Text for Discussion: Traditions and customs in.....
The UK
• Britain is a tea-drinking nation. British people drink more than 160 million cups of tea every day. The traditional national food of England is fi sh and chips. The sandwich was invented in England in 1762.
• The British usually pay a lot of attention to good table manners, and are expected to use knives, forks and spoons properly. The fork is held in the left hand and the knife in the right hand.
• Sports play an important part in British life, and many of the world’s sports originate in the UK. Football is the most popular sport.
• People believe that it is lucky to meet a black cat, touch wood or fi nd a clover plant with four leaves. For good luck, the bride should wear ‘something borrowed, something blue, something old and something new’.
• It is believed that it is unlucky to walk under a ladder, break a mirror, see one magpie, or open an umbrella indoors.
Russia
• A very popular drink in Russia is tea, ideally served from a samovar. Traditional dishes include dumplings with meat fi llings, and red soup made with beetroot. Russians use standard European table manners.
• Among the most popular sports in Russia are football, ice hockey, volleyball, fi gure skating and chess.
• People believe that broken mirrors, whistling indoors and black cats will bring bad luck. They will wait for someone else to pass the black cat and take the bad luck with them.
• Russians believe that ‘money goes to money’ so they leave coins scattered around their homes in bags, cupboards and drawers