An extremely popular sport in Scotland is golf. East Lothian, Scotland is the location of the oldest golf course in the world, going back to 1672. Tennis, boxing, rugby, cricket, field hockey, billiards, squash, curling, and badminton are also very popular sports in Britain. Baseball, invented in the UK, is also among popular sports.
2) Traditional music in the UK includes folk music of many genres such as hornpipes, dance music, and jigs. The bagpipes are a huge national symbol of Scotland. Auld Lang Syne is the most famous Scottish folk song, which we Americans often hear or sing with the ringing in of each new year. Nursery rhymes also originated within the 16th century in the Britain. Some include Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Jack and Jill, and Three Blind Mice. Christmas Carols emerged in 1426 in the UK, which were sung door to door by carolers. Popular music of the UK include rock music of The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and other popular groups, progressive rock of Pink Floyd, glam rock of Queen and Elton John, blues rock of Eric Clapton, many other types of rock including groups such as the Sex Pistols, the Police and Rod Steward, and disco music of the Bee Gees. Electronic music, including dubstep, and pop music is also extremely popular. The most well known British pop group is the Spice Girls, shown below.
3) Traditional foods in the UK include scones, beef, lamb, chicken, assorted vegetables, Yorkshire pudding, and various meat pies. The term "sandwich" was coined in the UK after an English Aristocrat, John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich. Goose was traditionally served on Christmas Day, but has now evolved into the tradition of having Turkey. Popular foods in the UK include fish and chips, black pudding, bacon, and sausage.
A quintessential custom in Great Britain is afternoon tea. This time of the day is often accompanied by a small snack between 4 and 6 pm, usually small sandwiches, scones, and pastries.
4) The major religion of the UK is Anglican Christianity. It is the largest religion in all of the UK except in Scotland, where it is a small minority. Roman Catholicism largely follows Anglican Christianity. The UK also has the fifth largest Jewish community, at about 300,000. The Salvation Army is the largest charitable foundation.
5) Some national holidays include Christmas, Easter, Boxing Day, Valentines Day, Halloween, Shrove Tuesday (Pancake Day), May Day, Summer Bank Holiday, and all other holidays associated with the church (Palm Sunday, Ash Wednesday, etc.). Cheese rolling and toe wrestling are a couple traditional customs in the UK. Cheese rolling is when participates compete in chasing a large piece of 7 pound cheese down a hill. The fastest wins the cheese.
6) The UK has had a huge impact on modern cinema. Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin, and Audrey Hepburn are among the most renowned people of the United Kingdom's cinema actors and directors. Hitchcock is well known for his thrillers. Of course, two hugely popular British movie series are Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings. Other movies include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, A Christmas Carol, and Sherlock Holmes. Popular TV shows include The Office, Top Gear, The X Factor, Downton Abbey, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and Doctor Who, among many others.
7) News Sources:
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/?CMP=INTstp2
8) Online Forums for Expatriates:
http://britishexpats.com/forum/
http://www.britsabroad.com
http://www.internations.org/great-britain-expats
http://www.expatexchange.com/scotland/liveinscotland.html
9) The UK has a parliamentary government. The Parliament of the UK meets in the Palace of Westminster, shown below. the Parliament has two houses: an appointed House of Lords, and an elected House of Commons. Parliament decides the laws and makes the decisions on running the UK. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland deal with some issues with their own respective Parliaments and Assemblies, although, they are not sovereign bodies and could be abolished by the UK Parliament. All actions by the government are scrutinized by parliament and the government is normally formed by the leader of the party that wins the most seats in the general election. The UK has a constitution that includes statutes, case-law, and treaties, among other written documents.
The three main political parties in the UK are the Labour party, Conservative party, and Liberal Democrats. 622 of 650 seats were won by the Liberal Democrats in 2010. The remainder of the seats normally go to smaller political parties of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Leaders in the House of Commons:
David Cameron-leader of the Conservative Party-since 2005-Prime Minister
Ed Millband-leader of the Labour Party-since 2010
Nick Clegg-leader of Liberal Democrats-since 2007
Leaders in the House of Lords:
Lord Strathaclyde-leader of the Conservative Party-since 1998
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon-leader of the Labour Party-since 2008
Lord McNally-leader of Liberal Democrats-since 2004
Of course, we can not forget about the British Royal Family. The Queen is the official Head of State. Britain has a Constitutional Monarchy. The Queen only rules symbolically, while Parliament holds the power. The Queen 'opens' Parliament each year, and each law is passed in her name, but the Queen has no part in the decisions made by Parliament. The Queen does, however, have the final say in whether a bill becomes a law. Though, the last monarch to reject a law that was wanted by both Houses was Queen Anne, who died in 1715.
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