Customs and traditions

What are customs and traditions?

According to the cambridge dictionary tradition means "a belief, principle, or way of acting that people in a particular society or group have continued to follow for a long time in a particular society".

During this investigation, some traditional things (food, sports, festivities,dances...) from different anglophone countries are going to be researched.

Customs and traditions in the UK

FOOD:

Fish and chips

Fish and chips is a very common dish (if not the most popular one) in the UK. This recipe was first carried out in the 1860s as it was a very cheap and accesible meal for everyone living in that era. It is said that the first fish and chips shop was opened in 1863 by Mr. Lees in the North of England. This meal it is commonly served with a pinch of salt and a drop of vinegar giving it the wonderufl taste.

Roast beef

Also known ad the Sunday meal, this is one of the most common dishes in this angliphone country. It is usually served with Yorkshire pudding (baked pudding), gravy (sauce made from cooked meat), potato and veggies.

It is usually served on sunday in order to "celebrate the day" every once a week.

SPORTS:

Cricket

This famous sport (usually played by men) was originated in the 16th century. It became the country's national sport in the 28th century.

At first it was known to be children's game. It is called cricket as it comes from the old french "criquet" which means goal,post or stick. This is because the game consists on hitting a ball aiming to hit the stick in the opposite side were the player is standing.

Netball

This sport is the largest female sport in England, although male participation has increased over the years. It was first originated a year after the well-known sport, basketball (1891). Basketball was modified in order to give women the change to participate in a different sport.

New national associations were created in order to organise competitions which started around the 20th century. This game consist on scoring a basket following different rules that have to be followed so that the point counts.

Customs and traditions in Australia

FOOD:

ANZAC biscuits

This sweet biscuits is traditional in Australia made from oats mainly and other ingredients such as butter, flour, sugar and coconut. The origin of this biscuits comes from the Australian and New Zealand Army Cops (ANZAC) settled in World War I.

Pavlova

This dessert is a very common cake made mostly from meringue. It is normally eaten and decorated with whiped cream and fruit (kiwi and strawberry). This dessert has its origins in 1920 named after the famous dancer Anna Pavlova.

SPORTS:

Rugby league

Rugby is one of the most common sports in the Anglophone country. It was first played in 1908. Inside this sport there is the Autralian Rugby League Comission, which is the official governer of the sport in the country. This sport is also played in Britain and in New Zealand. However, inside the Australian leage there are up to 10 proffesional teams from different places such as Queensland or Victoria.

Surf

Surf was first introduced to Australia in 1915. Thanks to Duke Kahanamoku, a Hawaiian surfer who started surfing in Sidney. A few years later, in 1956, a group of safeguards started surfing in Australia which is what introduced the country to this wonderful sport.

Australia is one of the multiple countries which has participated in the WSL (World surfing league) over the years, and has some of the best champion surfers in the world such as Stephanie Gilmore, Tom Carroll and many more. In fact, Mick Fanning, is an Australian surfer who has won four titles and is known for being the autralian with the most world surf championships.

Customs and traditions in the USA

FESTIVITIES:

4th of July

Independence day, also known as 4th of July due to the day it is celebrated is, a wordly known date which commemorates the day USA became independent from the British empire in 1776.

During this day people get together and celebrate it with barbacues, American flags, and fireworks.

SPORTS:

American Football

The origin of this sport comes from 1886 when it was first played by two college teams which played the sport using the soccer rules established at that time. American football is a mixture of both rugby and soccer.

This sport requires a team of eleven players and a field. This sport is the most common in the United States not only professionally but it is also played in colleges. In fact, around 1.1 million of high school students play American football.

FOOD:

Bagel and Lox

You may never heard of this meal, however this sandwich it is very commonly eaten in New York. This dish was introduced in America by the European Jewish in the 1950s. At first you could only find them in certain spots but they have now become known along the country.

This sandwich is served with baked bagels, cream cheese and cured salmon.

Peanut butter and jelly sanwich

Who hasn't heard sometime or seen in multiple movies the famously known sandwich everyone has tried sometime in their life. The origin of this sandwich and its recipe started in 1886. Throughout the years, using peanut butter in sandwhich was very commmon but it wasn't until 1901 when the recipe of including jelly to this sanwich was shown to the world.

This recipe started to be very famous as in the early 1900s, peanut butter price dropped a lot which meant a lot of people could afford this meal. It even has a day when they celebrate this dish. April 2.

Customs and traditions in the New Zealand

FESTIVITIES:

Waitangi Day

This is the national New Zealand's day. It comes from the Waitangi treaty as the name says, and was first celebrated in 1934. It wasn´t until 1974 that it was establisehd a public holiday for all New Zealanders. During this day lots of parties take over the country.

FOOD:

Hāngi

It is not really a food but a way of cooking. It is a very common traditional way of cooking food as mentioned before. They use boiling hot rocks which are previously buried in and oven called umu. This method is usually used when there are big groups of people about to eat.

Lolly cake

This dish is a very common dessert which it's origins are really not sure where they start. It was first eaten in the 1940s and started being sold in supermarket around the 1960s.

The main ingredients to this dessert are not the most healthy but are surely very nice. It os made from malt busicuits, marshmellows, butter, condensed milk and sweet fruits.

DANCES:

Haka

When it comes to dances, New Zealand has a very significant one. Usually done in rugby matches, haka is a traditional dance recreated to prepare for the matches.

It is usually done to scare the enemy before starting the match and it comes from the ancient posture dance which was carried out by New Zealanders to prepare for war. The first haka dance was done in 1888 by the New Zealand native team.

Customs and traditions in the South Africa

FOOD:

Malva pudding

Malva pudding is a very common dessert made in Sputh Africa. It's main ingredients are apricot jam and it's texture is normally caramelized. It is usually served with a cream or in some ocasions with ice cream. It started being popular not long ago in 2006.

There are many theories from which this pudding was named from, however I will be telling you two which sound more interesting. The first one explains gthat the name Malva comes from geranium in African. This is because during its first years, the butter was first flavoured with the leaves of the lemon from the geranium.

The other theory, however, supports a completely different thing. It says that the original recipe included Malvasian wine which means it was name after it.

SPORTS:

Rugby, football and cricket.

As mention before, we can see how the popular sports in UK are the same ones to the ones in South Africa. This shows the British influence on South Africa. However, football is the most common sport among the South Africans. Almost 2 million people in South Africa belong to a football team. The most popular team is called Bafana Bafana which first played in 1993.

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