A third tradition is about whistling. You must never whistle in a theatre dressing room. Someone who whistles must go out of the room and turn around three times. Only affer that, can they knock on the door and come in again.
THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL
Every August, Edinburgh in Scotland has the biggest art festival in Europe. There are plays, concerts and exhibitions from countries all over the world. That's the "official" festival. But there's an "unofficial" festival, too. This is called the Edinburgh "Fringe". At the Fringe, visitors can see cheaper concerts and plays by students.
PANTOMIME
Pantomimes are traditional British plays. They are for children, and you them at Christmas. Some famous pantomimes are: Cinderella, Aladdin, Peter Panand Babes in the Wood. A lot of these stories are very old. In pantomime there's always a young hero. He's the Principal Boy, but the actor is usually a woman. Also, there's always a funny, old woman. She's the Pantomime.
EISTEDDFODS
An Eisteddfod is an arts festival in Wales. People sing and read their poetry in the Welsh language. The Welsh name for there poets is "bards". People also play music. The harp is very popular in Wales. You can always hear harp music at an Eisteddfod. But Eisteddfods aren't lust festivals. They're also competitions to find the best singers, musicians and poets in Wales.
London
Britain's capital city is full of traditions and customs. Here's aguide to just a few of them.
THE LORD MAYOR'S SHOW
Every year there's a new Lord Mayor of London. The Mayor is the city's traditional leader. And the second Saturday in November is always the day for the Lord Mayor's Show. This cercnionv is over six hundred years old. It's also London's biggest parade.
The Lord Mayor drives to the Royal Courts of Justice(near Fleet Street) in a coach. The coach is two hundred years old. It's red and gold and it has six horses. You can see it in the picture above.
There's also a big parade. People make special costumes and act stories from London's history.
THE NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL
This is Europe's biggest street carnival. A lot of people in the Notting Hill area of London come from the West Indies - a group of islands in the Caribbean. And for two days in August, Notting Hill is the West Indies. There's West Indian food and music in the streets. There's also a big parade and people dance day and night.
PEARLY KINGS AND QUEENS
Londoners from the east of the citv are "Cockneys". There are a lot of traditional Cockney expressions. For example, Cockneys don't say "stairs' - they say "apples and pears". And they don't sav "face" - they say "boat race". This is Cockney rhyming slang.
The Cocknevs have kings and queens,too - the 'pearly' kings and queens. They wear speLial costumes on important days. Each costume has thousands of pearl buttons.
THE TOWER OF LONDON
William the Conqueror and his army landed in England from France in the year 1066. In 1078 he started to build theTower of London. Now, nine hundred years later, this famous castle is full of history and tradition.
The guards at the Tower are called Beefeaters. Uheir name comes from a French word - boufitiers. Boufitiers were guards in the palaces of French kings. They proiceted the king's food.
You will see some large, black birds at the Tower of London. Fliese are the ravens at the Tower. Ravens have lived al the Tower of London for hundreds of vears.
People go to see the Beefeaters and the ravens, but that's notall. Visitors to the Tower go to see the Crown Jewel, too.There are eight crowns. There are also a lot of other verv famous jewels in the jewel room. In fact the Crown Jewels arc the biggest tourist attraction in London.
In the evening there is another old custom at the l~ower of London - the Ceremony of the Keys. At 9.53 exactly, the Beefeaters close the Tower. Then at 10.00 they give the keys to the Governor of the Tower. That's because a long time ago the Tower of London was a prison for important prisoners:
Anne Boleyn (Henry VIII's second wife), Sir Walter Raleigh, Guy Fawkes, and many others.
TALKING ABOUT THE WEATHER
The British talk about the weather a lot. For example, ''Isn't it a beautiful morning?" or, '’Very cold today, isn't it?" They talk about the weather because it changes so often. Wind, rain, sun cloud, snow -- they can all happen in a British winter -- or a British summer.
QUEUEING
At British banks, shops, cinemas, theatres or bus stops you can always see people in queues. They stand in a line and wait quietly, often for a long time. Each new person stands at the end of the queue - sometimes in rain, wind or snow.
SHAKING HANDS
Hundreds of years ago, soldiers began this custom. They shook hands to show that they didn't have a sword. Now, shaking hands is a custom in most countries. In Britain you don't shake hands with your friends and familv. But you do shake hands when you meet a person for the first time. You also sav "How do you do?" This is not reallv a question, it's a tradition. The correct answer is exactlv the same, "How do you do?"
CARDS
The British sen'd birthday cards and often give birthday presents. There are cards for other days, too:
Christmas cards, Valentine's Dav cards, Mother's Day cards, Father's Day cards, Easter cards, Wedding Anniversary cards, Good Luck cards, "Congratulations On Your New Baby" cards, and "Get Well Soon" cards.
PARTIES
It's the custom to have a party to celebrate:
A person's birthday
A new house
Christmas (at home, and often in offices, too)
An engagement (a promise to marry)
A wedding (marriage)
New Year's Eve
WRONGSIDEOFTHE BED
When people are bad tempered we say that they must have got out of bed on the wrong side. Originally, it was meant quiet literally. People believe that the way they rose inthe morning affected their behavior throughout the day. The wrong side of the bed was the left side. The left always having beenlinked with evil.
BLOWINGOUTTHE CAND CANDLES
The custom of having candles on birthday cakes goes backto the ancient Greeks. Worshippers of Artemis, goddess of the moon and hunting, used to place honey cakes on the altars of her temples on her birthday. The cakes were round like the full moon and lit with tapers. This custom was next recorded in the middle ages when German peasants lit tapers on birthday cakes, the number lit indicating the person's age, plus an extra one to represent the light of life. From earliest days burning tapers had been endued with mystical significance and it was believedthat when blown out they had the power to grant a secret wish and ensure a happy year ahead.