Question of Etiquette‏

Email received from a visitor to our website:

Your site on British Culture is very useful, thank you! I wonder if you could say something about sneezing in the etiquette section, specifically, whether the person who sneezes needs to say “excuse me” or not, and whether those within hearing distance are required to say “bless you” or not. I am living in the United States and people here tell me that since sneezing is something we naturally can’t help, we don’t have to excuse ourselves for having sneezed. Thanks a lot, Sheila

Etiquette of Sneezing

It is considered polite to say “excuse me” after a sneeze.

It is also considered polite to say “Bless you” when somebody sneezes. It is most often said among friends and colleagues but may also be said by a stranger.

The origins of the British “Bless You” are unknown – but have been linked to the Medieval belief that souls could escape from the body during a sneeze.

Acceptable behaviour in England

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Translating the British English

Following an earlier post “Things Americans shouldn’t say in Britain” I thought I would write one on the things we say in Britain that might confuse visitors to our country.

I often receive emails from people asking me the definitions of words they find in books they are reading. Below is one example:

I am reading a mystery called Death in the Garden by Elizabeth Ironside set in the English countryside circa 1925 — and have come across some words I do not understand. If someone is referred to a ‘Bluestocking’ what is that? What is a ‘ha-ha’ and a ‘spinney’?

Here are the definitions for the words mentioned above. I have also added some more I’m often asked too.

• Bluestocking – a literary or intellectual woman
• Ha-ha – a ditch, used to keep animals from getting into the garden.
• Spinney – a little copse of trees
• Fags – slang for cigarettes
• Faggots – 1. meatballs 2. a bundle of sticks or branches
• Spotted Dick – suet pudding
• Taking the piss – making fun of someone

Glossary of English and British Words

Have you heard or read a word you are not sure the meaning of? Or maybe you find something we say amusing. Please leave a comment.


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Why can’t we write about England?

From time to time, we receive an email from a visitor to the Woodlands Junior website, telling us we are wrong to write about England and that we should only refer to the UK or Britain.

Here is one we received today:

“I have just had a look at your website and found it to be very useful. However, for the majority of us in the UK I would have thought that using Britain would have been better than using England and other parts of the British Isles. We’re all supposed to be part of the UK.”

The visitor today is referring to one of the four pages we have written about Pancake Day:

1. Shrove Tuesday in the UK
2. Pancake Day around the World
3. Pancake Day in England
4. How to make a pancake.

I agree that England is a country in Great Britain and is also a country in the UK but it is also a country full stop and I feel we should not forget that. (We are also part of Europe, but we don’t write about our life in Europe.)

When I started writing our Project Britain pages with the students, they wanted to write about their country, Great Britain and the UK. Each one means something different and it is important that the terms are used correctly.

On our ‘Pancake in England’ page we have only written about the pancake customs and traditions which have taken place in England. It is therefore correct to use the title ‘Pancake Day in England’. If we had instead chosen the title ‘Pancake Day in Britain’ or ‘Pancake Day on UK’ we would have been wrong, because then we would have given our visitors the impression the England is Britain or England is the UK, which of course it is not.

We are proud of the fact that our students know the difference between England, Scotland, Wales, Great Britain, the UK and the British Isles.

Out of interest, would it be ok for a school in Wales to write about life in Wales or a school in Scotland to write about life in Scotland?

Please let us write sometimes about England.

Further reading (all on our website)

What is the difference between UK, England, Great Britain (GB) and British Isles?

What are the National identities of the people living in Britain?

Why does England dominate the UK?

British or English? Read other people’s views

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Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/projectbritain

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After the pancakes comes Ash Wednesday

Shrove Tuesday marks the end of Shrovetide and is a day we celebrate by eating pancakes. It is actually a Christian holiday, but most people celebrating it by eating pancakes will not realise that. Click here to read more about Shrove Tuesday.

The day after Shrove Tuesday is know as Ash Wednesday, and is again a Christian holiday.

Do you know the answers to the following questions:

1. What is Ash Wednesday?
2. What starts on Ash Wednesday?
3. Why is it called Ash Wednesday?
4. What happens on Ash Wednesday today?
5. What are the ashes made from?
6. Why are last years Palm Crosses recycled?
7. What do the ashes symbolise?

The answers can be found on our Ash Wednesday page

Follow us on Twitter and never miss a special day again
http://twitter.com/ProjectBritain

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Things Americans should not say in Britain

Although many countries do speak English, there are some differences between the meaning of the same words. Here are a few:

1. Calling your butt a fanny isn’t okay

“Fanny” is a colloquialism for the female genitalia, but not viewed as extreme as the c-word.”Bum” is acceptable slang for the posterior, roughly equivalent to butt.

2. Don’t comment on our pants!

“pants” usually referred to underwear in the UK – not trousers.
“pants” used also when referring to something that is/was not good e.g the film last night was pants.

3. Refering to a person as “so full of spirit and spunk” isn’t ok.

“spunk” is a colloquialism for ejaculate (noun, not in the verb form).

Have you come across other words? Please leave a comment below.

For some other differences see:
What are the differences between British English and American English?http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/questions/americanbritish.html

Please note: Many British people are familiar with American slang terms etc from watching US TV shows and so there is more of a chance of Americans misunderstanding a British phrase rather than causing offence.

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Flip flip hooray! It’s nearly Pancake day

This coming Tuesday has many names: Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday and Mardi Grass to name but a few. for many children in the UK it is Pancake Day, the day to eat those scummy pancakes with as many different kinds of delicious fillings as you can find.

It is also the day for Pancake races. A tradition that began in 1445, when a housewife in Olney, England started baking her pancakes rather late. They were not quite finished when the church bell rang. Because she didn not want to leave her pancakes to burn, she hurried to the “shriving” (special church service) carrying her frying pan and the pancakes with her. Today you can find pancake race all over the UK.

The reason why pancakes are a big part of the Shrove Tuesday celebration can be found out our website. http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/shrove.html

The day after Pancake Day is know as Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, when Christians prepare for Easter.

Should Mothering Sunday be called Mothers Day?

Mothering Sunday in the UK is different from Mothers Day in other countries, not only in name but also as a moveable feast (the date changes each year and can even be in different months). I believe it is important to hold on to a name, so that we can identify with our roots and understand why we celebrate certain special days at different times each year. Am I wrong to think this?

Should Mothering Sunday be called Mothers Day?
Should Christmas be called Xmas?
Should Easter be called Chocolate Egg Day?

Below is a comment left in our guestbook. .

“Mothering Sunday is the old-fashioned name and was the way it was known many years ago. On flowery greetings cards in the UK, you do still see Mothering Sunday quoted, but it’s mostly just Mother’s Day. “

Mothering Sunday is British. Like Boxing Day, there is a special reason why we call it Mothering Sunday.
You can find out why on our website
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/easter/mothers.htm

Should the British call it “Mothering Sunday” or we should adopt the American name “Mother’s Day”, like we have adopted many other American words?

We would be interested to hear your thoughts

(Did you know you can follow us on Twitter?
http://twitter.com/ProjectBritain )

Mother’s Day, Father’s Day

Question sent by email:
“When is Mother’s Day in UK? And when is Father’s Day? I think they are different dates than in the US.
Thanks you for your help“

Answer:
Mothers Day (Mothering Sunday) in the UK always falls in the middle of Lent – and as it is related to Easter, will be on a different date each year
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/easter/mothers.htm
This year Mothers Day falls on 22 March

Fathers Day is always in June and this year falls on 21 June

Who are the British really?

The following is a comment left on our “British or English?” post written by someone from Wales. We would welcome your thoughts.

“Shwmae (hello) im goin to tell it straight and how it is! i add a little history lesson to clear up how the term British misleads people all over.
 
A Briton or British was the name given to the people who occupied the island of Brittania as the romans called it. They were a celtic people, today living in what is now Wales. They were called the Brythonic Celts and spoke a brittonic, celtic language of what is now Cymraeg(Welsh) and it was spoken all over britain including England long before English people came to Britain, because as we know English people come from the Germanic tribes the Angle, saxons and jutes and are not the indigeonus people of Britain, the Welsh are!!
 
Now it makes me angry when i hear an English person call themselves British! They are not, they speak no Britonnic language i.e Welsh, they are not decendants of the Brythonic/British Celts so how can the english call themselves british? They are Anglo Saxons who speak a western frisian language! The only ones who can really call themselves British are the Welsh people, as the saying goes – “The welsh are the last of the ‘TRUE’ Britons“And thats a fact of history, personally myself, i call myself welsh or a Briton!
Diolch yn Fawr!”
 
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How to tell if the Union Jack is upside down?

The Union Flag is not symmetrical.

Our students have been spotting many Union Jacks flying upside down. The latest ones were seen at a recent visit to Britain by the Chinese Prime Minister.

Click here to find out more

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Friday 13

Today, is the day to avoid, the day of bad luck. It’s Friday the Thirteenth!

A fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia.(pair.uh.skee.vee.dek.uh.tree.uh.foh.bee.uh)

Click here to find out the reasons why Friday 13th is considered an extra bad luck day