Morris Dancing
A popular joke among English-speaking people is that “white people can’t dance”, meaning that white people are not good at dancing. Perhaps nothing proves this better than Morris dancing.
Morris dancing is a very old type of traditional English dancing. The dancers wear bells on their legs to create an annoying jingling sound when they move. They also wear funny hats, belts and other strange-clothes.
Morris Dancing is most popular in the south of England, where people are softer, and there are about six main styles. The dancers usually dance to music played on a piano accordion or similarly uncool musical instrument.
Please try our Morris dance challenge: try to watch this video for more than 30 seconds…
Cheese rolling
Another strange British tradition is chasing a round of cheese down a steep hill.
The Cotswalds cheese-rolling event held on Cooper’s Hill in Gloustershire attracts thousands of people every year. A big circle of cheese is rolled down the hill and everyone chases after it. The cheese bounces very high and rolls very fast – it can go up to a speed of 110kmh!
The first person to catch the cheese is the winner of the event. They have to take their shirt off and run back up to the top of the hill holding the cheese. Why?... No one knows.
The cheese chase looks fun, but many people are injured every year, getting knocked-out or broken bones, so please be careful if you ever have to chase cheese.
The Cotswalds cheese-rolling event held on Cooper’s Hill in Gloustershire attracts thousands of people every year. A big circle of cheese is rolled down the hill and everyone chases after it. The cheese bounces very high and rolls very fast – it can go up to a speed of 110kmh!
The first person to catch the cheese is the winner of the event. They have to take their shirt off and run back up to the top of the hill holding the cheese. Why?... No one knows.
The cheese chase looks fun, but many people are injured every year, getting knocked-out or broken bones, so please be careful if you ever have to chase cheese.
Bonfire Night
Bonfire Night, also called Guy Fawkes, is celebrated in a few countries with a British tradition, like Australia or New Zealand, but the celebrations in England are the most interesting.
Guy Fawkes is the name of a man who lived about 400 years ago and is famous for trying to kill the King of England. Guy Fawkes’ plan was to blow up a building with gun powder explosives when the king was inside. Guy Fawkes was caught, however, and executed (killed).
Nowadays, every year on November 5th, people in England have festivals in their towns and burn a doll of Guy Fawkes on a big fire – a bonfire – and also let off fireworks.
British Hills holds a small Bonfire Night celebration every year around November 5th too. Here is a video from British Hills' 2016 Bonfire Night!