BRITISH TRADITIONS
Britain is full of culture and traditions which have been around for hundreds of years. British customs and traditions are famous all over the world. When people think of Britain they often think of people drinking tea , eating fish and chips and wearing bowler hats , but there is more in Britain than just those things. There are English and British traditions of sport , music , food and many royal occasions.
Traditional Drinks in Britain Tea
- Britain is a tea-drinking nation.
- Every day they drink 165 million cups of the tea and each year around 144 thousand tons of tea are imported.
- Tea in Britain is traditionally brewed in a warmed china teapot, adding one spoonful of tea per person and one for the pot.
- Most Britons like their tea strong and dark, but with a lot of milk.
- Tea breaks are when tea and biscuits are served.
- The traditional time for tea breaks are at 11:00 am
and 4 pm in the afternoon.
Fish and Chips
- Fish and chips is the classic English take-away food and is the traditional national food of England.
- It became popular in the 1860's when railways began to bring fresh fish straight from the east coast to the cities over night.
- Traditionally, the fish and chips are covered with salt and malt vinegar and, using your fingers, eaten straight out of the newspaper which they were wrapped in.
Ceremony of the Keys
One of London’s most timeless ceremonies, dating back 700 years is the ceremony of the keys which takes place at the Tower of London . At 21:53 each night the Chief Yeoman Warder of the Tower, dressed in Tudor uniform, sets off to meet the Escort of the Key dressed in the well-known Beefeater uniform. Together they tour the various gates ceremonially locking them, on returning to the Bloody Tower archway they are challenged by a sentry.
" Who goes there?"
"The Keys." answers The Chief Warder
"Whose Keys?" the sentry demands .
"Queen Elizabeth's Keys."
"Pass Queen Elizabeth's Keys. All's well."
A trumpeter then sounds the Last Post before the keys are secured in the Queen’s House .
Beefeater
Yeoman Warder
CHANGING of the GUARD
- Outside Buckingham Palace, you can see guardsmen dressed in their bright red uniforms and bearskin hats.
- These guardsmen protect the Queen.
- Every day a new guard of thirty guardsmen marches to the palace and takes the place of the "old guard". This is known as the Changing of the Guards ceremony and it dates back to 1660.
- The monarch and the royal palaces have been guarded by the Household Troops since 1660.
The Queen's Guard changes in the Forecourt of Buckingham
Palace at 11:30am daily from May to July, and on alternate dates
throughout the rest of the year.
There is no Guard Mounting Ceremony in very wet weather. June - daily July - daily August - alternate days, odd (1,3,5 etc)
- There is a tradition to get a telegram from the Queen on people’s hundredth birthday.