Читать книгу Great Britain: geography, politics, culture - Л. А. Ласица - Страница 6

Flag is a visiting card of any country, which symbolizes its sovereignty and reflects its history. In the 14-th century the first national flag was St George’s cross – a red cross on a white background, as St George is a patron saint of England.

The 17^th century was time when relations between England and Scotland changed. These two countries were united by Jacob Stuart in 1603. The national symbols had to be changed. It was necessary to combine two crosses: a red cross on a white background of St George’s flag and a white cross on a blue background (St Andrew’s cross – flag of Scotland). This new flag was created and became national in 1606 and was called ‘Union Jack’.

On the 1^st of January in 1801 the union of England and Ireland was claimed. It was necessary to make changes in the National flag and Emblem. This time the flag got new red diagonal lines from St Patrick’s cross. Since 1801 the flag wasn’t changed and it’s possible to see it on the flags of former British colonies.

So the national flag of the UK is The Union Jack. It is the combination of the cross of St. George, of St. Andrew, of St. Patrick.

The origin of the term ‘Union Jack’ is uncertain. It may come from the name of Jacob Stuart (James I) who originated the first union in 1603. Jack is a short name of Jacob. Another alternative is that the name may be derived from a jack, a small flag at the bowsprit flown only by ships of the Royal Navy during the reign of Charles II (1660 – 1685); the term ‘jack’ once meant small.

The Welsh dragon does not appear on the flag because when the first Union Flag was created in 1606, Wales was already united with England from the 13th century. Wales was a Principality instead of a Kingdom.

In November 2007, a Welsh MP, Ian Lucas, asked parliament why Wales is not represented in the Union Jack. He thought it wrong, that the British flag, so-called Union Jack, includes now flags only of three countries – England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In his opinion, in new design of a flag there should be a symbol of Wales – a red dragon. Now you can see Ian Lucas’ version of the Union flag with Wales represented.

Representatives of conservative party declared that his initiative would not receive support. However the minister of culture of Great Britain – laborite Margaret Hodzh supported the idea of changing the design of the British flag. But till now this question hasn’t been discussed in the government.

The Coat of Arms of the UK is one of the national symbols (picture 1).

On the left, the shield is supported by the English Lion. On the right it is supported by the Unicorn of Scotland. (The unicorn is chained because in mediaeval times a free unicorn was considered a very dangerous beast (only a virgin could tame a unicorn).

The Royal Arms we see today appeared over nine centuries ago, when Richard the Lion heart chose three lions to represent England.

Picture 1 – The Coat of Arms of the UK

The main element of the Arms is the shield which is divided into four quarters. The first and fourth quadrants represent England and contain three gold lions passant (in plain English, three gold lions with their right forepaws raised and their heads facing the viewer on a red field; the second quadrant represents Scotland contains a red lion rampant on a gold field; the third quadrant represents Ireland and contains the gold harp of Ireland on a blue field. Wales is not represented on the shield and Coat of Arms because it was recognized as a Principality.

The Royal Coat of Arms contains the motto of British Monarchs and the motto of the Order of the Garter. The motto of the Sovereign is ‘Dieu et mon Droit’ (French for ‘God and my right’).

The motto was first used by King Richard I in 1198 and adopted as the royal motto of England in the time of Henry VI. The motto appears below the shields of the Royal Coat of Arms.

The motto of the Order of the Garter is ‘Honi soit qui mal y pense’ (French for ‘Evil to him who evil thinks’). Order of the Garter was the highest order of English knighthood, founded by Edward III in 1344. According to the tradition, the garter (a piece of elastic worn round the top of a stocking or sock in order to prevent it from slipping down) was that of the Countess of Salisbury, which the king placed on his own leg after it fell off while she was dancing with him. The king’s comment to those present, ‘Honi soit qui mal y pense’ (shame be to him who thinks evil of it), was adopted as the motto of the order.

The national anthem is ‘God Save the Queen’. The British National Anthem originated in a patriotic song first performed in 1745. It became known as the National Anthem from the beginning of the nineteenth century.

On official occasions the first verse is sung, as follows:

The National Anthem is played:

– whenever the Queen makes a public appearance;

– by the British Broadcasting Corporation every night before closedown;

– at the end of all Remembrance Day services;

– Medal ceremonies for Team GB (representing all countries);

– England and Northern Ireland football matches (the Scottish use Flower of Scotland, the Welsh use Land of my Fathers).

The UK does not celebrate one particular national holiday. Each country of the UK has its own national day, which is celebrated in the honour of its patron saint. The national day of England is St. George's Day, celebrated on the 23^d of April in the honour of St. George, the patron saint of England.

He is known as the conqueror of a dragon. According to the legend in the neighborhood of some pagan town there was a dragon which killed people just for fun. Every day he was brought a new victim: a young boy or girl. When it was time for a governor’s daughter, St George was passing by and he decided to save the girl. And he did it. According to some versions the dragon was struck down with a pray and became obedient. It believed in the power of kindness and the girl brought it to the town. The citizens of the town were so delighted by the power of religion, that were christened. St George was known to be a knight in a white cape with a red cross on it.

This holiday is not a bank holiday and people work on this day. The flag of England is raised on St George’s Day, some people wear a red rose or clothes with the images of the English flag.

The national day of Wales is St. David’s Day, celebrated on the 1^st of March in honour of St David, the patron saint of Wales.

He was a Celtic monk, who lived in the sixth century. He spread the word of Christianity across Wales. The most famous story about Saint David tells how he was preaching to a huge crowd and the ground is said to have risen up, so that he was standing on a hill and everyone had a better chance of hearing him.

St David’s Day is commemorated by the wearing of daffodils or leeks. On St David's Day, some children in Wales dress in their national costume. The national flag of Wales, depicting a fiery red dragon against a green and white background, is also flown.

The national day of Scotland is St Andrew’s Day, celebrated on the 30^th of November. St. Andrew was one of Christ's twelve apostles. Some of his bones are said to have been brought to what is now St. Andrews in Fife during the 4th century. Since medieval times the X-shaped cross upon which St. Andrew was supposedly crucified has been the Scottish national symbol.

The national day of Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland is St. Patrick's Day, celebrated on the 17^th of March. Saint Patrick was a patron saint of Ireland and the founder of Irish Christian church. They say he lived in the end of 4^th – in the beginning of 5^th centuries. The most famous story about Saint Patrick is him driving the snakes from Ireland. The day is marked by the wearing of shamrocks.

St Patrick’s Day is celebrated with parades in the large cities; people wear the green and drink Guinness traditional drink of Ireland). Guinness is another symbol of St Patrick’s day.

National days are not celebrated in the same extent as National Days are in a number of other countries. Only St Patrick’s Day in Northern Ireland (and the republic of Ireland) and St Andrew’s Day in Scotland (from 2007) are taken as an official holiday. All the other national days are normal working days.

Each of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom has a traditional national floral symbol. The national emblem of the United Kingdom is the red rose.

The national flower of England is rose. The flower has been adopted as England’s emblem since the time of the Wars of the Roses – Civil wars (1455 – 1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose).

The national flower of Wales is the daffodil, which is traditionally worn on St. David’s Day. The vegetable called leek is also considered to be a traditional emblem of Wales. There are many explanations of how leek came to be adopted as the national emblem of Wales. One is that St David advised the Welsh, on the eve of battle with the Saxons, to wear leeks in their caps to distinguish a friend from an enemy. According to another legend St. David ate only bread and leek.

The national flower of Scotland is the thistle, a prickly-leaved purple flower which was first used in the 15th century as a symbol of defense. According to the legend it saved the country from enemies. Once a boat with Scandinavian Vikings landed on the Scottish shore in order to rob Celtic villages. A group of Scottish soldiers moved to meet the enemy on their way to the village and in the evening the Scots decided to spend night in the field because they didn’t expect Vikings attack at night. But cunning enemies wanted to kill all Scotts when they were sleeping, so Vikings walked barefoot to move quiet. But one of them stepped on a thistle and shouted with pain. It awoke the Scotts and they could fight with Vikings. Since then it became a symbol of Scotland. It is used as an amulet of good luck.

The national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock, a three-leaved plant similar to clover. An Irish tale tells of how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.