ENGLISH CULTURE , TRADITIONS AND LIFE BY ELENI SKARDASI

AFTERNOON TEA (THE TRADITIONAL 4 O'CLOCK TEA)

• This is a small meal, not a drink. Traditionally it consists of tea (or coffee) served with either of the following:

• Freshly baked scones served with cream and jam (Known as a cream tea)

• Afternoon tea sandwiches - thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off.

• Assorted pastries

• Afternoon Tea today

• Afternoon tea is not common these days because most adults go out to work. However, you can still have Afternoon tea at the many tea rooms around England.

Afternoon tea became popular about one hundred and fifty years

ago, when rich ladies invited their friends to their houses for an

afternoon cup of tea. They started offering their visitors sandwiches

and cakes too. Soon everyone was enjoying Afternoon tea. text

taken from and copyright of projcetbritain.com

HIGH TEA (The traditional 6 o'clock tea)

The British working population did not have Afternoon Tea. They had a

meal about midday, and a meal after work, between five and seven

o'clock. This meal was called 'high tea' or just 'tea'.

(Today, most people refer to the evening meal as dinner or supper.)

Traditionally eaten early evening, High tea was a substantial meal

that combined delicious sweet foods, such as scones, cakes, buns or

tea breads, with tempting savouries, such as cheese on toast, toasted

crumpets, cold meats and pickles or poached eggs on toast. This

meal is now often replaced with a supper due to people eating their

main meal in the evenings rather than at midday.

Acceptable Behaviour in England and the

rest of Britain

You may be called by many different 'affectionate'

names, according to which part of the England you

are visiting. Do not be offended, this is quite normal.

For example, you may be called dear, dearie, flower,

love, chick, chuck, me duck, me duckie, mate, guv,

son, ma'am, madam, miss, sir, or treacle, according

to your sex, age and location. Interesting Fact The 'affectionate' name 'duck' is thought to come

from the Anglo-Saxon word 'ducis' which was meant

as a term of respect; similar to the Middle English

'duc', 'duk' which denotes a leader, commander,

general; from which comes the title 'Duke' and the

Old French word 'ducheé' - the territory ruled by a

Duke

DOs and DON'TS (Taboos) in Britain

Do take your hat off when you go indoors (men only)

Do cover your Mouth Do Shake Hands

Do say sorry

Do not greet people with a kiss

Avoid doing gestures such as backslapping and hugging

Do not ask personal or intimate questions

Never eat off a knife when having a meal.

DON'TS

Buckingham Palace The Royal Flag

When the Queen is at home, you can see

her royal flag flying from the flag pole on

top of Buckingham Palace. This flag is

called the Royal Standard.

Dating and Marriage Customs in Britain

The trend nowadays is to marry later. Many

couples are living together first for all sorts of reasons such as finance.

Most weddings take

place on Saturday

afternoons, this is very

much the “peak period”

in any week for getting

married.

Brides have 'Hen' nights and bridegrooms have

'Stag' parties (similar to bachelor/bachelorette parties).

The Wedding Day

It is traditional at weddings to have a

special wedding cake at the reception,

often with two or more tiers - each tier may

be made of a different type of cake to

satisfy the tastes of all your wedding guests.

It's also customary for the top tier of a three

or four tier cake to be kept aside for the

christening of the couples first child.

Wedding Superstitions

The bride should never wear her

complete wedding clothes before the

day.

The husband should carry his new wife over the

threshold of their home.

What are the first three things which come into your

mind when you hear the words 'England' or 'the

English?

"Men wearing bowler hats, a pin striped suit, a

newspaper under the arm and carrying a long

unopen umbrella."

Bowler hats are very rarely seen in England today. In

fact, I don't think I have ever seen one being worn

apart from in the movies!

When I think of the English, I think of .........

"Long shadows on county cricket grounds, warm

beer, invincible green suburbs, dog lovers and old

maids bicycling through the morning mist"

- John Major (Ex Prime Minister )

"The English eat a big

breakfast in the

morning with bacon, eggs, baked beans…”

"England is a land of beer, football and bad

weather."

(Contrary to popular belief, it DOES NOT rain every day in England! :))

What should I do or not do when I am

eating in Britain?

If you are a guest, it is polite to wait until your

host starts eating or indicates you should do so.

It shows consideration.

Always say thank you

when served something. It

shows appreciation.

Always chew and swallow all the food in your

mouth before taking more or taking a drink.

Things you should not do:

Never lick or put your knife in your mouth.

Never talk with food in your mouth.

Never use your fingers to push food onto your

spoon or fork.

Never pick food out of your teeth with your

fingernails.

Pubs The word pub is short for public

house. There are over 60,000 pubs in the UK (53,000 in England and

Wales, 5,200 in Scotland and 1,600

in Northern Ireland). One of the

oldest pubs, Fighting Cocks in St. Albans, Herts, is located in a

building that dates back to the

eleventh century.

Did you know?

If a church has the name St. Mary's the

nearest pub is traditionally called The

Star.

Superstitions Good Luck

Lucky to touch wood. We touch; knock on wood, to

make something come true.

Lucky to touch wood.

We touch; knock on

wood, to make

something come true.

On the first day of the month it

is lucky to say "white rabbits,

white rabbits white rabbits,"

before uttering your first word

of the day.

Catch falling leaves in

Autumn and you will

have good luck. Every

leaf means a lucky

month next year.

Putting money in the pocket of new clothes brings

good luck.

Bad Luck

Unlucky to walk underneath a ladder.

Unlucky to see one magpie, lucky to see two, etc..

Unlucky to put new shoes on the table.

Unlucky to pass

someone on the

stairs.

Table Superstitions

Crossed cutlery on your plate and expect a quarrel.

Leave a white tablecloth on a table

overnight and expect a death.

The Greatest Britons of all Time

chosen by the people of Britain.

Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher Margaret Thatcher was the United Kingdom's

first woman prime minister, and she held the office of PM for longer than anyone in the 20th

century.

Sir Paul McCartney McCartney was a singer, songwriter

and guitarist for The Beatles, the

biggest rock band of the 1960s.

Queen Elizabeth II Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra

Mary), is the Queen regnant and Head of State of

the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern

Ireland and fifteen other Commonwealth countries.

David Beckham

Charles Dickens

King Arthur

Sir Alexander Graham Bell

John Lennon

William Shakespeare

Diana, Princess of Wales

J.K. Rowling Jane Austen

The Unknown Warrior Robbie Williams

J.R.R. Tolkien

London

HARRY POTTER

POTTERHEADS

Amazingly cool people who are

obsessed with Harry Potter.

Urban Dictionery

Just because you've got the emotional range

of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have