You have just arrived at Heathrow airport and are now searching the arrivals for that piece of cardboard with your name on it. You see yourself and proceed to walk over, you notice the weather is just awful outside, you’re amazed you even managed to land. Your now about to embark upon one of the first and most often used British social customs that is the handshake. A nice, not too long but firm handshake shows a good confident attitude and a seriousness, not to mention it’s just plain polite. Being pleasant in England is like second nature; the English are gratuitous and warm and a simple nice polite handshake can simply break the ice if you’re meeting someone for the first time, or just bode well in one’s favour.

Social customs in England are many. Our cultural evolution has given England a very unique image. You can travel from the south of England to the north in one day and experience an array of ethnic and cultural differences, all accompanied with different social traditions, but the amazing thing is that despite the ethnic diversity those real traditional English customs are still being used by all the country.

Tea breaks, the all famous 3 times a day tea break. A tradition dating back to the 16th century where one would gather with some friends and have a 15 minute tea break. In a 9-5 office job this would be compulsory to the worker. And without a doubt carried out 3 times a day, exactly on the hour, each day, each week throughout the year. It’s a must do and a custom not many think about, it is just something you naturally find yourself partaking in.

Walks in the park, these are a big social customs in the south, after a big Sunday roast dinner a walk along the beach or a simple stroll through the park is a must. Something most families in England like to action on a regular basis, usually after those heavy hearty meals. You will find a lot of people walking in the nearby parks after a Sunday lunch or a simple walk on a midsummer’s night evening.

Of course the main and most commonly known and probably carried out by most if not all English people is the local pub. A social custom that dates back a long time. It would not be unusual to assume after a weeks end and all that stress of work related issues you would just leave work and show up at the local pub for some end of the week beers. It would be a notion not even thought about like needing to go to the toilet, you would just automatically go. This social custom is hard to miss as a Friday night in all the town’s and city’s pubs no matter where one would be in England would no doubt be swarming with the hard working class of England. A few drinks with friends talk about the week past, the Lady’s or a debate on government issues, then once a few alcoholic beverages have buzzed a few of their brain cells, the night becomes an all out night on the town, this custom is usually what keeps the hard working British going, knowing that at the end of the week you can just let go and enjoy Britain’s favorite past time.

But as the cultural differences and the races evolve in England those long lasting and traditional customs are just passed on like a favorite recipe. In my years of living in England I have never seen these social delights change and for the foreseeable future it won’t. English social customs are unique and will continue to live on in the hard workers of United Kingdom.