1. What is the Mixture We Call British?

The English are the mixed people what is determined historically. Foreigners usually call the British people "English", but the Scots, the Irish and the Welsh do not consider themselves to be English. The English are Anglo- Saxon in the origin, but the Welsh, the Scots and the Irish are not. They are Celts; descendants of the ancient people who crossed over from Europe to the British Isles centuries before the Roman invasion. It was these people whom the Germanic Angles and Saxons conquered in the 5^th and 6^th centuries A. D.

These Germanic conquerors gave England its name - "Angle" land. They were conquered in turn by the Norman French, when William of Normandy landed near Hastings in 1066. It was from the union of the Norman conquerors and the defeated Anglo-Saxons that the English people and the English language were born. The Danes, the Vikings, who invaded Britain in the 8^th century also made influence on the people and the language.

Foreigners have been settling in Britain since the beginning of the century. Black and Asian people are now a familiar sight in every city. Great Britain has a multi-racial society. Racial as well as class distinctions are still important in the society.

2. What does the Union Flag stand for?

The flag of Britain, commonly known as the Union Jack (which derives from the use of the Union Flag on the jack-staff of naval vessels), embodies the emblems of three countries under one Sovereign. The emblems that ap­pear on the Union Flag are the crosses of three patron saints:

1. the red cross of St. George, for England, on a white ground;

2. the white diagonal cross, or saltire, of St. Andrew, for Scotland, on a blue ground;

3. the red diagonal cross of St. Patrick, for Ireland, on a white ground.

Wales is not represented in the Union Flag because, when the first ver­sion of the flag appeared, Wales was already united with England. The na­tional flag of Wales, a red dragon on a field of white and green, dates from the 15th century and is widely used throughout the Principality.

3. Does Britain Have a National Day?

National Days in Britain are not celebrated to the same extent as Na­tional Days in countries like France or America.

Scotland's National Day is St. Andrew's Day (30 November). St. An­drew, one of the Christ's twelve apostles, is the patron saint of Scotland.

England's national Day is St. George's Day (23 April). St. George is the patron saint of England.

St. Patrick's Day (17^th March) is an official Bank Holiday in Northern Ireland. The work of St. Patrick was a vital factor in the spread of Christian­ity in Ireland.

Other British traditional and religious holidays are Christmas Day (25 December), Boxing Day (26 December), New Year's Day (1 January), Pan­cake Day (41 day before Easter), Easter (on a Sunday between 22 of March and 25 of April), May Day (not necessarily 1 May), etc.