British Traditions and Superstition s

Coordinator: Candidate:

  Table Of Contents

•1.Introduction……………………………………………….………......4 The meaning of traditions and superstitions for British people.•2.Traditions – All Year Round British Folklore and Customs…5 Christmas in the UK………………………………..…………9 A Christmas story…………………………………….……….9 Chritmas nowadays……………………………....…….…….11•3.Superstitions……………………………………….……………........13 3.1.What do Superstitions mean to the Britih?...............13 3.2.A strong superstition……………………………………13 3.3.Good luck or Bad luck?...............................................14 3.4.Superstitions for everyone……………………………..15 3.5.The story of the broken mirror, the black cat and lots of good luck… ………………………………………………………………………17•4.Conclusion………………………………………………………..........19•5.Bibliography……………………………………………………………20

1.Introduction

The meaning of Traditions and Superstitions for British people

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, eatingfish and chipsand wearing bowler hats , but the re is more to Britain than just those things. We have English and British traditions of sport,music,foodand many royal occasions. There are alsosongs, sayings andsuperstitions. Who wasGuy Fawkes? Why doesthe Queenhave two birthdays? You can find the answers here in our pages on life in Britain.Superstitionis a part of British culture today. Although superstition was more alive ahundred years ago, there are still superstitious people around, both young and old. Some people though, clame not to be superstitious, but it is still a part of them.Superstition is a pretty slippery concept, and we need to examine what we mean by it. Thesimple statement that a superstition is an irrational belief is quite adequate for most purposes,as long as we don't enquire too closely into the meaning of the word 'irrational'. But not everyirrational belief gets labelled as superstition, so we need to look a bit closer. One of the keycharacteristics of superstition is a belief in the existence of luck, as

a real force in life, andthat luck can be predicted by signs, and can be controlled or influenced by particular actionsor words . O ther key e lements inc lude a be l ie f i n fa te , wh ich aga in can be p red ic ted andmanipulated, and a belief in fate, which again can only be described as magic - the idea that people can be harmed or protected by spells, charms, amulets, curses, witchcraft, and so on.Superstitions are also unofficial knowledge, in that they run counter to the official teachings of religion, school, science, and government, and this is precisely why - even in the21st century - many of us like to hold onto a few, to show that we are not totally ruled byscience and hard fact.But why were people so superstitious? It is usually assumed that superstition is the result of fea r and uncer ta in ty - an a t tempt to con t ro l the par ts o f l i f e tha t a re in fac t beyond our  understanding or control. This is largely true, and there is some evidence that superstition ismore p reva len t in peop le inv o lved in danger ous occupa t ions , and inc reases in t imes o f    particular uncertainty, such as during a war.English folkloreis the folk tradition which has developed in England over a number o f cen tu r ies . Some s to r ies can be t raced back to the i r roo ts , wh i le the o r ig in o f o thers i sunc er ta in o r d ispu ted . Eng land abounds w i th fo lk lo re , in a l l fo rms, f rom such obv iousmanifestations as the traditional Arthurian legends(which were originally strictlyBritonic) and Robin Hoodtales, to contemporaryurban legends and facets of cryptozoology such as the Beast of Bodmin Moor   .Morris dance and related practices such as the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance pMummers Plays.Pub names may preserve folk traditions.

reserve old English folk traditions, as do

2.Traditions - All Year Round British Folklore and CustomsNew Year's Day

   New Year's Day is the first day of the year, in the Gregorian calendar. In moderntimes, it is January 1. It is a time for looking forward and wishing for a good year ahead. It isalso a holiday.People welcome in the New Year on the night before. This is called New Year's Eve.In Scotland, people celebrate with a lively festival called Hogmanay. All over Britain thereare parties, fireworks, singing and dancing, to ring out the old year and ring in the new. Asthe clock - Big Ben - strikes midnight, people link arms and sing a song called Auld LangSyne. It reminds them of old and new friends. 

St Agnes's Eve 20 January This was the day on which girls and unmarried women who wished to dream of their f u t u r e h u s b a n d s w o u l d p e r f o r m c e r t a i n r i t u a l s b e f o r e g o i n g t o b e d . T h e s e i n c l u d e d t rans fe r r ing p ins one by one f rom a p incush ion to the i r s leeve wh i l s t rec i t i ng the Lord 'sPrayer, or abstaining from food and drink all day, walking backwards up the stairs to bed,and eating a portion of dumb cake ( previously prepared with a group of friends in totalsilence and often containing an unpleasantly large portion of salt) before lying down to sleep.

Candlemas Day (the Christian festival of lights ) 2nd February is Candlemas Day. This ancient festival marks the midpoint of winter,halfway between the shortest day and the spring equinox. In olden times, many people usedto say that the Christmas season lasted for forty days - until the second day of February.

St Valentine’s Day This was originally thought to be the day on which birds chose their mates. There aremany traditions and tales associated with romance activities on Valentines day including:• the f i r s t man an unmar r ied woman saw on 14 th February would be her future husband;• if the names of all a girl's suitors were written on paper and wrapped in c lay and the c lay pu t in to water, the piece that rose to the surface first wouldcontain the name of her husband-to-be.• i f a w o m a n s a w a r o b i n f l y i n g o v e r h e a d o n Valentine’s Day, it meant she would marry a sailor.If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor mana n d b e v e r y h a p p y . I f s h e s a w a g o l d f i n c h , s h e would marry a rich person.

Each year in Britain, there are spend around £503 mil. on cards, flowers, chocolatesand other gifts for Valentine's Day. Traditionally these were sent anonymously, but now-a-days it is often made clear who is sending each 'Valentine'. April Fool’s Day April begins with a day of fun and jokes - April Fool’s Day. No one really knowswhen this custom began but it has been kept for hundreds of years. April fooling became popular in England and Scotland during the 1700s. The First of April, some do say Is set apart for All Fool’s Day; But why the people call it so,  Not I, nor they themselves do know. St Georges Day - England’s National Day The 23rd April is St. George’s Day . St. George is the Patron Saint of England andalso of Scotland. It is said that St. George once saved a village from great danger. The villagewere frightened of a fierce dragon who lived close by, so St George killed the dragon.

May Day (Garland Day) In Britain, as in most parts of Western Europe, May day marked the end of the harshwinter months, welcomed the beginning of Summer, and optimistically looked forward to the bright and productive months. For our ancestors, largely in rural areas, it was a major annualfes t i va l and was ce lebra ted th rough ou t the coun t ry , espec ia l l y on the f i r s t o f May w i thmus ic , danc ing and games. T rad i t iona l May Day ce lebra t ions inc luded danc ing a ro undmaypoles and the appearance of hobby horses’ and characters such as Robin Hood and Jack in Green. 

Trooping the Colours

The official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II is marked each year by a military paradeand march-past, known as Trooping the Colour (Carrying of the Flag). Trooping the Colour will take place on Saturday 13 June on Horse Guards Parade. Events begin at approximately10am and the parade starts at 11 a.m. (lasts approximately one hour). Lammas Day 1st August is Lammas Day, and was Thanksgiving time (Harvest time) in Britain.The name comes f rom an Ang lo -Saxon word H la fmaesse wh ich means Loa f Mass . The festival of Lammas marks the beginning of the harvest, when people go to church to give thanks for the first corn to be cut. This celebration predates our Christian harvest festival . On Lammas Day farmers made loaves of bread from the new wheat crop and gavethem to their local church. They were then used as the Communion bread during a specialmass thanking God for the harvest. The custom ended when Henry VIII broke away from theC a t h o l i c C h u r c h , a n d n o w a d a y s w e h a v e h a r v e s t f e s t i v a l s a t t h e e n d o f t h e s e a s o n . Michaelmas Day (September 29) is traditionally the last day of the harvest season.Lammas Day used to be a time for foretelling marriages and trying out partners. Twoyoung people would agree to a „trial marriage” lasting the period of the fair (usually 11 days)to see whether they were really suited for wedlock. At the end of the fair, if they didn’t geton, the couple could part.

Michaelmas Day M ichae lmas Day i s the feas t o f Sa in t M ich ae l the Archange l , ce lebra ted on 29September . S t . M ichae l i s the pa t ron sa in t o f the sea and mar i t ime lands , o f sh ips and  boatmen, of horses and horsemen. He was the Angel who hurled Lucifer (the devil) downfrom Heaven for his treachery.Michaelmas Day is traditionally the last day of the harvest season.The harvest season used to begin on 1 August and was called Lammas, meaning ‚loaf Mass’. Farmers made loaves of bread from the new wheat crop and gave them to their localchurch . The

cus tom ended when Henry V I I I b roke away f rom the Catho l i c Church , andnowadays we have harvest festivals at the end of the season near Michaelmas Day.

 Punky Night   Punky Night falls on the last Thursday in October and is a Somerset tradition.Some t ime in the Midd le Ages , a l l the men o f H in to S t George went o f f to a fa i r . When they failed to return that evening, the women went looking for them by the light of   punkies. Punky is another name for a pumpkin which has been hollowed out and has a candlestanding inside it.T rad i t iona l l y on th i s n igh t , ch i ld ren in the Sou th o f Eng land wou ld carve the i r   ‘Punk ies ’ , (pumpk ins ) in to Jack O ’Lan te rns . Once carved the ch i ld ren wou ld go ou t in groups and march through the streets, singing traditional ‘punky’ songs, calling in at friendlyhouses and competing for best lantern with rival groups they meet. The streets would be litwith the light of the Punkies. Nowadays , on Punky N igh t in H in ton S t George , Somerse t , l oca l ch i ld ren jo in a  procession through the village streets, swinging their homemade lanterns and going house tohouse, singing traditional ‘punky’ songs and sometimes getting a few pennies at the frontdoor. 

Halloween October 31st (Eve of All Hallows) On October 31st, we celebrate Halloween, thought to be the one night of the year when ghosts, witches, and fairies are especially active.

Guy Fawkes Day ( Bonfire Night) - 5th November   I n N o v e m b e r 1 6 0 5 , t h e i n f a m o u s G u n p o w d e r P l o t t o o k p l a c e i n w h i c h s o m e Catholics plotted to blow up the English Parliament and King James l, on the day set for theking to open Parliament. The men were angry because the king had treated them badly andthey didn’t like

it. The story is remembered each 5th November when ‚Guys’ are burned in acelebration known as „Bonfire Night”.

St Andrews Day - 30th November   On 30 November , Sco t t i sh peop le ce lebra te S t Andrew’s Day . S t Andrew is the  patron saint of Scotland.St Nichola’s Day 6 December   This is the feast day of St Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor (now Turkey) inthe 4th century AD. He is the patron saint of children.In the Netherlands and neighbouring countries of Europe, St Nicholas is said to bringsweets and presents to well behaved children on 6 December. This tradition was imported tothe USA by Dutch se t t le rs , and S t N icho las evo lved in to San ta C laus , those g i f t -g iv ing rounds are preformed later in the month. In this new incarnation he subsequently returnedacross the Atlantic to merge with the British Father Christmas.

   Christmas in the UK

The traditional Christmas is not a single day but a prolonged period, normally from24th December to 6th January. This included the New Year, thus increasing the festival valueof Christmas. A Christmas history

The Chr is tmas cus toms and r i tua ls tha t we fo l low Chr is t ian , Ce l t i c o r Rom an?Actually, they are a mixture of all three.We still look at the Christmas season as a time of "goodwill to all men". This customgoes as far back as Rome. Lucian (a third century poet) describes the Roman festival of Sa tu rna l ia (Dec . 17 - 24) as "a t ime when a l l men sha l l be equa l and a l l resen tment and threats are contrary to law".The dates of this Roman festival actually coincided with the old Celtic celebration of Yule so St. Augustine (realizing that it was much smarter to change the "focus" of Britain's popular Celtic festival than to ban it) and the other Christians of the time declared that Dec.25 was the date of Christ 's birth. By establishing that date, they blended all of the Celtic,Christian and Roman beliefs together into one celebration, let everyone do their own thingand everyone was happy.By the t ime we ge t to 1066 , Br i ta in was very Chr is t ian a l though many o f the o ld Celtic and Roman customs survived, especially at Christmas.One of the most important of these was the use of lights in home and church. Thiswas a left over from the old Celtic belief of "sympathetic magic". The intent being that thelights would encourage the return of the sun after the dark days of winter. To this day, westill use many candles in church and our religious observances.Decorating the church and home with evergreen foliage (holly, ivy and mistletoe) wasanother custom left over from the old beliefs. Ivy, once the badge of the Roman wine God,Bacchus , was though t to p reven t hangovers and b r i ng good luck . As mis t le toe was theancient symbol of fertility, it's use was frowned on by the church. However, Holly waswelcomed as the blood of Christ and the crown of thorns.The nativity play was an invention of St. Francis of Assisi and was a continentalcustom. It made its appearance in Britain in the 12thcentury and was performed in churchesand public places.In medieval times, the celebration was called the Twelve Days of Christmas and the party ran for all 12 days. The celebration began on December 25 and ended on January 5. Itwas a time for continuous feasting and merry making, which climaxed on Twelfth Night. Athis time of year it was cold outside and there was little agricultural work to do except caringfo r the an ima l s so work cou ld be suspended. Somet imes the fes t i v i t i es con t inued un t i lCandelmass on Feb. 2. The highlight of this celebration was the feast, the lavishness of which depended on your place in the social ladder. Many feudal lords were expected to give a great meal for their tenants. They really did it up big time! During Christmas 1213, theroyal family's guests consumed 200 pigs, 1000 hens, 15,000 herring, 10,000 eels, 100 poundsof almonds and 27 hogsheads of wine.On Christmas Eve, the wassail bowl was passed. The rich would fill the bowl withspiced wine in which roasted apples were floated. The bowl was then passed from person to pe rson to d r ink to each o ther ' s hea l th . The poor subs t i t u ted w ine w i th a le m ixed w i thnutmeg, ginger and honey. This custom can be traced to Anglo-Saxon times, the Saxon phrase "was haile" meaning a toast to

another's health.At these dinners, the centerpiece of the feast, a boar's head, would be carried into thehall with great ceremony, preceded by the master of ceremonies and followed by minstrelssinging carols. This was another ancient custom from a time when the boar was a sacrificialanimal revered by the Nordic people.

 

To end the feast, frumenty was served. (the predecessor to Christmas pudding) Thiswas a wheaten porridge sweetened with fruit nuts and spices. Christmas pies of the timewere meat-based. The centerpiece of the Twelfth Night party was the Twelfth Night cake.The eating of this caked involved the crowning of the King of the bean and the Queen of the pea. Whoever found these items buried in their cake were crowned monarch for the night