Kategória: TRADITIONS
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The traditional song for New Year’s in Britain is Auld Lang Syne, a folk song transcribed by Scottish poet Robert Burns, who heard an old man singing it. The words Auld Lang Syne stand for “Old Long Since”, i.e. days of long ago. The tradition to sing the song as a New Year’s melody comes…
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It was nothing to do with Christmas time first, but with Epiphany (i.e. Twelfth Night) and Easter, since the cake is a great mixture of the Twelfth Night Cake and Easter Cake. Celebrating the last day of the Christmas season, 5 January or Twelfth Night, included the tradition of making a cake for the occasion.…
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An important event to mark the beginning of winter has long taken place at Stonehenge in the Salisbury Plains. According to excavations made nearby, the builders of Stonehenge had had great feasts on 21 December and the day had been even more important for them than 21 June (Sumer Solstice). If Stonehenge had been a…
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Just like for the majority of Christian families around the world, Christmas for the Royal Family is a time to spend together. Sandringham Estate and Sandringham House in Norfolk in the English countryside hosts the Members of the Windsor Family. It is not Royal property but has been private property of the Windsors since 1862,…
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Welsh words are not easy to pronounce. Moreover, the language is uneasy to learn. But it’s worth a try since it is among the oldest still existing European languages. Give it a go, will you? Here are some words to go one – two are linked with pronunciation site where you can check the further…
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“Remember remember the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason and plot.” “ Penny for the Guy.” Bonfires, the guy, firework displays, sparklers, toffee apples and hot-dogs… Watch an episode of This is Britain to find out about Bonfire night. Fawkes may have been the man charged with lighting the fuse to the gunpowder in the Parlieament…
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Part of the parades on Bonfire Night, in Ottery St Mary (Devon), seventeen tar barrels on fire are carried by crazy competitors who are watched by thousands of spectators. The custom is over 300 years old but nobody really knows where it originates from, but there is a popular version that says, “Streets must be…
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Called dipavali (“row of lights”) in Sanskrit, the largest religious festival of the Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and some Buddhist groups is celebrated all over Britain. There is no exact date for Diwali, this festival season begins in mid-October and lasts for a month. It includes parades in streets, firework displays and other shows that include…
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It’s time for time change – British Summer Time (BST) changes to Greenwich Mean Time every last October Sunday. This time adjustment by one hour twice a year has been going on since 1916. Builder William Willett’s idea was to save hours of daylight. It went into reality a year after he died in 1915.…
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With a close relation to Halloween, Punky (or Punkie) Night is a tradition in Somerset, the south-west of England. On this night, children carry “punkies” (= lanters) made of swedes* from house to house and sing or chant “Give me a candle, give me a light. If you don’t, you’ll get a fright!” GR8 to…
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