What are the differences between Britain and Spain in folk customs or culture? Give some concrete examples.

Fashion etiquette

British clothing styles are highly respected by many people in the world. Although the British pay attention to clothes, they are very frugal. A suit usually takes ten or eight years to wear. An English man usually has two sets of dark clothes and two or three pairs of gray trousers. British clothing has been diversified and comfortable, and casual jackets and jeans are more popular.

Etiquette and manners

In Britain, people stretch out the index finger and middle finger of their right hand in speeches or other occasions, with their palms facing outward, forming a V-shaped gesture to indicate victory; In Britain, if someone sneezes, others will say "bless you" to show good luck.

Meeting etiquette

In Britain, when a baby is born, parents and relatives usually name the baby according to the characteristics of the baby and the occupation of the father. Some prominent mothers will use their maiden name as their second name. In Britain, children only call their parents' brothers and sisters uncles. Old people in Britain pay attention to independence and don't like being called old. They don't need help when they walk.

dining etiquette

Guests and table manners

If you are invited to someone's house, you should test the tiger. For example, when should I arrive at my host's house? It is impolite to arrive early if it is not a serious business but a social gathering. The hostess is making preparations. If you arrive before she is fully prepared, it will make her feel embarrassed. It is better to arrive late 10 minutes. It's too late to be half an hour late. You need to apologize to the host. When should I leave? There are no rules, but it is impolite to sit too late in the host's house. If you are only invited to dinner and chat, you'd better leave between 10 and 1 or say goodbye after dinner1hour. If you are invited to stay for a few days or for the weekend, you should buy a bunch of flowers specially for your hostess before you leave, which will make her very happy. Besides, the day after you leave, you should write a thank-you letter to your host, and attach a small gift, such as a box of chocolates or some flowers.

There are many kinds of banquets in Britain, mainly tea parties and banquets. Tea parties include formal tea parties and informal tea parties. English people don't serve food at dinner parties, and they don't advise wine, but they all take it according to the interests of the guests. Generally speaking, it is polite to eat all the dishes you take. People who don't drink just put their hands into the cup when the waiter pours the wine. When saying goodbye, guests can shake hands or nod.

British people generally prefer cooking methods: stew, barbecue, frying and frying. There are unique ways to cook meat, seafood and game; But they have a special preference for beef, such as roast beef, which is not only served with seasonal vegetables and baked potatoes, but also with a little mustard sauce on the steak. In the use of condiments, I like cream and alcohol; As for spices, I like fresh spices, such as nutmeg and cinnamon.

The well-known names of English dishes are: steak kidney pie, English fried fish slices, chicken king Ala, etc. English people like hunting. During the hunting period only once a year, many restaurants or restaurants will provide wild game meals, such as venison, rabbits, pheasants, wild goats and so on. Usually, when cooking game, junipers or berries and wine are used to remove the flavor of the food itself.

English people are very particular about breakfast! English restaurants serve many kinds of food, including juice, fruit, eggs, meat, porridge, bread, jam and coffee. The popular HIGH TEA is also from Britain, and its famous Victorian style covers all kinds of snacks, muffins, tarts and sandwiches. Dinner is also the most important part of British daily life. They usually choose a later meal time, and they all talk while eating and drinking to promote the friendship between diners. It is conceivable that they belong to a very autonomous nation, and a dinner may take them several hours!

Scotch or gin are these well-known wines, and they all come from it. In Britain, many people like drinking, mainly because it is also a wine-producing country. British people spend more money on drinking than other expenses.

Wedding and funeral etiquette

The British marriage customs are rich and varied, and they all have their own traditional ways from proposing marriage to honeymoon. In York in the north of England, the way of proposing marriage is quite strange, which inherits the ancient folk tradition. When a girl is mature and needs to get married, she puts on tight clothes of different colors to send a signal to men. Different colors represent different things, just like traffic lights. Green means, "Come on! I am willing to fall in love and pursue boldly! " Yellow means: "There is an opportunity. If it suits me, there is still a chance of success. " Red means: "I don't want to fall in love at present, don't pursue me." Brave young people will pursue boldly according to each other's clothes and their own choices, and will never be labeled as misbehaving.

Once the two sides establish a love relationship, the man will give the woman an engagement ring and hold a ceremony. This custom is very popular all over Britain. Wedding or engagement rings are traditional customs of many nationalities. When an Englishman holds a wedding ceremony in a church, it is indispensable for the groom to wear a ring for the bride. People even think that a marriage without a ring is invalid. When the priest asked a couple if they would like to be each other's wives or husbands, and if they could respect each other and grow old together, the groom put a ring on the bride's ring finger. It symbolizes the husband's pure love for his wife, and the wife also expresses her acceptance and loyalty to this love.

The custom of wearing a ring can be traced back to ancient Egypt and China. It is not only a symbol, but also an ornament. At first, the wedding ring was not set with diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires. The pure circle symbolizes the reunion of two people who are bound together by marriage. In some ethnic groups, it symbolizes a kind of magic, wishing couples happiness and longevity. At the same time, the giver expressed his trust in the receiver, and the receiver expressed his loyalty to the giver.

The gold ring symbolizes the innocence of love, and the silver ring symbolizes tenderness. British people, like western countries, have engagement rings made of gold, without any precious stones, and wedding rings should also be decorated. As for the quality of the ring, it varies according to personal economic conditions. The engagement ring and the wedding ring can be worn on the same ring finger, or the wedding ring can be used instead of the engagement ring.

In Britain in the/kloc-6th century, family patterns or proverbs were often engraved on the inside of wedding rings, such as "God made me someone's wife". The ring of the bishop's wife was engraved with a hand, a heart, a bishop's crown and a skeleton, with the inscription: "I gave you the first three, and the fourth made me detached." Today, most rings are inscribed with only the initials of the bride and groom.

British people wear dresses when they get married; The bride is wearing a white shirt, a white skirt, a white wreath, a white veil and a white bouquet. In short, the British advocate white, which symbolizes pure love and good luck. The custom of wearing a veil can be traced back to BC 10 century, and women in the two river basins wear veils. In ancient Greece, when holding a wedding, not only the bride should wear a veil of linen or wool, but also the couple should wear a corolla. In Roman times, people of different religious beliefs had to wear veils of different colors to show their differences. After the Middle Ages, a crown decorated with pearls appeared among the court nobles. Later, it developed into white yarn, and its scale expanded day by day, spreading all over Europe.

At the wedding ceremony, the bride in white gauze dress and veil took her father's arm, accompanied by female guests, and walked into the church in the wedding March. The groom in a dress, accompanied by a male guest, stood in front of the altar waiting for the bride. When someone in an English family dies, there is often a small notice in the newspaper. After seeing the notice, relatives and friends all went to the funeral to show respect for the deceased and greetings to their families.

Once married, people should congratulate the bride and groom when they walk out of the church. This kind of congratulations is not kissing, hugging or shaking hands, but throwing colorful confetti at them. The custom of scattering paper scraps originated from scattering wheat grains. 149 1 year, King henry vii of England and his queen traveled to Bristol. On the trip, I was seen by a baker's wife, so she sprinkled wheat grains at them from the window and shouted, "Welcome, Your Majesty! I wish you happiness and longevity. " This became a well-known story. By the 6th century, this custom had been widely spread. People scatter wheat grains on the bride and groom, and sometimes dye them in various colors. Wheat grain symbolizes a bumper harvest and a rich life, and also congratulates the newlyweds on their happiness and longevity, and their children and grandchildren are full.

Religion:

Since Roman rule, Spain has established its position as a Catholic country. After the "reconquest" war in the eighth century AD drove the Arabs out of the peninsula, Catholicism completely controlled the whole of Spain. In the Middle Ages, Spain's "inquisition" ran across Europe, indiscriminately torturing and killing pagans, from princes to ministers to ordinary people. During the Reformation in Europe, Spain became a thorn in the side of western European countries. /kloc-after the 0/8th century, the contradiction between the church and secular forces intensified, the anti-religious right movement rose day by day, and the church power gradually declined. However, 94% of Spaniards still believe in Catholicism, and the rest are Protestants, Jews and Muslims.

Spain is divided into eleven parishes, of which Toledo parish is the largest and most important one. Bishop Toledo has been a cardinal in Spain since the Gothic period.

The influence of Catholicism is more reflected in the daily life of Spaniards. Like other Catholics, the most important moments in Spanish life are spent in the church: baptism after birth, first communion, wedding and funeral after death. There are many festivals in Spain. One reason is that every city, village and occupation has a saint as the patron saint. Every saint's birthday, cities or trade associations will hold large-scale mass and religious demonstrations. In addition, every believer also has his own patron saint, who not only celebrates his own birthday, but also celebrates the birthday of saints, called "Día del Santo". Spanish names are mostly taken from saints. The most common male and female names are "Jose" and "Maria", and both men and women often use these two names together. For example, the former Spanish Prime Minister was called "jose maria Aznar".

Education:

Education in Spain was once controlled by the Catholic Church. At present, Spain's education system is mainly divided into preschool education, universal education, bachelor education, higher education and vocational training.

Children aged 2 to 3 in Germany can voluntarily attend small classes in kindergartens and large classes at the age of 4 to 5. National kindergartens are free, compulsory universal education is also free (6 ~ 16 years old), and transportation and canteens are also free. The goal of universal education is children aged 6 to 65. Three years in junior high school, two years in senior high school and three years in junior high school.

The main courses in primary schools are Chinese, mathematics, social and natural experience, artistic expression, music and physical education.

Junior high school has added humanities, natural sciences, foreign languages, religion and other courses. After finishing junior high school, students can choose to enter a comprehensive middle school (high school, also known as college preparatory course) or find a job by themselves.

There are three main courses in comprehensive middle schools: one is literature, including humanities and classical languages; The second is science, with emphasis on mathematics; Third, technical courses in agriculture and industry. Students choose different subjects to study in school, complete courses in any subject, and get a bachelor's degree after passing the examination. In two forms of vocational schools, workshop schools and industrial homes, vocational training is divided into professional theory and enterprise practice, and vocational training is also free. In addition to basic courses, you can also study industrial drawing, management and various professional courses there.

The University of Salamanca and the University of Granada in Spain are both among the oldest universities in Europe. According to the Spanish Constitution, university associations have freedom of study, freedom of teaching and university autonomy. Self-made universities can make their own rules, elect school leaders, formulate budgets and staffing, and evaluate their degrees independently.

There are 30 km universities and 4 private universities sponsored by churches in Spain. Complutense University of Madrid is the largest institution of higher learning in Spain. Other famous universities include Autonomous University of Madrid, University of Salamanca and Central University of Barcelona.

Six years in primary school, four years in middle school and four to five years in college. In 2003, education expenditure accounted for 4.35% of GDP, most of which was invested by the public sector.

The total number of students in the 2004-2005 school year was 84,465,438+0,665,438+0.6, including schools and students at all levels:

School (college) students (people)

Preschool education 3596 14 19307

Primary school 12272 2494598

Special school -29283

Middle school 6276 1876322

Preparatory course -632 154

College -5 16504

University 72 1473448

Teachers engaged in non-higher education * * 5625 10, including public schools 4 1 1399, private schools1511,and higher education * * 8668.

(Source: Statistical Report of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science in 2004-2005)

Spanish social etiquette

Etiquette and manners

Local women have a "myth". For example, when a woman turns on the fan and covers the lower part of her face, it means: I love you. Do you like me? If you open it and close it for a while, it means: I miss you very much. Therefore, women who have just arrived in Spain, if they don't understand the language of fans, it is best not to use fans.

Meeting etiquette

Spaniards usually shake hands when meeting guests in formal social situations. Boyfriends often hug each other when they meet acquaintances. Spanish names usually have three or four parts. The first two sections are my name, the penultimate section is my father's surname, and the last section is my mother's surname. Usually it is the father's surname.

business etiquette

Spaniards attach great importance to credibility and always try their best to fulfill signed contracts. Even if the contract is found to have disadvantages, it is unwilling to admit its mistakes publicly. In this case, if the other party can help them sincerely, it will win the respect and friendship of the Spanish. Spaniards are punctual only when they take part in bullfighting, but guests should also be punctual, even if the other party is late, don't blame them.

Travel etiquette

Spaniards are cheerful and enthusiastic, but easily excited. Sometimes it is normal to quarrel, and they are used to it. When a Spaniard eats, he usually politely invites people around him to share with him, but this is just a gesture of etiquette. Don't accept it easily, or they will think you are uneducated.

Press and publication: national newspapers 155 and national magazines 170, with a sales volume of * * * 4.2 million copies. Daily average circulation of major newspapers: El Pais, with a circulation of 460,000; Le Monde, 3 1 10,000 copies; Abesai, 280,000; Pioneer, 200,000 copies; Catalonia, 6.5438+0.7 million copies; 654.38+500,000 copies of truth.

Main news agency: Effie, the official news agency, was established in June 1939. There are also private European news agencies and Rogos news agencies.

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is in charge of radio and television. There are more than 200 radio stations in China, mainly Spanish National Radio, private Spanish Broadcasting Company, Intercontinental Radio and Spanish People's Broadcasting Station.

Television: Spanish television is a state-owned national television station with two channels. There are also local TV stations in Andalusia, Catalonia, Galicia, Basque and Madrid. 1989, the government approved the establishment of three private TV stations: multi-channel, antenna -3 and TV 5. 1997 two digital TV stations began to operate.

Diet: the variety varies from place to place, but most dishes should be added with olive oil.