English traditions

English people are very fond of traditions and ancient ceremonies. Many British cities and towns have their own ceremonies and traditional festivals. Most of them are very colourful.

The colourful ceremony of Changing the Guard before the Buckingham Palace is of great interest to a newcomer. The guardsmen are in their red coats and bearskin caps.

Many traditions are connected with the Houses of Parliament: the arrival of the Queen for the State Opening of Parliament, the Woolsack in the House of Lords upon which the Lord Chancellor sits as Speaker of the House. Before the Queen arrives for the State Opening of Parliament the vaults of the Parliament are searched by Yeomen of the Guard in memory of the Gunpowder Plot.

Every night at 10 p. m. the Ceremony of the Keys takes place in the Tower. The Yeomen of the Guard known as "beefeaters" in Tudor dress uniform keep watch. The Chief Warder and an escort of four beefeaters come up to the gates. The sentry calls out: "Halt, who comes there?"

"The Keys."

"Whose keys?"

"Queen Elisabeth's keys."

"Advance Queen Elisabeth's keys. All is well."

All the towers are locked and the keys are finally carried by the Chief Warder to the Queen's House where they are secured for the night.

English curiosities

1. A visit to London is full of surprises. Traffic keeps to the left, so the Muscovite always finds himself running in the wrong. It takes time to get accustomed to this change.

2. One sees cars of all sizes and all possible models. Many cars have a big letter "L" on them. That doesn't stand for London. It stands for "learner" and to the wise it means "beware". The double decker buses and the tube are the city transport. One either takes the tube or the double decker. Smoking is allowed on the upper deck of the double decker. Smoking is also allowed in the Tube. Fares in London are high. Payment depends on distance. The word "Subway" in London means a passage under the street for pedestrians while in New York it means underground.

3. The traditional attribute of every English home is a fire - place. In the evenings the English family likes to sit at the fire - place, resting after their working day.

4. Tea being a tradition with the British, the day starts with a cup of tea. There are two tea breaks at work - at 11 a. m. and 4 p. m. (but it's 5 o'clock tea at home). The Englishman drinks tea when he is cold. He drinks tea when he is hot. He drinks tea before going visiting and expects to have tea at his host's.

5. There is a custom that on New Year's Eve thousands of Londoners come to Trafalgar Square and at twelve o'clock they join hands and sing.

6. Sport is also a tradition of English life, children and grown-ups going in for sport all through the year.

Do You Know That...

... March is a very busy month? It is the month of the last frost, of melting snow, of blowing wind, of the first buds and green, of the earliest spring flowers, and of the first migratory birds.

International Women's Day is on 8th of March. It is a feast celebrated all over the world. The best present for women are the first spring flowers.

English children have another holiday in March. This is Mothering Sunday. Children pick flowers in the woods and present them to their parents. Sometimes they make themselves little presents like paper baskets with flowers.

A rich fruit cake with almond icing is often eaten on that day. It is called Simnel cake.