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Due to United Kingdom large size and interesting history, there are so many interesting facts about United Kingdom.
I have what I believe to be the best online selection of facts and information just for you, from the wierd, the wonderful and the down right strange.
So keep reading and be amazed at what an extraordinary country United Kingdom really is!
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the formal name of the sovereign state governed by Parliament in London. The term "United Kingdom" normally is understood to include Northern Ireland; the term "Great Britain" refers to the island of Britain and its constituent nations of England, Wales, and Scotland but does not include Northern Ireland. Any citizen of Great Britain may be referred to as a Briton.People and religion
The terms 'English' and 'British' do not mean the same thing. 'British' denotes someone who is from England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. 'English' refers to people from England. People from Scotland are 'Scots', from Wales ‘Welsh’ and from Northern Ireland ‘Irish’. Be sure not to call someone Welsh, Scots, or Northern Irish ‘English’.
The United Kingdom is comprised of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It is important not only to be aware of these geographical distinctions, but also the strong sense of identity and nationalism felt by the populations of these four nations.
People and Region
- Ethnic Make-up. white (of which English 83.6%, Scottish 8.6%, Welsh 4.9%, Northern Irish 2.9%) 92.1%, black 2%, Indian 1.8%, Pakistani 1.3%, mixed 1.2%, other 1.6% (2001 census)
- Religions. Christian (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 71.6%, Muslim 2.7%, Hindu 1%, other 1.6%, unspecified or none 23.1% (2001 census)
There are lots of events you can get involved with in the UK, from street parties to traditional festivals!
On ‘bank holidays’, most shops, businesses and institutions are closed. Some of the events below are bank holidays, but not all – and there are different dates in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Please visit the gov.uk website for a list of all bank holidays.
There are many more events across the UK, throughout the year. You can find out more at Visit Britain and Discover Northern Ireland, or browse our Holidays, festivals and events section for even more ideas – and to read about other international students' experiences!
January
1st – New Year’s Day. On New Year’s Eve (31 December), it is traditional to celebrate midnight with your friends or family and to sing ‘Auld lang syne’, a folk song with words by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. The party can last well into New Year’s Day! Many people make ‘New Year’s resolutions’, promising to achieve a goal or break a bad habit in the coming year.
In Scotland, the celebration of the new year is called Hogmanay. There are big parties across the country – expect lots of music, dancing, food and fireworks – but Edinburgh hosts some of the biggest.
25th – Burns’ Night (Scotland). Many Scottish people hold a special supper (dinner) on Burns’ Night, a celebration of Robert Burns, with toasts and readings of his poetry. Men might wear kilts, there may be bagpipe music, and people will almost certainly eat haggis (the traditional Scottish dish of sheeps’ heart, liver and lungs) with neeps (turnips) and tatties (potatoes).
February
14th – Valentine’s Day. Love is in the air! Historically the Feast of St Valentine, nowadays this is a celebration of romance. Many people in the UK go out for dinner with their sweethearts, and give them a Valentine’s card, chocolate or flowers. If you’re single, you might receive an anonymous card from a ‘secret admirer’!
17th – Shrove Tuesday or ‘Pancake Day’. Lent is the traditional Christian period of fasting, which lasts for 40 days. Shrove Tuesday is the day before Lent, when households would traditionally use up their eggs, milk and sugar by making pancakes. Nowadays, even if they are not religious, many people still make and eat pancakes on this day.
Some towns in the UK also hold ‘pancake races’, where contestants toss pancakes in a frying pan while running for the finish line. One of the most famous is in Olney, Buckinghamshire, where it’s believed the first Pancake Day race took place in 1445.
19th – Chinese New Year. Outside Asia, the world’s biggest celebration of Chinese New Year is in London – each year there is a parade through Chinatown in the West End, with free performances of music, dance and acrobatics, a feast of food and fireworks. There are many more events around the UK, so find out what's on in your area – cities including Manchester, Nottingham, Liverpool and Birminghamusually host colourful street parties.
March
1st – St David’s Day (Wales). St David is the patron saint of Wales, and March 1 is a celebration of Welsh culture. People in Wales might wear a daffodil and eat cawl, a soup of seasonal vegetables and lamb or bacon. Events are held across Wales, including a large parade in Cardiff.
6th – Holi Day. The 'festival of colours', the end of the winter season in the Hindu calendar, falls on this day in 2015. In several places in the UK, including London, Manchester, Bristol and Belfast, people celebrate the event by running through the streets and throwing coloured paint all over each other!
15th – Mother’s Day. Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate motherhood, and to thank mothers for everything they do throughout the year. Many people give their mothers a card or gift, treat them to a day out or cook a meal.
17th – St Patrick’s Day (Northern Ireland). The Feast of St Patrick is a national holiday in Ireland, and is now celebrated by Irish communities all around the world. In the UK, there are St Patrick’s Day events in cities including Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester and London, as well as Belfast. Many people go out with friends, wearing green or a shamrock symbol (the lucky clover) and drinking Guinness, the Irish dark beer.
April
1st – April Fools’ Day. For one day of the year, it is acceptable – even encouraged! – to play tricks, pranks and practical jokes. Even newspapers, TV and radio shows often feature fake stories on April 1. It’s customary to reveal the joke by saying ‘April fool!’ (the person who falls for the joke is the ‘fool’), and to stop playing tricks at midday.
3rd–6th – Easter weekend. Easter is a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is always on a Sunday in March or April (called Easter Sunday), and the previous Friday (Good Friday) and following Monday (Easter Monday) are bank holidays. People celebrate Easter in different ways, but many give each other chocolate eggs and eat ‘hot cross buns’ (sweet buns with a cross design), while children decorate eggs or take part in Easter egg hunts.
23rd – St George’s Day (England). The legend is that St George was a Roman soldier who killed a dragon to rescue a princess. He is now the patron saint of England, and this is England’s national day. You might still see St George’s Cross (a red cross on a white background, England’s national flag) or events with morris dancing (an English folk dance), but it is not a bank holiday and most people don’t hold special celebrations.
April 23 is also known as William Shakespeare’s birthday, when events take place to honour the playwright. The best place to experience Shakespeare Day is in his hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, where a week-long festival programme is expected for 2015.
May
1st – Beltane. Beltane (or Beltain) is the Celtic festival of fire, which celebrates fertility and marks the start of summer. With its roots in ancient Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man, modern versions of the event are becoming more popular – some of the largest are in Edinburgh, Thornborough in Yorkshire andButser Ancient Farm in Hampshire, where the traditional 30-foot Wicker Man is burned at sunset.
4th and 25th – Bank holidays. There are two Mondays in May when people have the day off work or school and (if we’re lucky!) spend some time outdoors enjoying the spring sunshine.
June
13th – The Queen’s Official Birthday. Although the Queen’s real birthday is on the 21st of April, it has been a tradition since 1748 to celebrate the king or queen’s birthday in June. A military parade known as Trooping the Colour is held in London, attended by the Royal Family. (Click here to see footage of the procession!)
21st – Father’s Day. Father’s Day is a day to show appreciation to fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers and fathers-in-law. Many people in the UK give their father a card or gift, have a meal together or go out for drinks.
21st – Summer solstice. The ancient monument of Stonehenge in Wiltshire has its true moment in the sun as people celebrate the longest day and shortest night of the year. Stand inside the monument facing northeast, toward a stone outside the circle called the Heel Stone, and you'll see the sun rise like a blazing fire – a sight that brings in pagans and sun-lovers of all beliefs!
July
17th – Eid al-Fitr. Marking the end of the month-long fast of Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr is widely celebrated by Muslim communities in the UK. Each community usually organises its own events, but there are some large celebrations and feasts in city centres, such as in London and Birmingham.
August
1st–8th – Eisteddfod. The National Eisteddfod is Wales’ biggest artistic event and one of Europe's oldest cultural festivals. This is a chance to hear Welsh music and literature, see dance and theatre performances, shop for books and crafts, and much more.
7th–31st – Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The largest arts festival in the world, ‘the Fringe’ features over 40,000 performances and more than 2,500 shows at 250 venues. Any type of performance may participate, across theatre, comedy, music and dance, and many students visit Edinburgh to put on their own shows.
31st – Notting Hill Carnival. Held in west London over a bank holiday weekend, Notting Hill Carnival is Europe’s biggest street festival. Around 1 million people go to see colourful floats and dancers in flamboyant costumes, hear music from salsa to reggae, and taste Caribbean food from street stalls. Bring your party spirit, enough cash and a lot of patience – it can be very crowded.
September
18th–22nd – London Fashion Week. London Fashion Week sets the global fashion agenda, alongside the other big shows in Paris, Milan and New York. These are for industry insiders, but you can get tickets to London Fashion Weekend for a taste of the fashion show experience. There are two each year – the first London Fashion Week is in February, with the Weekend on 26 February–1 March.
October
31st – Halloween. The modern way of celebrating Halloween is based on the Christian feast of All Hallows’ Eve and the Celtic festival of Samhain. Children go trick-or-treating (knocking on neighbours’ doors to ask for sweets) or carve pumpkins, while older students go to parties and Halloween events at pubs, clubs or Students’ Unions. The important thing is to dress up as gruesomely as you dare!
November
All month – Movember. If you’re seeing more moustaches than usual, you’re not imagining it – throughout November, the charity campaign of Movember invites men to grow a moustache and raise awareness of men’s health issues.
5th – Bonfire night. Historically, this marks the anniversary of Guy Fawkes’ plot to blow up the House of Lords and assassinate King James I in 1605 – the failed 'gunpowder plot' is remembered in the children’s rhyme ‘Remember, remember the 5th of November; gunpowder, treason and plot’. Today, it is commemorated with spectacular displays of fireworks.
There will be firework displays in most cities, but one of the best places to be is in the medieval town ofLewes, East Sussex – here, the fireworks are accompanied by colourful parades, music, costumes and the traditional ‘guy’, an effigy made of straw or paper to burn on the bonfire.
11th – Diwali. Diwali (or Deepavali) is the Festival of Lights for Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities. Cities including Leicester (which hosts one of the biggest Diwali celebrations outside India), London andNottingham have extravagant street parties with traditional food, music, crafts and dancing – and of course, displays of lights, lanterns, candles and fireworks.
11th – Remembrance Day. Each year in the UK, November 11 is a memorial day to honour members of the armed forces. The aim is to remember those who lost their lives in battle, so many peace campaigners also support the event. The Royal British Legion charity sells paper poppy flowers to raise funds for veterans and their families (the poppy is a symbol of Remembrance Day), and it is customary to observe a two-minute silence at 11am.
30th – St Andrew’s Day (Scotland). Honouring its patron saint, St Andrew’s Day is Scotland’s national day. There are many events across Scotland, including traditional meals, poetry readings, bagpipe music and country dancing. This is a great opportunity to go to a ceilidh – a party with Gaelic folk music and dancing. Fortunately, there is usually a ‘dance caller’ to teach the steps!
December
Throughout December, there are countless winter markets and festive visitor attractions across the UK. Look out for events advertised in local magazines and at your school, college or university. Some of our favourites are:
- Winter Wonderland in London’s Hyde Park. In addition to a traditional Christmas market, this huge site features carnival rides, two circuses, an ice skating rink, fake snow and an exhibition of ice sculptures… and enough hot chocolate and mulled wine to keep you warm.
- Hogwarts at Christmas, a wintry version of the Harry Potter tour at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden (near London). Watch snow fall over the original model of Hogwarts castle, and see the Great Hall set for Christmas dinner.
- Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market, the largest German market outside Germany and Austria, complete with glühwein (mulled wine), wursts (sausages), pretzels and sweet treats. You can also shop for unique gifts from local artists at the Craft Fair.
- The winter festival at the Eden Project in Cornwall. Usually an educational ecology park, in December the Eden Project is transformed with Christmas trees, a choir, real reindeer and an ice rink, with ice skating classes for all ages.
- Belfast’s Christmas Market. If you’re studying in Northern Ireland, visit the multicultural market outside Belfast’s City Hall for festive food and drink from around the world, crafts, gifts and Christmas decorations.
- Pantomimes. The traditional Christmas ‘panto’ is a mix of slapstick comedy and musical theatre, with silly costumes and audience participation. Pantomimes are usually for children, but it’s worth seeing one for a uniquely British experience.
6th–14th – Hanukkah. Jewish communities across the UK will be celebrating Hanukkah (Chanukah), the Festival of Lights, from December 6 to 14 in 2015. In London, the Menorah in Trafalgar Square is the largest in Europe. It’s usually lit by the Mayor of London on the first day of Hanukkah, at an event with free doughnuts and live music.
25th – Christmas. Most people in the UK celebrate Christmas, even if they are not religious. There will be Christmas trees, presents, carol singing, mulled wine (warm, spiced red wine), mince pies (small pies with a sweet fruit filling) and if it snows, snowmen and snowball fights! The traditional Christmas dinner is a whole roast turkey with roast potatoes, vegetables, gravy and Christmas pudding for dessert (a steamed sponge pudding with dried fruit) – but each family has its own variations. Read our students' guide to a UK Christmas.
26th – Boxing Day. The day after Christmas is called Boxing Day, and is a bank holiday in the UK. It’s believed to have been named after the ‘Christmas box’ of money or gifts which employers used to give to servants and tradesmen. Nowadays, there are no particular Boxing Day customs, but most people spend the day with their families, going for a walk, watching sports or eating the Christmas leftovers.
Scottish National Dress
One of the most famous national costumes in the world is that worn in Scotland, the kilt, however some people say that the kilt is not as traditional as some would have it. Be that as it may it is certainly what people associate with Scotland, along with whisky and haggis that is.
Some people consider it very bad luck to wear a kilt in a tartan that does not belong to your family.
Just to remind you should you visit Scotland any time - the men do not wear skirts - they wear kilts - and don't you forget it!
Gentlemen
Ladies
Traditionally ladies don't wear kilts, they do however wear dresses or pleated skirts in a tartan material. More often though they wear a light plaid or shawl of tartan material,
Welsh National Dress
Welsh National dress is relatively young and not as famous as Scottish National dress. Still they do have a National costume, but it's the way the ladies dress that is most well known, in fact there isn't really a National costume for men although recently through the rise of nationalism in Wales a tartan has been created and tartan trousers or kilts are often worn.
For the ladies the typical Welsh costume consists of a hat, made of black felt, with a high crown and wide brim, which is worn over a lace cap. A red flannel shawl is worn over a crisp white blouse, and a full skirt made of wool with a black and white check pattern and a starched, white apron. Proper Welsh ladies always wore black woolen stockings and black shoes and carried a basket, made from willow withies.
Read more about the Welsh National costume at the Museum of Welsh Life - St Fagans.
Irish National Dress
With the revival of Irish dancing, the traditional Irish costume has become associated with the bright flamboyant costumes worn by traditional Irish dancers. However in ancient Ireland people were more likely to be seen wearing 'leine' (Irish for shirt), trews (Irish for trousers) and long cloaks fastened with a brooch.
All in all there are a lot of myths and legends surrounding many of the so called 'traditional' costumes. Often when you do some real historical research you will find that they aren't that old or traditional.
English National Dress
Unfortunately the English don't really have a traditional National Dress as such. In one notorious episode during the Miss World pageant the English contestant came out wearing a Beefeater's costume, it was very embarrassing I can tell you.
There have been calls over the years to create a costume, but as usual no-one can decide on what it should look like. Even Henry VIII got in on the act and commissioned an artist called Van Dyck to create an English National Costume, this also failed. So for lack of anything else I will leave you with the following picture of the nearest thing - a Beefeater costume as worn by Miss England.
Dressing for the Occasion
When invited to a formal/business function there is nothing worse than discovering you've dressed incorrectly. If you receive an invitation that gives no indication of dress requirements, telephone your host and ask.
Do you want to know more about British fashion? Here are some interesting fashion links:-
Two of the most famous (or infamous) designers in the UK are Zandra Rhodes and, slightly less controversial; Paul Smith, check out their web sites and see what you think.
- See more at: http://www.learnenglish.de/culture/clothesculture.html#sthash.RWDFAu57.dpuf
Games
Sports play an important part in the life in Britain and is a popular leisure activity.
Many of the world's famous sports began in Britain, including cricket, football, lawn tennis, golf and rugby
England's national sport is cricket although to many people football (soccer) is seen as our national sport. Football is our most popular sport. Some of England's football teams are world famous, the most famous being Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Cricket
Cricket is played on village greens and in towns/cities on Sundays from April to August
The rules of cricket became the responsibility, in the 18th century, of the Marylebone Cricket Club(MCC), based at Lord’s cricket ground in north
London.
Football (Soccer)
Football is undoubtedly the most popular sport in England, and has been played for hundreds of years.
In the English Football League there are 92 professional clubs. These are semi-professional, so most players have other full-time jobs. Hundreds of thousands of people also play football in parks and playgrounds just for fun.
The highlight of the English football year is the FA (Football Association) Cup Final each May.
Rugby
Rugby originated from Rugby school in Warwickshire. It is similar to football, but played with an oval ball. Players can carry the ball and tackle each other. The best rugby teams compete in the Super League final each September.
For many years Rugby was only played by the rich upper classes, but now it is popular all over the country. There are two different types of rugby - Rugby League, played mainly in the north of England, and Rugby Union, played in the rest of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, together with France and Italy, play in an annual tournament called the Six Nations.
American Football derived from our game of Rugby also Baseball derived from the old English game of Rounders.
Tennis
The world's most famous tennis tournament is Wimbledon. It started at a small club in south London in the nineteenth century. It begins on the nearest Monday to June 22, at a time when English often have the finest weather. Millions of people watch the Championships on TV live.
It is traditional for visitors to eat strawberries and cream whilst they watch the tennis.
Netball
Netball is the largest female team sport in England. The sport is played almost exclusively by women and girls, although male participation has increased in recent years.
Basketball
Over 3 million people participate in basketball in the UK.
golf
Scotland is traditionally regarded as the home of golf. There are over 400 golf courses in Scotland alone. The most important golf club in Scotland is in the seaside town of St. Andrews, near Dundee.
Horse racing
Horseracing, the sport of Kings is a very popular sport with meetings being held every day throughout the year. The Derby originated here, as did The Grand National which is the hardest horse race in the world.
Horse racing and greyhound racing are popular spectator sports. People can place bets on the races at legal off-track betting shops. Some of the best-known horse races are held at Ascot, Newmarket, Goodwood and Epsom.
Ascot, a small town in the south of England, becomes the centre of horse-racing world for one week in June. It's called Royal Ascot because the Queen always goes to Ascot. She has a lot of racehorses and likes to watch racing
Polo
Another equestrian sport is polo, brought to Britain from India in the 19th Century by army officers. It is the fastest ball sport in the world.
Polo is played with four men on horses to a team. A ball is hit with a stick towards the goal, one at each end of a 300 yard long by 160 yard wide field...
University Boat Race
In the nineteenth century, students at Oxford and Cambridge, Britain's two oldest universities, were huge fans of rowing. In 1829, the two schools agreed to hold a race against each other for the first time on the Thames River. The Oxford boat won and a tradition was born. Today, the University Boat Race is held every spring in either late March or early April.
Fishing (Angling)
Angling is one of the most popular sports in the UK, with an estimated 3.3 million people participating in the sport on a regular basis. Fishermen can be see sitting beside rivers and lakes.
Bowls
The two main forms of bowls are lawn flat green (outdoor and indoor) and crown green.
Boxing
Boxing in its modern form is based on the rules established by the Marquess of Queensberry in 1865. In the UK boxing is both amateur and professional, and strict medical regulations are applied in both.
Swimming
Swimming is also a popular pastime and enjoyed by people of all ages.
Martial arts
Various martial arts, mainly derived from the Far East, are practised in the UK, such as judo and karate.
Darts
Darts is a very popular pub game. The game of darts, as it is today, was invented in the north of England in a town called Grimsby. However, the origins of the game date back to at least the Middle Ages.Food
Traditional English dishes have had competition from other dishes over the years. Despite this, if you visit England, you can still be served up the traditional foods we have been eating for years.
"Harry’s mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup and, for some strange reason, mint humbugs."
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, J. K. Rowling
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Main meal dishes
- Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding
This is England's traditional Sunday lunch, which is a family affair.
Recipe
Yorkshire Pudding
This dish is not usually eaten as a dessert like other puddings but instead as part of the main course or at a starter.
Yorkshire pudding, made from flour, eggs and milk, is a sort of batter baked in the oven and usually moistened with gravy.
The traditional way to eat a Yorkshire pudding is to have a large, flat one filled with gravy and vegetables as a starter of the meal. Then when the meal is over, any unused puddings should be served with jam or ice-cream as a dessert. text taken from and copyright of projcetbritain.com
Recipe
- Toad-in-the-Hole Toad-in-the-Hole (sausages covered in batter and roasted.)
Similar to Yorkshire Pudding but with sausages placed in the batter before cooking.
- Roast Meats ( cooked in the oven for about two hours)
roast beefTypical meats for roasting are joints of beef, pork, lamb or a whole chicken. More rarely duck, goose, gammon, turkey or game are eaten.
Beef is eaten with hot white horseradish sauce, pork with sweet apple sauce and lamb with green mint sauce.
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These three platefuls of food were served up in a pub.
I would say that they are enormous portions and not what a typical British person would eat in one sitting.
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Steak and Kidney Pie with chips and salad
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Cornish Pastie with chips, baked beans and salad
Fish (cod, haddock, huss, plaice) deep fried in flour batter with chips (fried potatoes) dressed in malt vinegar. This is England's traditional take-away food or as US would say "to go". Fish and chips are not normally home cooked but bought at a fish and chip shop ("chippie" ) to eat on premises or as a "take away"
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Chicken Salad
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Scotland is famous for its game and salmon, the national dish is haggis and neeps (innards and offal chopped up with spices and cooked in a sheep's stomach, served with mashed turnip). Glasgow is the home of the deep-fried Mars bar.
Wales
Traditional Welsh foods include:
Laverbread - It's basically boiled seaweed (Laver is a kind of edible seaweed).
Laverbread is often served rolled with fine Welsh oatmeal into little cakes and fried into crisp patties with eggs, bacon and cockles for a traditional Welsh breakfast.
Bara Brith - A rich cake
Welsh Rarebit - melted cheese on toast.
Cawl - a rich stew made with bacon, scraps of Welsh lamb and vegetables.
Welsh Cakes, also known as Griddle Scones
A type of shellfish, cockles, is often served with breakfast.
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