Social Customs

Social Customs in England

England and the United Kingdom have been known as very formal and polite places during uncountable years. They take politeness and education very serious, especially in social situations. For example a little gift or act is appreciated and welcomed, but it does not happen when you exceed those tokens of appreciation. 

1.    Greetings: In England, people are very polite and educated. So, showing gratitude is very important, but there is an important fact. In general, British people never say “thank you”, “please” or “I am sorry” very often, because is not well seen. Also, a kiss is only used when you meet closer people, for example friends and family, and generally one kiss is enough. In case when you are introduce to someone new the most common way of greeting is a handshake. In more formal situations, the most common greeting is “how do you do?” obtaining the same question as an answer; while “hi”, “hello” are usual in informal situations.

   

2.    Time: One of the most important facts for English individuals is punctuality. Arriving just a few minutes later is considered very impolite. If you had a problem, a delay or you cannot concrete the meeting, you must call the person you are meeting. It is important to arrive at the exact time for dinner, appointments (with doctors, professors or any professional). When your meeting is a movie, a concert, a public event, classes or a wedding, it is expected you arrive a few minutes earlier. If you are invited, for example, to your parents in law, they will expect that you are going to be there on time. You never have to arrive 20 minutes later, always try to arrive in plenty of time.

         3. Dinning: Not just in England, but in all Britain, dinning is the most important meal for people. It occurs in the evening. So, when you are invited, to avoid any uncomfortable situation, is recommended that you tell your host what you like to eat and what you do not like, or what you cannot to eat.

There are three ways to serve the food during the dinning. First, "the family style", when food served in plates is passed from one person to another around the table; the second way is "the buffet style", and the guest take care of serve themselves their own plates from the buffet; and the last one is "the serving style", here the host of the dinning fills every plate of every guest. It is very common that guests wait until everyone on the table has been served and just then, they begin to eat.