The national character of the English has been very differently described, but most commentators agree over one quality, which they describe as a sense of superiority. The English are a well-disciplined people andit is probably no exaggeration to say that they have the best manners in the world.
They are all polite; they all know how to hold their knife and folk and how to behave in society. This is not to say that they are never rude. The visual coldness of Englishmen has been almost noted by the foreigners. But they also confess that once one gets to know Englishmen better, he turns out to be a very companionable fellow.
The characteristic feature of the English is their love of games. They like playing all of them. They play football and cricket; games are nowhere so popular as in England. However they are childish at their games they are very serious in business. The British have long been famous as a nation of animal-lovers. Nearly every family has a pet which is paid much attention to.
The English are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them up. The English are stay-at-home people. “There is no place like home” they say. When they don’t work, they like to spend their time at home with their families. They like to live in small houses with a small garden behind them. Traditional English house has a fire-place in a living-room. It makes atmosphere comfortable and lovely. People all over the world know the saying “The Englishman’s home is his castle”.
The English are tea-drinkers. They have it many times a day. Some Englishmen have tea for breakfast, tea in lunch time, tea after dinner, tea at tea time and tea with supper. Some English families have “high tea” or big tea and no supper. Also English people like porridge. Some of them eat porridge with milk and sugar.
What about holidays? In England people celebrate a lot of holidays. Some of them are^ Christmas, the New Year, the 14-th of February, Easter, Halloween and others. Christmas is the Britain’s most popular holiday. The first-ever Christmas card was posted in England in the 1840s. The Christmas tree was introduced into the royal household by Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III. Buying presents, cooking turkey and decorating Christmas tree are done by people on the Christmas Eve. Carols are often sung on Christmas Eve by groups of singers to their neighbors, and children hang a stocking on the fireplace or at the foot of their bed for Father Christmas to fill. Christmas dinner consists of a roast turkey, goose or chicken with roast potatoes. This is followed by mince pies and Christmas pudding flaming with brandy. The New Year is not as widely celebrated as Christmas. The most common of celebration is a New Year party.
British weather is very changeable. It can be rainy, sunny, cloudy, snowy, windy, warm, foggy at any time of the year. If it’s raining when you get up in the morning, it can be hot and dry by the afternoon. That’s why the weather is the main point of discussion for the British. People enjoy discussing snow, complaining about the cold and comparing the weather conditions with previous winter.
