” and “better” is the same thing. The Cathedral in New York is the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world; the finger of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbour is eight feet long and forty people can stand inside its head; the Rockefeller Centre has hanging gardens which are four times the size of the famous hanging gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.

Answer the following questions:

1. What is the Englishman’s “reserve”? 2. How is the American’s love to talkativeness (разговорчивость) described in the text? 3. What impresses you better: the Englishman’s reserve or the American’s talkativeness? 4. How can you prove that the Englishman likes privacy and the American values sociability? 5. What does the American do if he wants privacy? 6. What is the difference in the table manners of the Englishman and the American? 7. When does each of them prefer to have coffee? 8. What does the American understand by the spirit of adventure? 9. What impresses the American most of all?