Food in Britain

There are several aspects of food and eating in Britain that are shocking or at least surprising for a Spaniard:

• Meal times and names:

Marmite by Malcolm Farmer

• Large breakfasts. A proper traditional breakfast might include fried eggs, sausage, baked beans, bacon, toast, fried tomatoes, mushrooms, toast or fried bread ... and, of course, a cup of tea or coffee. However, nowadays, most people in Britain just have a simpler breakfast with cereal, toast, a cup of tea or coffee and some juice. A "nice cuppa" refers to a cup of tea.
• Many people will drink tea or coffee while having a meal, instead of drinking water. It might be difficult to imagine someone eating soup while drinking soup, but not from a Briton.
• Almost anything can be eaten on toast: beans, Marmite, egg, tomato, cheese...



Tea time at Lucy's by MrsWoman

• Tea is the national drink. It is drunk at all meals, any time of the day and any time of the year, not just for the meal called "tea".
•  There are also some foods that may seem strange to foreigners:
• haggis
• Scotch eggs
• Toad in the hole
• black pudding
• Welsh rarebit
• Fish and chips. If you don't know what to eat any time, you may pop into a fish and chips shop and buy your dinner there.

Penny Lane fish and chips shop by Loco Steve

Fish and chips by Richard Allaway

Traditional british food from comeniusnewclans

British food from Anthonny Garcia

QUIZZES:

• Proprofs: British Food
• Quizly

READ MORE:

• Project Britain
• 21 Things Everyone Should Know Before Visiting Britain
• British Etiquette for International Students
• British Habits That Confuse the Rest Of the World
• British Food Habits That Americans Will Never Understand
• Ten Strange British Foods
• Food Quirks That British People Don't Realise Are Weird

https://britainexplorer.com/ten-strange-british-foods/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/tabathaleggett/food-quirks-that-british-people-dont-realise-are-weird

The New Year in the USA

Original hipster nativity set

Gorilla Goodies is selling an original nativity set for this Christmas: the Hipster Nativity Set.
Can you describe the difference between this nativity set and the traditional one?

Have a look at this pictures from the Gorilla Goodies website:

May Day - Morris Dancing (UK)

What is Morris Dancing?

It is a traditional dance seen throughout the month of May is Morris Dancing. It is a traditional English form of folkdancing, performed by groups of men or women.

Morris Dancing has been danced for centuries, and passed down through the generations in the villages of rural England. The dances are usually performed at festivals such as May Day, Whitsun and Christmas.

Morris men dacing - image by Richard2s

What is its origin?

There are different hypotheses about the origin of Morris Dancing. The name might refer to the possibility of the form of dancing coming to England from the Moors of North Africa; or it may have been called 'Moor-ish' simply because the dancers sometimes painted their faces black, and people compared this to the dark-skinned Moors.

The Music

The dancing is very lively and accompanied by an accordion player, a melodeon or fiddle player (Cotswolds) or a noisy band with a drum (Border Morris or North West sides).

Morris dancing - image by Kaihsu

Costumes

Morris dancers wear different clothes depending on the part of the United Kingdom where they are from. They are often dressed in white with coloured baldrics (coloured belts) across their chests but red or green are also common.

The Dances

There are usually six or eight dancers arranged in two lines or in a circle facing each other. The dancers may carry white handkerchiefs that they shake, or short sticks that they bang against each other as they dance. Some dancers have bell-pads tied at their knees, which make a loud and cheerful rhythm as they dance.

Guide to British Christmas

Christmas traditions all over the world

Christmas Traditions all over The World von Nubia **

Christmas traditions in Great Britain

Christmas Traditions In Great Britain de jucadis

How to Make Tea

Water boiling in a kettle

1. Boil the water. Using a kettle, bring more than enough water to a boil. The better tasting your water, the better tasting your tea. The best water is filtered or bottled (but not distilled). If using tap water, let it run cold for 10 seconds before using it for tea. Make sure you only boil the water one time. If you boil the water more than once, the oxygen levels in the water will be reduced and make the tea taste flat.
2. Pre heat whatever you want to put the tea in. This will prevent the steeping water from dropping in temperature as soon as it is poured in. Add a little boiling water to a ceramic or porcelain teapot or the individual cups--wherever the tea will be steeped (ceramic and porcelain retain heat well). Cover the teapot with the lid and a cozy, if you have one. Let the water stand until the vessel is warm, then pour out the water and proceed immediately to the next step.
3. Put the tea in an infuser, strainer, or directly in the bottom of the teapot. Steeping without an infuser or strainer gives the tea more room to unfold and release additional flavor. Start with one heaped teaspoon per cup of tea to be made, unless you have instructions which say otherwise. The amount of loose tea you use will depend on the type and strength of the tea, as well as your individual taste, so a little experimentation may be in order.
4. Add hot water. Pour it over the tea. Use an amount in proportion to the quantity of tea you've added (eg. 5 cups of water for 5 teaspoons of tea). The ideal water temperature varies based on the type of tea being steeped. The more oxidized (fermented) the tea (e.g. black tea) the hotter the water should be, whereas less oxidized teas (white, green) should be steeped in water that isn't as hot.

• White or green teas (full leaf): Well below boiling (170-185 F or 76-85 C). When the water boils, turn off the heat and let the water cool for 30 seconds for white tea and 60 seconds for green tea before pouring it over the leaves.
• Oolongs (full leaf): 185-210 F or 85-98 C
• Black teas (full leaf): Water must be at a rolling boil (212 F or 100 C). The most common mistake is to steep black tea with water that is not hot enough, which can prevent the active substances in black tea from developing.
• Pu-erhs: Full rolling boil (212 F or 100 C).
• Tea bags: Never let the water boil. Since tea bags often include tea dust and fannings (the smallest tea particle grades) and so have more surface area, use slightly less hot water.
5. Let the tea steep. Cover with the cozy to retain warmth. Different teas require different steeping times. In general, whole-leaf tea should be steeped longer than broken-leaf tea.Check the box for guidance. If there are no instructions, steep for a minute or two, then taste frequently until it's flavorful but not bitter. If practicing gong-fu brewing to make multiple infusions, use shorter infusion times, typically 30 seconds to 1 minute. For normal (Western) brewing, the steeping times are longer. The following recommendations are guidelines:

• Oolong teas: 4-7 minutes
• Black teas: 3-5 minutes
• Green teas: 2-3 minutes
6. Remove the tea leaves. Get rid of the tea leaves in the pot (if you have a strainer or infuser) or pour the liquid into another vessel with a strainer to catch any tea leaves. Tuck the teapot back inside a tea cozy if there is tea remaining in the pot after serving everyone. This helps keep the tea hot longer.
7. Serve. Depending on your taste, you may want to serve black tea tea with milk, sugar, lemon or honey. Do not serve the tea with both lemon and milk or the milk will curdle. If you use milk, add the milk to the cup first and then add the tea; this prevents the hot tea from scalding the milk by heating it gradually.
8. Infuse again if you want to make more tea for a second serving. Many teas, especially whole-leaf green and oolong teas, can be infused multiple times, so repeat the above steps, increasing the steeping time with each infusion, to get the most out of your tea.
   
9. Finished.

Text from: 

Wikihow: How to Make Tea

What are New Year's Resolutions?

A New Year's resolution is a tradition, most common in the Western Hemisphere but also found in the Eastern Hemisphere, in which a person resolves to change an undesired trait or behavior.

Religious origins

• Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts
• The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named.
• In the Medieval era, the knights took the "peacock vow" at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry
• At watchnight services, many Christians prepare for the year ahead by praying and making these resolutions
• This tradition has many other religious parallels.

image from Wikipedia

Popular goals

• Improve physical well-being: eat healthy food, lose weight, exercise more, eat better, drink less alcohol, quit smoking, stop biting nails, get rid of old bad habits
• Improve mental well-being: think positive, laugh more often, enjoy life
• Improve finances: get out of debt, save money, make small investments
• Improve career: perform better at current job, get a better job, establish own business
• Improve education: improve grades, get a better education, learn something new (such as a foreign language or music), study often, read more books, improve talents
• Improve self: become more organized, reduce stress, be less grumpy, manage time, be more independent, perhaps watch less television, play fewer sitting-down video games
• Take a trip
• Volunteer to help others, practice life skills, use civic virtue, give to charity, volunteer to work part-time in a charity organization
• Get along better with people, improve social skills, enhance social intelligence
• Make new friends
• Spend quality time with family members
• Settle down, get engaged/get married, have kids
• Pray more, be closer to God, be more spiritual
• Be more involved in sports or different activities
• Spend less time on social media (such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)

Success rate
The most common reason for participants failing their New Years' Resolutions was setting themselves unrealistic goals (35%), while 33% didn't keep track of their progress and a further 23% forgot about it. About one in 10 respondents claimed they made too many resolutions.

A 2007 study by Richard Wiseman from the University of Bristol involving 3,000 people showed that 88% of those who set New Year resolutions fail, despite the fact that 52% of the study's participants were confident of success at the beginning. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they engaged in goal setting, (a system where small measurable goals are being set; such as, a pound a week, instead of saying "lose weight"), while women succeeded 10% more when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.

Information from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year's_resolution

What are New Year's Resolutions?

early 20th century card - Wikipedia

A New Year's resolution is a tradition in which a person makes a promise to do an act of self-improvement or something slightly nice, such as opening doors for people beginning from New Year's Day.

Religious origins and history

• Babylonians made promises to their gods at the start of each year that they would return borrowed objects and pay their debts.
• The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named.
• In the Medieval era, the knights took the "peacock vow" at the end of the Christmas season each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry.
• At watchnight services, many Christians prepare for the year ahead by praying and making these resolutions.
• There are other religious parallels to this tradition. During Judaism's New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through the High Holidays and culminating in Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), one is to reflect upon one's wrongdoings over the year and both seek and offer forgiveness. People may act similarly during the Christian liturgical season of Lent, though the motive behind this holiday is more of sacrifice than of responsibility, in fact the practice of New Year's resolutions partially came from the Lenten sacrifices. The concept, regardless of creed, is to reflect upon self-improvement annually.

Participation

At the end of the Great Depression, about a quarter of American adults formed New Year's resolutions. At the start of the 21st century, about 40% did.

Most typical resolutions

Some examples include resolutions to donate to the poor more often, to become more assertive, or to become more environmentally responsible.

Popular goals include resolutions to:

• Improve physical well-being: eat healthy food, lose weight, exercise more, eat better, drink less alcohol, quit smoking, stop biting nails, get rid of old bad habits
• Improve mental well-being: think positive, laugh more often, enjoy life
• Improve finances: get out of debt, save money, make small investments
• Improve career: perform better at current job, get a better job, establish own business
• Improve education: improve grades, get a better education, learn something new (such as a foreign language or music), study often, read more books, improve talents
• Improve self: become more organized, reduce stress, be less grumpy, manage time, be more independent, perhaps watch less television, play fewer sitting-down video games
• Take a trip
• Volunteer to help others, practice life skills, use civic virtue, give to charity, volunteer to work part-time in a charity organization
• Get along better with people, improve social skills, enhance social intelligence
• Make new friends
• Spend quality time with family members
• Settle down, get engaged/get married, have kids
• Pray more, be closer to God, be more spiritual
• Be more involved in sports or different activities

Success rate

The most common reason for participants failing their New Years' Resolutions was setting themselves unrealistic goals (35%), while 33% didn't keep track of their progress and a further 23% forgot about it. About one in 10 respondents claimed they made too many resolutions.

Information taken from Wikipedia

Christmas day in the UK

Christmas day, December 25th, is one of the most important date in the Christian calendar. It has been celebrated for centuries and many traditions are nowadays associated to it. Here you are some of them:

• Opening Christmas Presents. This is the favourite day for children. After waking up very early in the morning, they go and check their stockings which have been filled by Father Christmas and then unwrap the presents before breakfast. Presents are usually found and unwrapped under the Christmas tree.
• Giving presents or gifts has been a tradition for centuries and it is related to the gifts that the three wise men or Magi took to Jesus in Bethlehem. In fact, in some countries, such as Spain, presents are given on Epiphany day, closely linked to the presence of the Magi.

• Attending Mass. Many Christia
  ns go to church, attend mass services and sing carols to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is a special mass service. Some even attend mass at 0:00, the so-called Midnight Mass.

• Christmas dinner and Christmas tea. The whole family gather for Christmas dinner at mid-day and then in the evening for Christmas tea. A typical dish for the dinner is Christmas pudding. Nowadays, a typical Christmas dinner probably consists of prawns or smoked salmon. The main course is likely to be turkey. This is usually followed by Christmas pudding; a rich fruit pudding served with brandy sauce or brandy butter.

• The Queen's Speech. the Queen gives her Message to the nation in the afternoon of Christmas day and it is broadcast on both radio and television. The tradition began in 1932 when King George V read a speech written by writer Rudyard Kipling. As the broadcast was an enormous success it has continued up to the present.

• Christmas Crackers. Crackers are traditional items in British Christmas. They consist of a cardboard tube wrapped in a brightly decorated twist of paper, looking like an enormous  sweet-wrapper and they go with the Christmas dinner. The cracker is pulled by two people and each one contains a small toy, a joke or motto, and a tissue-paper crown hat, usually a crown. 

• Christmas Cards. Cards became very popular in 19th century England (also called Victorian England). They usually include the message of "Merry Christmas" and are often produced by Charities or organizations such as UNICEF. Families display them as part of their Christmas decoration. They are usually sent before Christmas and some families receive over 100 cards from friends and family.

Learn More:

http://projectbritain.com/Xmas/day.html

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas

Halloween trivia

Halloween trivia from Ana Arias Castro

New Year's Traditions

The New Year is widely celebrated in countries that share our calendar and, thus, start the New Year on the 1st of January every year.

In English-speaking countries most people sing "Auld Lang Syne" as the new year begins. This poem was composed by Scottish poet Robert Burns and was made popular by Scottish immigrants in Canada.

In the USA probably the most famous tradition is the dropping of the New Year ball in Times Square, New York City, at 11:59 P.M. Thousands of people watch the ball make its one-minute descent, arriving exactly at midnight. The tradition first began in 1907. 

There are other common traditions all over the world:

New Year's Resolutions: It is believed that the Babylonians were the first to make New Year's resolutions, and people all over the world have been breaking them ever since. The early Christians believed the first day of the new year should be spent reflecting on past mistakes and resolving to improve oneself in the new year.

Fireworks: Noisemaking and fireworks on New Year's eve is believed to have originated in ancient times, when noise and fire were thought to dispel evil spirits and bring good luck. The Chinese are credited with inventing fireworks and use them to spectacular effect in their New Year's celebrations.

Read More:

• About traditions in many different countries
• Infoplease

Easter in the United Kingdom

Easter in celebrated in the spring in Christian areas. Therefore it is also celebrated in the United Kingdom.

• The BBC website will let you know more about Lent  in the United Kingdom.
• This other page in the BBC website is about Easter in the United Kingdom.
• Isabel Pérez has lots of interesting resources to learn about Easter and Easter traditions in Spain and in English-speaking countries.

New Year's Eve

New Year' Eve is a good day to learn about British traditions about this day. Project Britain is a good website to find information about this date. If you want more general information Time and Date can also be a good site to have a look at.

You can also make your own calendar for 2014 choosing the country and the elements to include.

Just remember to sing Auld Lang Syne at midnight.