There are many customs and traditions in England. And I would

like to tell you some of them. First tradition is called "Wrong

side of the 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 belive that the way they rose in

the morning affected their behaivor throughout the day. The wrong

side of the bed was the left side. The left always having been

linked with evil. Second custom is called "Blowing out the

candles" The custom of having candles on birthday cakes goes back

to the ancient Greeks. Worshippers of Artemis, godess 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 endoued with mystical significance and it was belived

that when blown out they had the power to grant a secret wish and

ensure a happy year ahead. And the last tradition I would like to

tell you is called "The 5th of November" On the 5th of November

in almost every otwn and village in England you will see fire

burning, fireworks, cracking and lighting up the sky. You will

see too small groups of children pulling round in a home made

cart, a figure that looks something like a man but consists of an

old suit of clothes, stuffed with straw. The children will sing:"

Remember, remember the 5th of November; Gun powder, treason and

plot". And they will ask passers-by for "a penny for the Guy" But

the children with "the Guy" are not likely to know who or what

day they are celebrating. They have done this more or less every

5th of November since 1605. At that time James the First was on

the throne. He was hated with many people especialy the Roman

catholics against whom many sever laws had been passed. A number

of catholics chief of whom was Robert Catesby determined to kill

the King and his ministers by blowing up the house of Parliament

with gunpowder. To help them in this they got Guy Fawker, a

soldier of fortune, who would do the actual work. The day fixed

for attempt was the 5th of November, the day on which the

Parliament was to open. But one of the consperators had several

friends in the parliament and he didn't want them to die. So he

wrote a letter to Lord Monteagle begging him to make some excuse

to be absent from parliament if he valued his life. Lord

Monteagle took the letter hurrily to the King. Guards were sent

at once to examine the cellars of the house of Parliament. And

there they found Guy Fawker about to fire a trail of gunpowder.

He was tortured and hanged, Catesby was killed, resisting arrest

in his own house. In memory of that day bonfires are still

lighted, fireworks shoot across the November sky and figures of

Guy Fawker are burnt in the streets.

Customs and traditions of english speaking countries.

Every country and every nation has it's own traditions and customs.It's very important to know traditions and customs of different people. It will help you to know more about the history and life of different nations and countries.One cannot speak about England without speaking about it's traditions and customs .They are very important in the life of English people.Englishman are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. There are six public holidays a year in G.B Cristmas day is one of their favorite holidays.It's celebrated on the 25-th of december. There are some traditions connected with it.One of them is to give presents to each other.It is not only children and members of family.It's a tradition to give cristmas presents to the people you work with.Another tradition is to send cristmas cards.All these cards are brightly and coloured.Most of big cities of G.B.,especially London, are decorated with coloured lights and cristmas trees. On Trafalgar Square, in the center of London stands a big cristmas tree.It is a gift from the people of Oslo.It is over 50 feet high. Many families celebrate cristmas day in the open air near the cristmas tree in order to catch the spirit of cristmas.Children find cristmas presents in their stockings.The traditional english dinner on cristmas is turkey and pudding.Other great holidays are:FatherТs day,MotherТs day,Helloween and other.