Customs and traditions in Great Britain and Belarus

The proverb says «So many countries, so many customs» and it is really so, as every country has its own customs and traditions which make it special and differ it from other countries of the world. Traditions are said to reflect the national character.

For example, British people are known to be conservative and slow to adopt rational reforms such as the metric system. This conservatism on a national scale is quite vivid in the public attitude to the monarchy, which is still respected in Britain. British royal ceremonies are very spectacular, they are great tourist attractions and help the tourist trade. Highlights of the ceremonial year are the Changing of the Guard outside Buckingham Palace, the Trooping of the Colour, the State Opening of Parliament.

The Guard changes every day at 11.30 in front of Buckingham Palace. This ceremony usually gathers a crowd of tourists.

The Trooping of the Colour is a big parade with brass bands and hundreds of soldiers at Horse Guard's Parade, held to celebrate the Queens official birthday in June. Soldiers march in front of the Queen with their flags (or colours).

The official opening of Parliament usually takes place at the end of October or beginning of November. The Queen travels from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament in a gold carriage - the Irish State Coach. At the houses of Parliament the Queen sits on the throne in the House of Lords. Then she reads the "Queen's Speech". At the State Opening of Parliament the Queen wears a crown and other jewels from the Crown Jewels.

As for holidays, there are only six public holidays a year in Great Britain. They are: Christmas Day, Good Friday, Ester Monday, Spring Bank Holiday and late summer Bank Holiday, Boxing Day. The type of celebration of these public holidays varies very much according to the local custom, family tradition and personal taste.

We in Belarus also celebrate Easter and Christmas, but as our country is inhabited by people belonging to different religions, the government recognizes both Orthodox and Catholic Christmas and Easter as red-letter days. This fact proves Belarusian people are tolerant to all religions.

Boxing Day is a traditional British holiday, which is not celebrated in our country. It is the day following Christmas day (26 December). It was formerly the custom to give "Christmas boxes" of gifts of money to servants and tradesman. Nowadays people just give presents to each other, but on annual Christmas gift are still given to dustmen or paperboys

There are also some festivals in Britain, which celebrate some historical or mythical events.

For example, the Welsh Eisteddfod Festival is a sort of Druid festival, as well as a famous festival of music and poetry. Here people dressed in traditional Welsh costumes name the bard of the year. Halloween has its roots in the pagan Celtic festival of Samhain. It was the day when the spirits of their dead were believed to revisit their homes. So people dress in costumes and lit the candles in pumpkins with cut-out grim faces to scare the evil off their homes.

Due to its geographical position, Belarus has always been a place of interaction of different nations and of their cultures, a kind of crossroads where the Catholic West met the Orthodox East. The international contrast over the centuries is made Belarusian people tolerant and hospitable. However, this tolerance to other customs and tradition has become the danger to the sense of our national identity. Many ethnic Belarusian assimilated into other cultures and did not care about the Belarusian culture and language. But since Belarus became independent there has been a revival of interest in Belarusian culture. For example, the Festivals and Tournaments of Knights are held to represent the medieval culture. Besides, the museums of folk lifestyle (as "Dudutki" and "Aziartso") are becoming very popular. They are ready to present the old ceremonies of matchmaking, wedding and seeing off winter, which are very colorful and unforgettable. Some of these ceremonies are quite ancient, as the roots of Belarusian culture come from pagan times. The most famous folk festivals are Maslenitsa, Spring Calling, Kupalle, Dazhynki and Kaliady.

Maslenitsa is an old Slavic holiday, when people celebrate the end of winter. They eat pancakes, which are the symbols of the sun and burn the dummy of Marena, made of straw, which is the symbol of winter.

Kupalle is the most mysterious of all Belarusian festivals. It symbolizes the struggle between good and evil. So, people gather around big bonfires, dance, sing songs and jump over the fire to purify themselves by it. In the evening, young people look for the magic fern flower, which is said to bring luck.

Dazhynki celebrates the end of harvest, when the last sheaf of grain, decorated with flowers and ribbons is brought from the field with singing and dancing.

There are also some stereotypes, connected with the private life of British and Belarusian people. For example the proverb "The Englishman's home is his castle" implies that the British are the nation of stay-at-homes. And Belarusians are said to be fond of proverbs, riddles, tales, prediction and herbal medicine.

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