Every nation has its own customs and traditions. In Britain, traditions are very important in people’s life.
English people are proud of their traditions and carefully keep them. For about three hundred years, it has been the law that all theaters are closed on Sundays. No letters are delivered, and only a few Sunday newspapers are published.
Even today, an English family prefers a house with a garden to a flat in a modern building. English people like gardens. Sometimes the garden in front of the house is a small square covered with green cement to look like grass, with a box of flowers.
Holidays have many old traditions. They are different in Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England. Christmas is a great holiday in England. In Scotland, it is not celebrated much, except by clerks in banks; all shops, mills, and factories are open. But six days later, on New Year’s Eve, people in Scotland celebrate. All shops, mills, and factories are closed on New Year’s Day.
People invite friends to their houses and “sit the Old Year out and the New Year in.” When the clock begins to strike twelve, the head of the family opens the front door wide and holds it until the last stroke. Then he closes the door. He has let the Old Year out and the New Year in. Then greetings and small presents are given.
A new national tradition in Britain is the London to Brighton run. Every year, many old motor-cars and motorcycles, sometimes called Old Crocks, drive from London to Brighton. “Crocks” means something broken or in bad condition. Veteran cars were made before 1904. Some cars look very funny; some are steered with a bar like a boat, and some are driven by steam engines. People dress in old-fashioned clothes. The cars start from Hyde Park early in the morning. The oldest cars go first. It is not a race. Most cars arrive in Brighton in the evening. This tradition began after the law in 1896, which said a man with a red flag must walk in front of every motor-car. People were afraid of cars in those days.
