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English culture and customs

OutlineEnglish festivalsEnglish foodSportsMediaTraditional clothes and costumesTransport Religion

English festivals (1) - Christmas The most important festival of the yearA carol serviceHouses are decoratedChristmas treeGiving presentsFather Christmas and a long sock at the end of the bedChristmas Day – 25th December

English festivals (2)Boxing Day – 26th December, a public

holidayNew Year‘s Eve – celebrating of coming of

the year at midnight on 31st DecemberSt. Valentine‘s Day – 14th February,

sending cards, flowers and chocolates to someone you love

Ash Wednesday – the day in February, the Christian period of Lent begins

Pancake Tuesday – the day before Ash Wednesday, people eats lots of pancakes

English festivals (3)Easter – Easter Sunday - chocolate eggs, a new birth, Good Friday – hot cross-buns, Easter Monday – a holidayApril Fools Day – a day of fun and jokesSt. George‘s Day – 23rd April is a

national day in England, St. George is a patron of England, people do not celebrate it much

May Day – 1st May, celebration of the end of the winter, connected with dancing

Ascension Day – a christian holiday, it is the 40th day after Easter Sunday

English festivals (4)• Pentecost (Whitsunday) – 10 days after

Ascension Day, the coming of holly spirit• Harvest festival - Thanksgiving ceremonies

and celebrations for a successful harvest, usually in September

• Halloween – 31st October – holly evening, connected with witches and ghosts, strange costumes, pumpkin latern

• All Saints Day – 1st November• All Souls Day – 2nd November• Bonfire Night – 5th November, the

anniversary of the Gunpowder plot, huge fireworks, burning an effigy

English food (1)traditionally based on beef, lamb, pork,

chicken and fish generally served with potatoes and one

other vegetable no national food, but the most common

and typical foods include fish and chips, sandwiches, pies and puddings

a selection of Indian, Italian, Chinese and Greek restaurants

take-away meals

Fish and chips

English food (3)Three main meals a day : breakfast, lunch

and dinner (sometimes called supper)Dinner is usually the main meal of the

dayA typical English breakfast - a bowl of

cereals, a slice of toast, orange juice and a cup of coffee

A 'packed lunch‘ - this typically consists of a sandwich, a packet of crisps, a piece of fruit and a drink

A typical British meal for dinner is meat and usually the vegetables (one of the vegetables is almost always potatoes)

English food (3) – Christmas dinner the main Christmas meal eaten at mid-day or early afternoon roast turkey, Brussels sprouts, roast

potatoes, cranberry sauce, rich nutty stuffing, tiny sausages wrapped in bacon and lashings of hot gravy

a rich, fruity pudding which you douse in flaming brandy – said to ward off evil spirits.

Pictures of Christmas Dinner

Roast potatoes

Roast turkey Brussel Sprouts and chestnuts

Parsnips and Swede

Stuffing

The Christmas pudding

English food (4) – Food at EasterOn Good Friday - warm 'hot cross buns' with their combination of spicy, sweet and fruity flavours have long been an Easter tradition, it is also traditional to eat fish instead of meat Easter day - roast lamb is the traditional

meat for the main meal, served with mint sauce and vegetables, the traditional puddings are custard tarts sprinkled with currants and flat Easter biscuits, Simnel cake is baked for tea, chicken has long been a modern favourite for Easter Sunday dinner mainly due to the baby (spring) chicken being associated with birth and new life

Hot cross bun

Simnel cake

Sports An important part in the life of Englishmen A popular leisure activity Many of the world’s famous sports began in England, including cricket, football, lawn tennis and rugby England’s national sport is cricket To many people football (soccer) is seen as their national sport Rugby is similar to football but played with an oval ball The world’s famous tennis tournament is Wimbledon Horse racing, the sport of Kings, is a very popular sport (The Grand National) Polo is played by men on horses. Table tennis (ping pong) was invented in England in 1880 Fishing (angling) is also one of the most popular sports in England

Media Three public bodies are responsible for television and radio throughout England The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) The Independent Television Commission (ITC) The Radio Authority People in Britain watch TV on average 25 hours of every

week Television viewing is Britain's most popular leisure pastime There are five main channels in Britain (BBC1, BBC2, ITV1,

Channel 4 and Channel 5) The BBC has been providing regular television broadcasts

since 1936 There are about 130 daily and Sunday newspapers British newspapers include the following: The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph, The Financial Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Times, Western Mail and Echo, The Sun, The Mirror, The Herald, Written by

Rachel.

Traditional costumes and clothesEngland has no national dress Some people think men in England wear suits and bowler hat but it isn’t trueEnglish customs and traditions involve a variety of costumes – Beefeaters (the nearest thing to English national costume)

„Typical Englishman“

Beefeater

TransportMost people in England travel by car Goods are transported by lorries The red double decker buses in London In London, taxis are black The name of London’s underground system is “The Tube” In England there are also Euro trains There are 470 airports in England

ReligionThe main religion is Christianity Most Christians belong to the Church of

England there are also Roman Catholics, Hindu,

Jewish and Muslim communities The Queen is head of Church of England.