uk v. britain 1

8/6/2019 UK v. Britain 1

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What is the difference between the UK, England, Great

Britain (GB) and the British Isles?

'When people say England, they sometimes mean Great Britain, sometimes the United Kingdom,

sometimes the British Isles -

but never England.' How to be an Alien' by George Mikes

England, Scotland, Wales, Great Britain refer to different 'parts of the UK. The

British Isles includes many islands not even part of the UK.

England Scotland Wales

Great Britain UK British Isles

The diverse history of England, Scotland and Wales has led to very different cultural traditions; TheScots and Welsh have right to feel aggrieved whenever the term 'English' is used wrongly, to mean all

three.

Countries within a Country - The United Kingdom

The name United Kingdom refers to the union of what were once four separate countries: England,

Scotland, Wales and Ireland (though most of Ireland is now independent, only Northern Ireland

remains part of the UK).



The UK's full and official name is the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

Great Britain comprises only England, Scotland and Wales.

British Isles - made up of several islands. Great Britain is the largest one.

What are the National identities of the people living in Britain?

Many people think that 'English' is the same as 'British'. It is not! People who are English are from the

country of England. On the other hand, British people are people who live in Great Britain (Britain)

and the UK. Although everyone in the UK has a British citizenship they have different nationalities.

England is only one of the three countries in Britain (Scotland, England and Wales). The Scots and

the Welsh sometimes get angry when they are referred to as 'English'. They do not live in England and

they have their own parliaments, so why should they take their identity from England? They have their

own identity.

There are often distinct differences between people living in each of the three countries in Britain. This

is because different groups of people tend to develop their own customs and way of life.

National identity and citizenship are not always the same thing in Great Britain or the UK

Most white people born in Great Britain, although British citizens, do not regard themselves as British

and prefer to state their national identity as English, Scottish or W

elsh.

The Union Jack - is the national flag of the United Kingdom. It is the British flag.

It is called the Union Flag because it symbolises the administrative union of the countries of the United

Kingdom. It is made up up of the individual Flags of three of

the Kingdom's countries all united under one Sovereign - the

countries of 'England, of 'Scotland' and of 'Northern

Ireland' (since 1921 only Northern Ireland has been part of

the United Kingdom). As Wales was not a Kingdom but a

Principality it could not be included on the flag.



What are the Symbols of England, Scotland and Wales?

Each country in Britain has its own patron saint and floral emblem:

England - St. George and the Rose

The national flower of England is the rose. The flower has beenadopted as England’s emblem since the time of the Wars of the Roses -

civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose

emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem

was a white rose)

Scotland - St. Andrew - the Thistle

The national flower of Scotland is the thistle, a prickly-leaved purple

flower which was first used in the 15th century as a symbol of defence.

Wales - St. David and the Daffodil

The national flower of Wales is the daffodil, which is traditionally

worn on St. David’s Day. The vegetable called leek is also considered

to be a traditional emblem of Wales.

There are many explanations of how the leek came to be adopted as the national emblem of

Wales. One is that St David advised the Welsh, on the eve of battle with the Saxons, to wear

leeks in their caps to distinguish friend from foe. As Shakespeare records in Henry V, the

Welsh archers wore leeks at the battle of Agincourt in 1415.

Northern Ireland - St. Patrick and the Shamrock

The national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock, a three-

leaved plant similar to clover. An Irish tale tells of how Patrick used the

three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons

to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist

as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the

custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.



Patron Saints of the UK

Ireland – St. Patrick

Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is credited with bringing Christianity

to Ireland. He was born in Wales somewhere around AD 385. He was carried

off by pirates and spent six years in slavery before escaping and training as a

missionary.

The most famous story about Saint Patrick is him driving the snakes from

Ireland. He died on 17th March in AD 461 and this day has since been

commemorated as St. Patrick’s Day.

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on 17 March.

How is St Patrick's Day celebrated?

St.Patrick’s Day is celebrated with parades in the large cities, the wearing of the green and drinking

Guinness (traditional drink of Ireland).

England – St. George

A story dating back to the 6th century tells that St George rescued a maiden by

slaying a fearsome fire-breathing dragon. The Saint's name was shouted as a battle

cry by English knights who fought beneath the red-cross banner of St George

during the Hundred Years War (1338-1453).

St George's Day is on 23 April.

St George's Day is celebrated in England on 23 April, in honour of St George, the

patron saint of England.

Scotland – St. Andrew

St. Andrew was one of Christ's twelve apostles. Some of his bones are said to have

been brought to what is now St. Andrews in Fife during the 4th century. Since

medieval times the X-shaped saltire cross upon which St. Andrew was supposedly

crucified has been the Scottish national symbol.

St Andrew's Day is on 30 November.



Wales – St. David

St David (Dewi Sant was a Celtic monk, abbot and bishop, who lived in the sixth

century. He spread the word of Christianity across Wales.

The most famous story about Saint David tells how he was preaching to a huge

crowd and the ground is said to have risen up, so that he was standing on a hill andeveryone had a better chance of hearing him.

St David's Day is on 1 March.

What is the Naional Flag of Wales?

uk v. britain 1

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