26185-1 (Customs and Traditions), страница 3

Ascot is a small, quiet town in the south of England. But in June for one week it becomes the centre of the horse-racing world. It's called Royal Ascot because the Queen always goes to Ascot. She has a lot of racehorses and likes to watch racing. But Ascot week isn't just for horseracing. It's for fashion, too. One woman, Mrs Gertrude Shilling, always wears very big hats. You can see the racecourse in the picture below.

WIMBLEDON

The world's most famous tennis tournament is Wimbledon. It started at a small club in south London in the nineteenth century. Now a lot of the nineteenth-century traditions have changed. For example, the women players don't have to wear long skirts. And the men players don't have to wear long trousers.

But other traditions haven't changed at Wimbledon. The courts are still grass, and visitors still eat strawberries arid cream. The language of tennis hasn't changed either. Did you know that "love" (zero) comes from "l'oeuf" (the egg) in French?

THE LONDON TO BRIGHTON VINTAGE CAR RALLY

"Vintage" cars have to be. more than fifty years old and in very good condition. Lots of people keep or collect vintage cars. And on the first Sunday in November there's a race or "Tally" for them. It starts in London and it finishes in Brighton, a town on the south coast of England. That's a distance of seventy kilometres.

Before 1896 a man with a red flag had to walk in front of cars. In 1896 that changed. A group of happy drivers broke their flags and drove to Brighton. There they had a party. Now the rally is a sporting tradition.

A lot of the people in the rally wear "vintage" clothes, too. In a 1910 car, for example, the driver and passengers wear 1910 hats and coats.

BOXING DAY HUNTS

Traditionally Boxing Day is a day for foxhunting. The huntsmen and huntswomen ride horses. They use dogs, too. The dogs (fox hounds) follow the smell of the fox. Then the huntsmen and huntswomen follow the hounds.

Before a Boxing Day hunt, the huntsmen and huntswomen drink hot wine. But the tradition of the December 26th hunt is changing. Now, some people want to stop Boxing Day hunts (and other hunts, too). They don't like foxhunting. For them it's not a sport - it's cruel.

THE HIGHLAND GAMES

This sporting tradition is Scottish. In the Highlands (the mountains of Scotland) families, or "clans", started the Games hundreds of years ago.

Some of the sports at the Games are international: the high jump and the long jump, for example. But other sports happen only at the Highland Games. One is tossing the caber "Tossing" means throwing, and a "caber" is a long, heavy piece of wood. In tossing the caber you lift the caber (it can be five or six metres tall). Then you throw it in front of you.

At the Highland Games a lot of men wear kilts. These are traditional Scottish skirts for men. But they're not all the same. Each clan has a different "tartan". That's the name for the pattern on the kilt. So at the Highland Games there are traditional sports and traditional clothes. And there's traditional music, too, from Scotland's national instrument -the bagpipes. The bagpipes are very loud. They say Scots soldiers played them before a battle. The noise frightened the soldiers on the other side.

THE GLORIOUS TWELFTH

The grouse is a small bird. It lives in the north of England and in Scotland. It tastes very good. But people can't shoot grouse all the time. They can only shoot them for a few months of the year. And the first day ofthe grouse "season" is August 12th. On that day, "the glorious twelfth", hunters send their grouse to London restaurants. There, people wait for the first grouse of the year. But there's good news for the grouse, too - the season ends on December 10th each year!

The Arts

THE PROMS

Do you like classical music? Every summer in London there are two months of special concerts at the Royal Albert Hall. These are the "Proms". Sir Henry Wood started the Proms (short for "promenade" concerts) in the nineteenth century

Now they're a tradition in British musical life.

A lot of young people go to the Proms. They buy cheap tickets and stand up for the concerts. They are the "promenaders". There are seats too, but the tickets for those cost more.

The music at the Proms comes from some of the best singers and orchestras in the world. And on the last night there's a big party at the Royal Albert Hall. People bring balloons and paper hats. The orchestra plays popular classical music and at the end everyone sings "Rule Britannia".

THEATRE TRADITIONS

Actors have lots of traditions and superstitions. For example, you don't say "good luck" to an actor. You say "break a leg It's strange but true. "Good luck" is bad luck. Also, actors never say the name of Shakespeare's famous play "Macbeth". They always call it "The Scottish Play". In theatres the name Macbeth brings bad luck.

A third tradition is about whistling. You must never whistle in a theatre dressing room. Someone who whistles must go out of the room and turn around three times. Only affer that, can they knock on the door and come in again.

THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

Every August, Edinburgh in Scotland has the biggest art festival in Europe. There are plays, concerts and exhibitions from countries all over the world. That's the "official" festival. But there's an "unofficial" festival, too. This is called the Edinburgh "Fringe". At the Fringe, visitors can see cheaper concerts and plays by students.

PANTOMIME

Pantomimes are traditional British plays. They are for children, and you them at Christmas. Some famous pantomimes are: Cinderella, Aladdin, Peter Pan and Babes in the Wood. A lot of these stories are very old. In pantomime there's always a young hero. He's the Principal Boy, but the actor is usually a woman. Also, there's always a funny, old woman. She's the Pantomime.

EISTEDDFODS

An Eisteddfod is an arts festival in Wales. People sing and read their poetry in the Welsh language. The Welsh name for there poets is "bards". People also play music. The harp is very popular in Wales. You can always hear harp music at an Eisteddfod. But Eisteddfods aren't lust festivals. They're also competitions to find the best singers, musicians and poets in Wales.

London

Britain's capital city is full of traditions and customs. Here's a guide to just a few of them.

THE LORD MAYOR'S SHOW

Every year there's a new Lord Mayor of London. The Mayor is the city's traditional leader. And the second Saturday in November is always the day for the Lord Mayor's Show. This cercnionv is over six hundred years old. It's also London's biggest parade.

The Lord Mayor drives to the Royal Courts of Justice (near Fleet Street) in a coach. The coach is two hundred years old. It's red and gold and it has six horses. You can see it in the picture above.

There's also a big parade. People make special costumes and act stories from London's history.

THE NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL

This is Europe's biggest street carnival. A lot of people in the Notting Hill area of London come from the West Indies - a group of islands in the Caribbean. And for two days in August, Notting Hill is the West Indies. There's West Indian food and music in the streets. There's also a big parade and people dance day and night.

PEARLY KINGS AND QUEENS

Londoners from the east of the citv are "Cockneys". There are a lot of traditional Cockney expressions. For example, Cockneys don't say "stairs' - they say "apples and pears". And they don't sav "face" - they say "boat race". This is Cockney rhyming slang.

The Cocknevs have kings and queens, too - the 'pearly' kings and queens. They wear speLial costumes on important days. Each costume has thousands of pearl buttons.

THE TOWER OF LONDON

William the Conqueror and his army landed in England from France in the year 1066. In 1078 he started to build the Tower of London. Now, nine hundred years later, this famous castle is full of history and tradition.

The guards at the Tower are called Beefeaters. Uheir name comes from a French word - boufitiers. Boufitiers were guards in the palaces of French kings. They proiceted the king's food.

You will see some large, black birds at the Tower of London. Fliese are the ravens at the Tower. Ravens have lived al the Tower of London for hundreds of vears.

People go to see the Beefeaters and the ravens, but that's not all. Visitors to the Tower go to see the Crown Jewel, too. There are eight crowns. There are also a lot of other verv famous jewels in the jewel room. In fact the Crown Jewels arc the biggest tourist attraction in London.

In the evening there is another old custom at the l~ower of London - the Ceremony of the Keys. At 9.53 exactly, the Beefeaters close the Tower. Then at 10.00 they give the keys to the Governor of the Tower. That's because a long time ago the Tower of London was a prison for important prisoners:

Anne Boleyn (Henry VIII's second wife), Sir Walter Raleigh, Guy Fawkes, and many others.

Everyday life

TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER

The British talk about the weather a lot. For example, ''Isn't it a beautiful morning?" or, '’Very cold today, isn't it?" They talk about the weather because it changes so often. Wind, rain, sun cloud, snow -- they can all happen in a British winter -- or a British summer.

QUEUEING

At British banks, shops, cinemas, theatres or bus stops you can always see people in queues. They stand in a line and wait quietly, often for a long time. Each new person stands at the end of the queue - sometimes in rain, wind or snow.

SHAKING HANDS

Hundreds of years ago, soldiers began this custom. They shook hands to show that they didn't have a sword. Now, shaking hands is a custom in most countries. In Britain you don't shake hands with your friends and familv. But you do shake hands when you meet a person for the first time. You also sav "How do you do?" This is not reallv a question, it's a tradition. The correct answer is exactlv the same, "How do you do?"

CARDS

The British sen'd birthday cards and often give birthday presents. There are cards for other days, too:

Christmas cards, Valentine's Dav cards, Mother's Day cards, Father's Day cards, Easter cards, Wedding Anniversary cards, Good Luck cards, "Congratulations On Your New Baby" cards, and "Get Well Soon" cards.

PARTIES

It's the custom to have a party to celebrate:

A person's birthday

A new house

Christmas (at home, and often in offices, too)

An engagement (a promise to marry)

A wedding (marriage)

New Year's Eve

WRONG SIDE OF THE BED

When people are bad tempered we say that they must have got out of bed on the wrong side. Originally, it was meant quiet literally. People believe that the way they rose in the morning affected their behavior throughout the day. The wrong side of the bed was the left side. The left always having been linked with evil.

BLOWING OUT THE CAND CANDLES

The custom of having candles on birthday cakes goes back to the ancient Greeks. Worshippers of Artemis, goddess of the moon and hunting, used to place honey cakes on the altars of her temples on her birthday. The cakes were round like the full moon and lit with tapers. This custom was next recorded in the middle ages when German peasants lit tapers on birthday cakes, the number lit indicating the person's age, plus an extra one to represent the light of life. From earliest days burning tapers had been endued with mystical significance and it was believedthat when blown out they had the power to grant a secret wish and ensure a happy year ahead.