The rich and varied culture of Great Britain has played a large role in the culture of other countries, especially influencing its former colonies, such as Australia and Canada. It is very multifaceted due to the merger of 4 separate states that have retained their ancient traditions.
You can talk about the cultural heritage of this country for a very long time. affects every aspect of the development of world culture, whether it be science, literature, music or literature. Great Britain has always been famous for talented creative people who have won worldwide fame.
Religion UK
Main UK religion, which is preached by more than 70% of the population, is Christianity, which in turn is divided into such religious communities as Anglican, Catholic and Presbyterian. Next in popularity are Islam, Hinduism and Judaism.
UK economy
Developed in many areas UK economy occupies the 6th place in the world in terms of size and the second in Europe, second only to Germany. Despite the fact that the UK is part of the European Union, it has retained its historical currency - pounds sterling, equal to 100 pence.
Science UK
From the 17th century to the present day, UK science firmly occupies a leading position in development. This country gave the world such outstanding scientists as physicist Isaac Newton, naturalist Charles Darwin, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. Now the UK is actively developing the aviation industry and the pharmaceutical industry.
UK Art
All forms of art are widely developed in Great Britain, as is culture. Different styles of music are popular here and many folk motifs have been preserved. The most popular group is, of course, The Beatles. Fine UK art actively developed over several centuries thanks to the Royal Academy of Arts.
British cuisine
As you know, the British are pedants. British cuisine did not bypass this peculiarity of mentality. Each region of this country is famous for its traditional recipes: England for steaks and tea with milk, Ireland for trout, Wales for lamb with mint sauce, and Scotland for oatmeal with meat and spices.
British customs and traditions
All British customs and traditions are carefully preserved by the local population, practically do not change and are passed down from generation to generation. Everyone knows how the British are reverent about their time. Eating takes place strictly according to the schedule. A feature of the mentality is restraint.
Sports UK
Many sports were born and developed in the UK, the most popular of which are football, badminton, tennis and golf. Sports UK developed at the highest level. Most often, teams play for their kingdom. But at major international competitions, they all rally into a single team. London has already hosted the Olympics three times in the history of the Olympic Games. And this is not an unimportant aspect, causing
It is no secret that every nation has its own traditions and customs. There are no two identical cultures in the world. In addition to real facts, there are also erroneous stereotypes about a particular country, which are sometimes quite funny or even absurd. Since English is our everything, let's learn more about the culture, traditions and myths of England.
The English are a unique people, with a historically developed character. English traditions and customs are known all over the world. The British do not expose their emotions to the first comer. They can give the impression of a reserved and even slightly repulsive person. However, this is just a wrapper. The British are very polite, which is why they are in no hurry to express their emotions right away.
Often, even if they disagree with you, they will politely say "Oh, I"m afraid it"s impossible". An Englishman will never say a sharp "No, you" re wrong ". In any case, they try to observe courtesy and common sense. You must always think logically if you are dealing with a person from this country. For example, if he knows that you are not be 100% honest with him in business, he will not immediately throw out negative things at you.In this case, the Englishman with a polite smile can break off partnership with you.The British always keep themselves in hand and behave with dignity.English traditions are an ideal upbringing and manners.
The English are very disciplined and always follow the accepted rules. They are very positive people. Family is a cultural value in the UK, they love to spend time at home with their family. An evening with the family is the best entertainment for an Englishman. There are always plenty of family photos in a traditional English home.
Gardening in British culture
This is an integral part of the life of a true Briton. They put a lot of soul and energy into their favorite hobby, which is why the territories near their houses are always well-groomed and pleasing to the eye. The British give special care not only to the garden, but also to pets. The British are proud of how they take care of our smaller brothers and do not hesitate to pamper them with fashionable clothes or a haircut.
English country house
The British are especially fond of weekends, which they prefer to spend in a cozy country house by the fireplace. UK traditions for the weekend - fresh air, barbecue, what else do you need for happiness? A picnic is what we traditionally associate with the British. They prepare for a picnic with trepidation, packing everything in a practical and beautiful way. Picnics are most often arranged simply in city parks, not far from home. Students from the renowned universities of Cambridge and Oxford also enjoy having a picnic during breaks between classes.
Saturday English
This day of the Englishman looks the same as the Saturday of the average representative of any country. Household chores, a gym, a meeting with your family are must-haves for the British. However, the British are not as boring as they might seem at first glance. In the evenings they are avid party-goers. Parties, dancing, theater and cinema are the favorite pastimes of young people in England.
Food Traditions in England
As for food, the traditions of England, like representatives of any other countries, have their own habits, signature dishes and features. The main meal of the English is breakfast. Often, this is bacon, scrambled eggs, toast and a cup of tea or coffee. The British are not fans of variety in food, so they can easily eat the same thing for breakfast every day. Tea is something that really stands out in the British food culture. English traditions involve a lot of tea. By the way, it is believed that the British invented tea with milk to change the taste characteristics of tea. In part, this is true, but mainly milk was added to tea so that the drink cooled and the porcelain did not crack. 5 o "clock tea is a world-famous expression that came to us from England. Usually, they drink it between 16:00 and 18:00 with small sandwiches with a bite. Tea for a Briton is not just a drink, it's a whole ritual. The culture of England is not imagined without tea.Perhaps, in terms of tea drinking, the British even had to compete with the Chinese.
Lunch is a daily meal. Most often, vegetables and something meat or fish are served for lunch. A traditional British dessert that is recognized by the British culture is apple pie or milk pudding, which is served hot. When the family gathers at the Sunday table, signature dishes are used: lamb tenderloin, vegetables, pudding.
Dinner is called "supper". In terms of its components, it is very similar to lunch. Light snacks, nothing too heavy or harmful. "Fish and chips" is a traditional delicacy that can often be bought during football matches.
There are many false and true stereotypes about the British.
True stereotypes about the British
- Unbridled love for tea.
- They like to talk about the weather, they are ready to fill any awkward pause in the dialogue with a conversation about the weather..
- The British have pale skin. This is also justified by the climatic conditions of the country.
- Politeness for an Englishman — first of all.
- The British are not fans of culinary delicacies, they prefer simple food.
False stereotypes about the British
- Every Englishman has a cozy house for the whole family. This is a myth, because many of them rent apartments, share them with neighbors, move from place to place.
- In the UK, red telephone boxes are everywhere and men in bowlers walk the streets. This is also a myth. Of course, these are symbols of Great Britain, but there are not so many booths, and men in bowlers most often go out into the streets on holidays.
- All the British are very smart, because they have Cambridge and Oxford. No no and one more time no. Unfortunately, not all English people devote themselves to science, and not all of them study at Cambridge or Oxford.
Conclusion
After reviewing all the stereotypes, the good phrase “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover” comes to mind. No need to judge people by the cover, all nations are unique, and all people are unique. The culture of the British is also significantly different from other countries. The customs and traditions of the English are unique and inimitable. There are always exceptions to the rules, stereotypes.
Learn more about the culture of other countries, adopt their interesting traditions and develop, we hope the traditional customs of Great Britain will inspire you to conquer new heights. Have a great day!
Big and friendly family EnglishDom
Residents of Great Britain are guided by England in almost everything, but they cannot do without the culture of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, as well as the former colonial countries. The culture of Great Britain has changed tremendously after 1945, Liverpool has generally changed to the impossible, after which the capital is London. The most popular British group was the Beatles, who achieved their maximum success already in the 1960s. Fashion immediately became a popular attribute of British culture. Fashion designers were famous for their taste, which became popular throughout Europe. The shops of Carnaby Street and Kings Road were on everyone's lips.
But in the post-war years, not only countries changed rapidly, the mentality of society also changed. The standard of living and education began to rise and students in higher educational institutions increased significantly. With the growing need for education, various types of educational institutions began to be built: colleges and universities.
The government program was also aimed at restoring the craving for art. Therefore, in 1946, a Special Council was formed on this issue. A cultural and commercial market developed as well, a clash of interests was inevitable, but this was the case in all countries that experienced rapid post-war development. Therefore, the situation in the country until the 70s was tough.
There was also a trend with refugees who brought their culture and religion with them.
The British have always been wary of foreigners, especially their culture and social aspects. Although the emigrants still somewhat influenced the UK, other cultures populated the cities. Differences between the national characteristics of the English, Welsh, Scots and Irish are an invariable attribute of Great Britain. And the diversity of cultures in total with the indigenous population spoils the expression "traditionally British" a little. The British Isles have been following the same mentality and behavior since 1070, the day it was formed.
Until the beginning of the 18th century, the history of the state was rich, peoples constantly opposed each other, proved their rights and imposed their superiority. However, now every nation has retained its original traditions, so "British" sounds formal. When foreigners most often mention the British, they mean the British and this somewhat offends other peoples of Great Britain.
For example, the Scots, Welsh and Irish are descendants of the Celts, but the British originally belonged to the Anglo-Saxons. The first three often do not consider themselves British, rather, on the contrary, they try to isolate themselves and be independent.
Over a long period of time, the nations so mixed up that a single state system, policy and other systems of government were introduced. Although the British are confused with the British for a reason, the unification of other peoples took place under the British crown. The Welsh try to distinguish themselves as a separate people, even a nation that has nothing to do with the British. Welsh is spoken by 26% of the population, while they have their own history, literature, hold national festivals and sports.
Great Britain's contribution to the treasury of world culture, and first of all, to the development of natural and technical sciences, especially physics, chemistry, and biology, is widely known. Important discoveries belong to British scientists, many laws and theories are named after them; among them I. Newton, R. Boyle, J. Joule, M. Faraday, J. Maxwell, C. Darwin, E. Rutherford and many others. British travelers and scientists played an important role in the development of the Earth sciences (Ch. Lanel, J. Cabot, W. Parry, J. Ross, etc.). The first machines in the world were invented in the country: in 1733 - a spinning machine, in 1785 - a loom, in 1784 - a steam engine, in 1802 - a steamer with a stern propeller, in 1803 - a steam locomotive, in 1825 - the first railway with steam traction. Many inventions were made in the 20th century: in the 20-30s, J. Burt and R. Watson-Watt approached the creation of television and radar, etc. The first machines with which the industrial revolution was accomplished are now kept in museums in Great Britain.
British writers, poets, musicians and artists left a considerable legacy, many of them influenced the development of world literature and art. The largest monument of oral folk art that has come down to us - the famous "Poem of Beowulf" - was created at the end of the 7th century. This poem tells about the mighty and just Beowulf, who, after many deeds, dies saving his country from a terrible dragon. In the creation of British literature, a special place belongs to the great English writer Geoffrey Chaucer, who lived in the XIV century. A highly educated man who spoke Latin, French and Italian, he, however, rejected the opportunity to write in Latin, as his educated contemporaries did. Chaucer became the English national writer, the creator (based on the London dialect) of the English literary language. His famous "Canterbury Tales" is a magnificent gallery of images of people of all classes, estates, ages, and, although Chaucer often borrowed stories from Boccaccio and other writers, his images are purely English.
The great playwright of world significance is W. Shakespeare. In his work, the culture of the English Renaissance reached its peak. His images are grandiose, like the era itself that gave birth to them. Othello and Lear, Hamlet and Macbeth - in whatever country, environment, era these people live, they are full of those passions and thoughts that disturbed Shakespeare himself and his contemporaries. In the 17th and first half of the 18th centuries lived and worked a brilliant satirist, the author of the famous "Gulliver's Travels" Jonathan Swift and a number of other satirists. Daniel Defoe (1661 - 1731), Samuel Richardson (1689 - 1761), Henry Fielding and others became the masters of the realistic moralistic novel. The greatest poet of the 18th century was Robert Burns. The son of a poor Scottish farmer, Burns sang in his poems the folk ideal of freedom, personal dignity, justice, honor, camaraderie, bright earthly love. In the 18th century there were many writers - sentimentalists, among them the largest Oliver Goldsmith (1728 - 1774) and Lawrence Sterne (1713 - 1768), whose novel "Sentimental Journey" introduced the word "sentimental" into wide use.
The first quarter of the 19th century is marked by the activity of the great revolutionary and romantic poet George Gordon Byron (1788 - 1824). The romantic hero of Byron's poems has an unbending will, powerful passions, the ability to act, the whole meaning of his life is in the struggle, although he is doomed to defeat, because he is alone. Next to the name of Byron is the name of another brilliant poet and thinker, Percy Beesey Shelley (1792 - 1822), who went down in the history of English and world culture as a fiery singer of freedom, who dreamed of overcoming social inequality.
In general, British literature of the 19th century is characterized by the flourishing of democratic literature, which criticizes capitalist reality. In the middle of the 19th century, in connection with the development of the Chartist movement, the great Chartist poets Ernst Jones (1819 - 1869) and William Linton (1812 - 1897) appeared. The main artistic discovery of Chartist literature was its creation of the image of a struggling, and not just suffering, working class. The major authors of the social novel were Elizabeth Baskell (1810 - 1865), Charlotte Brontë (1816 - 1855), William Thackeray (1811 - 1863), Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870).
Ruthlessly exposing the acquisitiveness and cruelty of the bourgeois, the social novel judged modern society from the standpoint of popular ideals of justice, equality, and goodness.
In the 20th century, John Galsworthy continued the tradition of the realistic novel (1867 - 1933). Belonging to the top of the bourgeois intelligentsia, he devoted all his outstanding talent to exposing the tops of society, which he knew very well. Hypocrisy in politics, religion, morality, science, spiritual poverty, the cult of mediocrity and disgusting complacency - such are the plans of the masters of England in the image of Galsworthy. An outstanding representative of British critical realism and B. Shaw (1856 - 1950); his dramaturgy won not only the English stage, but also the stages of many countries of the world. The science fiction trend in literature was created by Herbert Wells (1866 - 1946). A major master of the detective genre, Arthur Conan Doyle, and later Agatha Christie, gained great popularity.
Theater. Theater in the UK has had a difficult history. It reached its heyday in the Renaissance, when secular trends appeared in culture. For centuries, the church has tried to use the people's thirst for spectacle to increase its influence on the masses. The clergy dramatized the church service - the liturgy, which led to the emergence of a liturgical drama, the clergy moved it from the church to the porch, where thousands of people could watch it. Gradually, the liturgical drama began to break away from the religious foundation. The plots of the drama began to be borrowed no longer from the Bible, but from the "lives of the saints", i.e. biographies of quite real people who performed "miracles" in an everyday environment. These miracle plays were called miraclums.
Finally, in the XIV and especially in the XV centuries. the main type of theatrical spectacle is mysteries - grandiose performances in the city and fairgrounds. Although the plots of the mysteries were still borrowed from the Bible, the secular, everyday element became predominant in them. The actors were given the opportunity to change the text with their inserts, which were always modern in nature and even more “grounded” the sacred episodes. The Bethlehem shepherds resembled ordinary English shepherds, with their speech, habits, appearance. In another popular dramatic genre of that time, morality, the actors were abstract concepts or character traits embodied in stage images: Mercy, Cruelty, Greed, Friendship, Strength, Death, Beauty, etc. These images acquired quite real everyday characteristics, and in their clashes the philosophical and moral and ethical problems of that era were solved. In the peasant sphere, spring festivities in honor of the popular folk hero Robin Hood were very popular: dressed in green clothes, decorated with flowers and green branches, hundreds of peasants with songs and dances followed the one who had the honor of playing Robin Hood. Scenes from his life were played out in the forest glades. Already in the first half of the XVI century. political struggle broke into mystery and morality. Conditional images of morality were no longer carriers of abstract concepts or human qualities, but of real opposing forces. Such was the one stream that subsequently flowed into the stormy sea of the magnificent theater of the end of the century. The second stream arose in connection with the development of humanism and initially stood apart from the folk tradition. In schools, humanist teachers staged plays by ancient authors with the help of their students. University students staged mainly ancient tragedies. Then English comedies arose in imitation of Plautus and Horace. Motifs borrowed from morality soon appeared in these imitations, and along with real characters, very conditional heroes such as Vice or Cunning appear. Thus began the fusion of ancient and folk traditions, enriching both.
The first permanent acting troupes, mainly from artisans, arose at the courts of kings and major lords. Soon there were also special theatrical premises on the outskirts of London. The first theater was built by the actors themselves in 1576, and by the beginning of the 17th century. There were already 20 theaters in London. 200 - thousandth population of London, many merchants, sailors, officials who arrived in the capital provided a permanent audience.
The mass, so-called public theaters, which the actors kept on shares, were of the greatest importance. A simple platform not separated from the audience by a curtain, a huge stalls (for more than 1000 seats) without seats and without a roof, covered boxes with more expensive seats on the sides - this is what these structures looked like. But it was here that the magnificent creations of English dramaturgy were created. It was on the stage of these theaters that the great tragedies of Shakespeare and his contemporaries were played out.
In the 17th century during the years of the revolution, public theaters were destroyed, the actors were dispersed, the democratic traditions of the folk theater were crossed out. Tiered theaters close to the modern type were built. Technical innovations and decorations were borrowed from Italy and France. For the first time, women appeared on the English stage, earlier female roles were performed by men. However, the attempt to bring from France not only technology, but also the style of classicism that dominated there was less successful. The theatrical audience of the Restoration period wanted to see a cheerful and certainly obscene comedy in the theater. After many years of wandering around foreign courts, the returning nobility craved pleasure, luxury, brilliance, and the king himself set an example in defiant "freedom of morals." The dissolute court saw its exact reflection in the theater and was not offended, because immorality was considered good form. It is not surprising that the theater of that time could not create major artistic values.
In the XVIII century. enlightenment and realism penetrated into all spheres of art. The great actor and stage reformer David Garrick played a major role in the development of the theater during this period. Contemporary English theater could not offer Garrick roles worthy of his genius. He turns to Shakespeare and rediscovers his images. As director of London's largest theater, Garrick introduced a series of innovations. He expelled the aristocratic spectator from the stage, and Macbeth no longer had to pronounce his monologue, standing a stone's throw from the secular dandy. On his initiative, lamp lighting was introduced, the stage was expanded, scenery and costumes began to be made with genuine artistic taste and historical authenticity. All these transformations, and most importantly - the realistic acting skills of Garrick brought him worldwide fame. He is considered the founder of stage realism on an English and European scale.
From the end of the XVIII century. in connection with social changes and the rise of the democratic movement, theatrical audience began to change. Again, as it happened at the end of the 16th century, masses of the urban population poured into the theater. The number of theaters grew, but the right to stage classical or modern plays was granted to only two in London - Drury Lane and Covent Garden. In other theaters in London and the provinces, only entertaining performances of farces, pantomime, and musical comedies were staged. The entire 19th century was marked by the activities of outstanding actors.
At the turn of the two theatrical eras, the great actors Sarah Siddons (1755 - 1831), her brother John Kemble (1757 - 1833) and Edmund Kean (1789 - 1833) occupied the leading place in the English theater. In the second half of this century, famous actors were Henry Irving (1838 - 1905) and Helen Terry. The repertoire of English theaters was dominated by the classics, mainly by W. Shakespeare; the problematic dramaturgy of Ibsen and Shaw was not allowed on the stages of the leading theaters. The Independent Theater played an outstanding role in acquainting the English audience with the best works of modern dramaturgy and in the development of genuine realistic theater. It was founded in 1891 with the support of B. Shaw Jacob Grin. Actors, eager to escape from the routine of the leading theaters, did not demand payment for their work. Grein and his friends laid the foundation for "repertory theatre," that is, a theater with a varied repertoire, as opposed to the already established system, in which one play was performed every evening as long as it brought fees. Repertory theaters arose in Manchester, Liverpool. In 1899 progressive actors and writers founded the Theater Society. It was considered a club, that is, it did not depend on censorship. Ibsen, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Gorky firmly established themselves in his repertoire. The repertory hunger of many decades was finally overcome, and Shaw's brilliant dramaturgy won a calling. In the XX century. his plays were also staged at the Old Vic Theater (since 1818), where the famous actor John Gielgud played. The great actor Laurence Olivier began his work at the Old Vic Theatre. His partner was the talented Vivien Leigh.
During the Second World War, famous actors with troupes traveled to mining villages and industrial cities. In London, the Unity Theater was especially active, staging the works of M. Sholokhov, L. Tolstoy, I. Ehrenburg, K. Simonov.
In the 1950s and 1960s, new theaters with a permanent cast of actors arose, among them the Workmon Theater, and in 1963, the National (i.e. state) theater was finally opened with a permanent troupe headed by Laurence Olivier. At present, few of the theaters in the UK have their own premises and a permanent troupe. More often, the premises are rented for a performance prepared by a certain troupe. Few theaters receive government subsidies, and most rely on private donations and performance fees. Stationary theaters, the Shakespeare Memorial Theater in Stretford-upon-Avon, are available in London: these are the Old Vic, Royal Court Theater, Marylaid Theater, Unity and Workton, although there are about 50 of them in the capital, apart from the very small ones.
Painting. Painting in Great Britain has long occupied a prominent place in marine art. The Middle Ages was characterized by a portrait miniature, which, like the church wall painting of that time, was characterized by a certain incorporeality and conventionality, the absence of features that reveal the image of a particular person. In the portrait miniature of the Renaissance, the artists were already more free in depicting the features of a particular person, in choosing a pose, gestures. True, here, too, a significant place was given to the decorative framing of the portrait, details of the furnishings and toilet, but nevertheless, the individuality, the unique face of the depicted, comes to the fore. This refers to the work of Nicholas Hilliard (1547 - 1619), and his pupil Isaac Oliver (1562 - 1617). In the first half of the XVII century. the famous Flemish painter Anthony Van Dyck worked at the court of Charles I for many years. During this "English" period of his work, Van Dyck created portraits that later had a considerable influence on English portraiture. The gallery of portraits of the king and the nobility created by him perfectly reflects the appearance of the aristocrat of that time. Van Dyck's students R. Walker and Somuel Cooper continued the traditions of British miniature art and created a series of portraits of the leaders of the revolution.
The era of restoration did not bring major successes to English painting, but on the basis of the ideas of the Enlightenment in realistic painting. The founder of the English national art school was William Hogarth - the first student who gained worldwide fame. Ego creativity is deeply national in the sense that it reflects the features of a purely English national character. Scourge of the vices of society, Hogarth turned to purely everyday subjects, drawing material from life itself. His series of paintings - Elections, Career of a Corrupt Woman, Career of a Waste, Fashionable Marriage, etc. - multiplied in the form of engravings and quickly sold out. The most famous painting by the artist is "Girl with shrimps".
W. Hogarth marked the beginning of the flourishing of English painting. With the growth of the industrial bourgeoisie, the circle of customers expanded, who wanted to decorate their homes with paintings, or immortalize themselves with portraits by prominent artists. In 1768 the Royal Academy of Arts in London was established. Its organizer Joshua Reynolds (1723 - 1792) was the most famous contemporary artist. Over two thousand portraits of statesmen, outstanding writers, actors are of great historical value: before us is the whole official England of that time. Reynolds often gave his portraits an allegorical character. So the famous tragic actress Sarah Siddons, he portrayed as the muse of tragedy.
Almost simultaneously, Sarah Siddons was painted by the great artist of that era, Thomas Gainsborough (1727 - 1788). Gainsborough painted many ceremonial "Van Dyck" portraits and, wanting to emphasize continuity, dressed his models in costumes of the 17th century. Gainsborough knew how to introduce even into the traditional formal portrait not only a psychological characteristic, but also to convey the mood of a person. That is why his works retain their purely aesthetic, and not only historical, significance to this day.
Gainsborough's innovation also appeared in his landscapes, which marked the beginning of the English school of landscape painters in the first half of the 19th century. Gainsborough himself was so fond of the landscape of "old England" that he even tried to paint portraits against the background of the landscape, which acquired independent significance from him.
A peculiar cult of the sea, which has always played a significant role in the historical fate of England, acquired at the beginning of the 19th century. new features. The more bourgeois England became, the more prosaic and boring everyday life became, the more attracted the sea and the idea of dangers, exploits, and the struggle with the elements associated with it. The sea occupied a central place in the work of one of the largest English landscape painters, William Turner (1775 - 1851). He was attracted by unusual and fantastic subjects - wild rocks, cliffs, ruins, thunderstorms and, above all, the sea, stormy, gloomy, disturbing, and almost always - in Byron's "struggle with the elements." His famous paintings “Mole at Calais” and “The Last Voyage of the Courageous Ship” (exceeded the Impressionists in their multi-color scale) and other landscapes of Constable John (1776 - 1837), another major English landscape painter, on the contrary, most often - calm, sunny, harmonious pictures of nature. The main content of Constable's innovation was the rejection of the idealization of nature. He painted sketches from nature and Constable's nature is not an idealistic rural landscape, but a living, full-blooded environment surrounding a working person. It is no coincidence that Constable's paintings were not to the taste of the upper classes of society: they considered them crude and primitive. Even in the 1920s, when Constable gained pan-European fame by exhibiting his painting "Hay Cart" at the Paris Salon, in England he was only formally recognized by academic circles. In the 30-40s of the XIX century. genre paintings once again reigned in English painting, which traced their genealogy to Hogan's sharply satirical paintings.
But genre paintings of the XIX century. were of a completely different nature. The creators of genre painting of that time were, figuratively speaking, varnishers of reality - touching family celebrations, street scenes, children's pranks, illustrations for popular novels - all this in the spirit of idealizing reality. Even the most prominent of the artists of this trend, D. Wilkie (1785 - 1841), depicted everyday scenes with humor, by no means trying to arouse reflection in the audience. The work of a group of artists who in 1848 united in the "Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood" had a different character. They proposed to abandon the splendor and conventionality of modern painting and turn to the images of Italian art of the 15th century. Hence the name of their group, emphasizing the return to pre-Raphael art. The leading artists of this trend were Everett Milles and William Holmey Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti.
Artists of the late XIX - early XX century. under the leadership of young artists Walter Sickert (1860 - 1942) and Wilson Steve (1860 - 1942) united in the New English Art Club, which became the main center of English impressionism, although the club also included artists of a purely realistic direction. W. Sickert's painting Boredom, which depicted spouses from a petty-bourgeois environment, immersed in hopeless boredom, was widely known. Augustus John (1878 - 1961) became widely known among the portrait painters of the "Club". One of his most famous works is the portrait of B. Shaw. A special place among artists was occupied by the graphic artist and painter Frank Brangvin (1867 - 1956). It was Brangwyn who discovered industrial England, with huge iron bridges shrouded in the smoke of factories, and gigantic shipyards for fine art.
Music. The musical art of Great Britain is less known. Folk song creativity dates back to the time of the settlement of the country by Celtic tribes. Now in Wales and Scotland, where the descendants of the ancient Celts live, there are still folk singers and songwriters - bards, between whom, according to tradition, annual competitions take place. From the Normans there were ballads, songs of historical and satirical content. Folk songs are accompanied by playing the harp, lute, trumpet, flute and drum. The flowering of folk songs dates back to the 15th century. The place of old ritual songs began to be occupied by carols - songs designed for two, three or more voices. Polyphony as a kind of musical expressiveness arose precisely in English folk music and from there spread to the continent. The polyphony of the English folk song also influenced the outstanding composer of the 15th century. J. Dunstable, creator of polyphonic works. The popularity of musical art in all strata of English society was so great that in the second half of the 15th century. at Cambridge, and then at Oxford, they introduced the degrees of doctor and bachelor of music.
Then, for a long time, music was banned, persecuted in everyday life, expelled from churches. Many magnificent organs in temples were destroyed. The Puritans looked at music as the product of the devil. The revival of musical culture dates back to the 17th century, when the composer Henry Purcell (1659 - 1695) appeared, who wrote both psalms and instrumental music, and, most importantly, created the first English opera, Dido and Aeneas. For a long time after H. Purcell, there was no significant composer in the country. Italian opera companies were usually invited to the salons of the nobility.
There is an opinion that developing capitalism almost killed English music, in any case, both in England and abroad, a legend about the innate unmusical nature of the English people managed to arise. Meanwhile, the people sang old songs, adding new verses to well-known melodies and thereby preserving them, creating new ones. And so, a prominent figure in musical culture, Cecil Sharp, having done a titanic work, collected and published the collection "English Folk Song". It was a struggle for a national democratic musical culture, against salon art and the tastes of an audience brought up exclusively on foreign music. Later, many young musicians were literally fascinated by folk tunes, which they first learned about from the Sharpe collection and began to create works based on folk songs imbued with the spirit of England and the English character. Composers who made a significant contribution to the development of the national school of composition were Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1956), in whose works reworked English and Scottish songs lived, and especially Edward Elgar (1857 - 1934) - the first English composer, whose music was widely included in the world concert repertoire.
In the 19th century many musical societies arose, the history of medieval music was studied, and at the end of the century they were fond of operetta. B. Britten is the greatest composer of the 20th century who has received a national vocation. He treated national music with care, created the first English repertoire opera Peter Grines since Purcell's time, and returned Purcell's opera to the stage. The composer and public figure A. Bush, who wrote the opera Wat Tyler, turned to the operatic genre.
In the 1950s and 1960s, a musical revolution took place in the UK - a massive passion for "new music" - rock and beat beats. In the early 60s, there were already about 300 bits - groups, the most popular of which was the Beatles, which had many followers and admirers all over the world.
Architecture. In the UK, architectural monuments from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages have been preserved. These are very peculiar stone complexes, the purpose of which is a lot of conjecture. There are many ruins of Roman buildings of the 1st - 5th centuries in the country, there are churches of the 7th - 10th centuries. Anglo-Norman temples and feudal castles are much better preserved. In the XI century. began to build Wendsor Castle, build the Tower of London. In the XII century. English Gothic is developing, many majestic temples are being built, symbolizing the power of the church; then 95 cathedrals were built, including in the cities of Durham, Canterbury, Salisbury, York i.e. in many large shopping malls. The construction of Westminster Abbey in London, which lasted quite a long time, dates back to that time.
From the second half of the XIV century. already dominated by the late Gothic style with its characteristic richness of carved details. At the beginning of the XVII century. A. Jones was considered an outstanding architect, who sought to transfer the style of the Italian Renaissance to England, combining it with national traditions. During the Renaissance, many half-timbered buildings were built - this is an interlacing of a wooden frame, between which stone and plaster are laid (doi, where W. Shakespeare was born, in Stratford-on-Avon is a typical half-timbered building).
In the architecture of the Restoration period, the architect K. Wren became famous, striving to build buildings in the spirit of English classicism. He built 52 churches in London, including the famous St. Paul.
In the XVIII century. dominated the classical style. Famous architects of the time, John Wood and his son John Wood Jr., used it to create the balneological resort of Bath, whose ensembles resemble the ancient city. In the second half of the XVIII century. the architects brothers Robert and James Adams continued to work in the same style. They built many city houses and estates. At that time, classicist parks were laid out around the estates; strictly geometric layout, trimmed trees and rows of statues along the alleys. But at the end of the XVIII century. the English type of park with a free layout, closer to nature, began to penetrate into park art.
The wealthy bourgeoisie at the beginning of the 19th century. sought to imitate the nobility, ordered architects to build comfortable mansions in the classical style and even in the spirit of medieval castles.
In the 19th century, which English historians call the "Victorian era", there were two trends in architecture - neo-Gothic and neoclassicism. For example, the building of the Bank of England (1833 by architect D. Seun) and the British Museum (built in 1847 by architect S. Smerki) resembling an ancient temple were built in the classical style with columns. A typical example of Neo-Gothic is the building of the British Parliament, created by the outstanding architect E. Berry (1840 - 1868). In neo-Gothic style during the 19th and early 20th centuries. erected churches in the growing industrial cities. In some cities, there are Georgian neighborhoods, which are characterized by unadorned buildings of red brick color with finely bound white window frames. Such is the whole complex of the Temple - the courtyards of lawyers in London.
In the period after the Second World War, modern architecture of high-rise buildings made of glass and steel, especially typical for offices, began to penetrate into the major cities of Great Britain. But usually such buildings are only interspersed in the general old buildings.
England is a country of contradictions. On the one hand, it is a country with a modern highly developed industry, on the other hand, it is a collection of unique traditions of civilization that has come down to us from time immemorial. Even the territories that make up modern Great Britain (Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland) are very different from each other both in cultural heritage and in the mentality of the people living in them. This article is devoted to the most significant and famous traditions of England.
Great Britain is, on the one hand, the personification of modern civilization, and on the other hand, it has a long history filled with interesting events. Geographically and historically, Great Britain consists of 4 parts: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The largest number of cultural heritage sites is located, of course, in England - in its capital London, which, in addition, is one of the largest centers of the modern world financial system. Scotland is known for its picturesque lakes, mountains and moorlands, as well as for its excellent whiskey. And Wales is famous for its monumental castles that survived more than one siege in the past.
Features of the British as a nation
A conversation about the traditions and customs of England would not be complete without mentioning the peculiarities of the English in it.
Starting a conversation about the inhabitants of England, it is first of all worth mentioning that they extremely polite and constantly strive to say their traditional “Please” and “Thank you”. In addition, the British are very disciplined and usually do not raise their voice when talking on the street. They do not seek to push everyone to take the best seat on the bus or tram. They are quite cold-blooded and usually do not show their emotions in public and do not shake hands when meeting. Although the British are inveterate conservatives, they, nevertheless, in most cases do not lose optimism even in stressful situations.
The English are essentially homebodies. They do not like noisy campaigns in pubs or cafes, they prefer to spend most of their free time in their cozy homes, the heart of which are fireplaces. Despite the widespread introduction of modern heating technologies, fireplaces are still very popular with the British - they are in almost every private house. Above the fireplace, they usually have an upper shelf, on which there are clocks and the most valuable family photographs.
The British also love gardening- every owner of his own house strives to decorate his backyard garden somehow in a unique way (so that it is not like the neighbors). And some grow plants right at home - in special boxes located on the windowsills. Also, the British are very fond of flowers. Naturally, the British also love to talk about gardening.
The theme of animals in England deserves special attention. The fact is that in terms of the number of cats, dogs and parrots per inhabitant, England occupies one of the first places in the world. But besides these "traditional" pets, various exotic reptiles are quite widespread in the homes of the British. Food for all these animals can be bought in specialized stores, of which there are a great many in Britain. Moreover, in addition to food in these stores, you can buy clothes and other "household items" for animals. There are even barber shops and dog gyms. The British are proud that they love animals so much.
On weekends, the British love to go out into nature to take a break from the hustle and bustle of cities. Those who stay at home try to “redo” all those household chores that they did not have time to do during the working week. Also on Saturday evening, the British like to go to the cinema and theater. And Sundays are the best time to invite relatives or friends to visit.
Culinary traditions of England
English cuisine is simple, but at the same time quite nutritious and consists mainly of products that are healthy for the body. The British prefer to have a hearty breakfast - their breakfast usually consists of oatmeal (remember the famous phrase from the Soviet film about Sherlock Holmes - "Oatmeal, sir"), scrambled eggs with bacon, fried fish, toast with jam, tea or coffee. At the same time, the composition of breakfast is the same from day to day.
An English meal during the day is called lunch, the menu of which may include various meat products (meat stew, chop, schnitzel, sausage, etc.), fried fish and vegetables. Potatoes are preferred as a side dish, but rice and pasta are not popular with the British. For dessert, the British like apple pie or some kind of pudding. Sunday lunch occupies a special place in the life of the British - various desserts are served on it, for example, beef or lamb tenderloin and custard pudding.
A special place in the culinary traditions of the British is tea. Apparently, this tradition has taken root since the time when India was a colony of England and a huge amount of tea was brought from it, which the English colonialists got almost for free. In England there is even such a saying that "Seven cups of tea will help you wake up, nine cups will help you fall asleep", which clearly shows how many cups of tea the British like to drink during the day. The traditional time for tea drinking in England is from 4 to 6 pm, which is called "5 o'clock". Tea drinking at 5 pm is a real ritual for the British. At this time, life in England seems to freeze (about the same as a siesta somewhere in Italy).
Dinner is usually similar to lunch. But after dinner (late in the evening) some English people like to drink tea or cocoa before going to bed.
One of the most popular dishes in England is “fish and chips”, which means fish and chips. Football fans especially like to use it right during the match.
New Year traditions in England
Residents of England, after 12 o'clock at night, immediately go to open the back door of the house (which symbolizes the farewell to the old year - so that he leaves through the open door) and the front door of the house - to "let in" the New Year. In general, very diverse.
In Scotland, the New Year is called Hogmany. On New Year's Eve, the Scots roll burning barrels through the streets of cities - in this way they "burn" the old year to make room for the New Year. Also, the Scots are very kind to the 1st guest who entered their house on January 1st. At the same time, there is a tradition that the first such guest should come to the fireplace of the owners of the house and throw coal there. And after that, mutual congratulations on the New Year begin. The Scottish New Year's table necessarily includes a large cake decorated with sweets, almonds and candied fruit.
In Wales, farmers invite all those who helped them with the harvest to the festive New Year's table.
Christmas traditions in England
Also, in some parts of England, an old custom is still alive, according to which a house is decorated for Christmas with eternal greenery - holly, ivy, etc. There is even a legend according to which only on Christmas Day a man can kiss a woman who accidentally stopped under the decoration of these plants .
Of course, traditions do not bypass the Christmas tree either - it is customary to decorate it with sweets and colorful toys, and a silver star or a Christmas fairy is usually placed on top of it.
Musical traditions of England
England is known for its world famous musicians (take the Beatles, for example). Probably, their success would not have been possible if musical traditions were not so strong in England. The musical culture of this country is multifaceted, and this is largely due to the various nations living in the UK. Jazz and original folk music are very popular. The classic Covent Garden is known throughout the world for its musical productions. Also in England, traditionally, an opera festival is held every year, which attracts tourists from all over the world to watch. In addition to the opera, a large number of other various festivals are held in England, at which various types of art are shown: dramatic, choral, theatrical art.
Wedding Traditions in England
The British favorably refer to wedding customs and traditions. However, their wedding customs are similar to ours - bachelorette party, bachelor party, wedding cake, etc.
But from the 16th century until the 19th century, all engagements in England were arranged exclusively by the parents of the children at a time when their children were still small and could not make an informed choice in this direction. However, this custom was typical for many countries of the world in those days. Subsequently, when the children were already growing up, it often turned out that their chosen one, chosen many years ago by their parents, was no longer to their liking. Therefore, there were often cases when couples in love fled somewhere far away from their home and got married already there. Due to the increase in such cases, in 1753 the Ceremony Act was passed, according to which marriage was considered officially registered only in the Anglican Church.
Now, of course, there are no such archaic traditions in England anymore and young couples marry mainly for love. However, the tradition of having a wedding ceremony still remains. After this ceremony, a magnificent wedding dinner is usually arranged - wedding reception. Often the wedding ceremony is rehearsed the day before the wedding, this event is called the wedding rehearsal by the British.
Few people know, but it was England that gave the world the tradition of wearing a white wedding dress. But when remarrying (after a divorce or a widow), a white dress is no longer worn for a wedding in England.
Royal traditions of England
Although the English queen and her relatives do not officially rule the country, they are deeply respected by all the British. Therefore, crowds of people come to all ceremonies associated with the royal court. Of course, the spectacle is very beautiful. is, as it were, the face of England in front of the rest of the world, therefore all royal ceremonies (receptions in the royal garden, official visits, etc.) are held there "on the highest level."
Also, the royal traditions of England include the opening of parliament (usually takes place in October or November) and various awards (up to 20 times a year).
