Customs and Traditionsм, Детальна інформація

Customs and Traditionsм
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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

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