What is the national symbol of england

National symbols of England

The national symbols of England are flags, icons or cultural expressions that are emblematic, representative or otherwise characteristic of England or English culture. As a rule, these national symbols are cultural icons that have emerged out of English folklore and tradition.

The national flag of England, known as St. George’s Cross, has been England’s national flag since the 13th century. It became associated with Saint George, which claimed him as their patron saint and used his cross as a banner. Since 1606 the St George’s Cross has formed part of the design of the Union Flag, a Pan-British flag designed by King James I.

Flora and fauna:

The Lion is a national animal of England. Lion was the nickname of England’s medieval warrior rulers with a reputation for bravery, such as Richard I of England, known as Richard the Lionheart. Lions are frequently depicted in English heraldry. They also appear in sculpture, and sites of national importance, such as Trafalgar Square. The lion is used as a symbol of English sporting teams, such as the England national football team.

The rose is the national flower of England. It is usually red,[15] and is used, for instance, in the emblems of the English Golf Union and England national rugby union team.

The oak is the national tree of England,[15] representing strength and endurance. The term Royal Oak is used to denote the escape of King Charles II from the grasps of the parliamentarians after his father’s execution; he hid in an oak tree to avoid detection before making it safely into exile. The Major Oak is an 800–1000 year old oak in Sherwood Forest, famed as the alleged principal hideout of Robin Hood.

Fish and chips is a widely consumed part of English cuisine, and is symbolic of England.

Tea is symbolic of England. In 2006, a government confirmed that a cup of tea constituted a national symbol of England
People:

Saint George is the patron saint of England.

Robin Hood is a heroic outlaw in English folklore.

Elves and other mythological creatures such as pixies and fairies often appear in children book of stories based on English folklore

National SYMBOLS

Where do Britain’s national symbols come from?

National Symbols of Wales

Britain is a confusing place for us Brits, so it must be even more confusing for foreigners. We have national football teams of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Yet our Olympic and Davis Cup team represents Great Britain. Northern Irish born rugby players play for an all Ireland team. With the team running out to both the Irish flag and the Ulster flag. And the England cricket board is actually the England and Wales cricket board. Where Welsh players play under the English flag.

But the British national symbols that these sportsmen and women wear on their chests could be said to forge a national identity. And were in fact decided on to try and define identity. They meld design, history and culture into an image of a nation.

Their stories are the stuff of legend and myth. And as with anything from times yore are fraught with confusion as to where they officially began. But who ever let fact get in the way of a good story. So forgive our research if it is slightly off in places.

Let’s start our journey exploring these British national symbols with Wales.

Wales had been annexed in 1282 by England thus became part of the United Kingdom when the Scottish and English thrones became one. But the Welsh history is unique and their national symbols certainly compound that. The traditional national animal is the Red Dragon a symbol that resplendently adorns the Welsh flag.

But why a mythical creature as your national animal? The story goes that Vortigern a Celtic King needed a spot to build a new castle. He found a spot ideal in Snowdonia. But one day a young boy appeared and warned him that he shouldn’t build it where he wanted to. The boy claimed that there was an underground lake with two sleeping dragons below. This young boy was thought to be a young wizard named Merlin. Vortigern ignored the boy and as his men dug they came across two dragons fighting. Spellbound they watched as the red dragon defeated the white dragon. This is now said to represent Vortigern’s people and then the Welsh.

Although it is now a symbol of Wales known the world over, during the Middle Ages it fell out of fashion. This may explain in part why it was never put on the Union Flag. Yet it now flies on all government buildings in Wales.

The other unique symbol that denotes the Welsh is the leek. A long, white and green onion. A peculiar choice you may think but the folklore of why is fascinating. So let’s peel back the layers of its history. It is believed that the leek may have been revered in ancient times as it had healing powers. Staving off the common cold. Easing pain in childbirth. And more importantly for the times, protection against wounds in battle. Luckily it is one of main ingredients in Cawl a traditional Welsh stew, so the Welsh got plenty of medicinal leek. Furthermore, if a maiden placed one under her pillow she would be able to see their future husband’s face.

But how did it become a national symbol? It is believed that St David, the patron saint of Wales, whilst fighting the invading Saxons ordered his army, to pick a leek from underfoot and put one in their caps. This was to differentiate themselves from their foes. Whether this is true is debated. But it is known that the feared and skilled Welsh archers wore the green and white during the 14th century Battle of Crecy. A nod to the colour of leeks.

And because of this the Welsh still proudly wear a leek on St David’s Day as is the tradition. Even Henry V claimed to have worn a leek in Shakespeare’s play of the same title. Exclaiming on the battle field ‘I wear a leek on St David’s Day, for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman’. Leeks are also waved as the national Rugby team take the field for exactly the same reason to show that ‘I am Welsh’. Although a more controversial aspect of the Wales Rugby team is that they use the Prince of Wales Ostrich feathers on the RFU badge. Not a leek or even a daffodil, but that is a whole other story.

Which brings use neatly to the daffodil. It is seen as a more modern national symbol of Welsh pride. But this may have just been a misunderstanding. The Welsh name for the daffodil is ‘Cenhinen Bedr’ translated into English as ‘Peter’s Leek’. And why it may have gotten mixed up and started to become more popular as a pretender to the national Welsh symbol crown.

Презентация была опубликована 7 лет назад пользователемКирилл Галахов

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Презентация на тему: » British Symbols. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.» — Транскрипт:

2 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

3 England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland

4 Each country in Britain has its own patron saint and floral emblem

5 England The Tudor rose is the national floral emblem of England. It symbolizes the end of the Wars of the Roses.

6 Thistle is a purple flower which was first used in the 15th century as a symbol of defence. The thistle has been a Scottish symbol for more than 500 years. It was found on ancient coins and coats of arms. Scotland The national flower of Scotland is the thistle

7 The national flower of Wales is the daffodil, which is traditionally worn on St. Davids Day. Wales

8 The national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock, a three-leaved plant similar to clover. It is a symbol of trinity Northern Ireland

9 The United Kingdom flag was officially adopted on January 1, the Union Jack

10 The flag of the UK is a combination of the flags of England (the cross of St. George), Scotland (the cross of St. Andrew), and Ireland (the cross of St. Patrick).

12 Royal Banner of the King or Queen of the United Kingdom Today.

13 The Royal Banner of England

14 Scottish Royal banner The Royal Flag of Scotland, or Rampart Lion, features a traditional red lion on a gold field. It is widely used as a second national flag.

15 The gold harp David’s Harp was the National Banner of Ireland for many centuries

16 The Welsh flag This flag was officially adopted in 1959, but the red dragon ( possibly Roman in origin ) has been associated with Wales for many centuries.

17 UK Royal Coat-of-Arms

18 In The Royal Seal we see the Lions, and the Unicorn. The Harp of David, and the standing Red Lion. Lions with royal crowns. The words: «DIEU ET MON DROIT» which are Latin and mean: «God And My Right»

19 Unofficial Coat of Arms The «Three Lions» is the unofficial crest of England and was first used by Richard I ( Richard the Lionheart ) in the late 12th century.

National symbols

The flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Flag commonly known as the «Union Jack». Created from the superimposition of the flags of England (St George’s Cross) and Scotland (Saint Andrew’s Cross), with the Saint Patrick’s cross, representing Ireland, being added to this in 1801.

Flag Coat of Arms

The national anthem of the United Kingdom is God Save the King, with «King» replaced with «Queen» whenever the Monarch is female. The anthem’s name, however, remains God Save the King.

Britannia is a personification of the UK, originating from the Roman occupation of southern and central Great Britain. Britannia is symbolized as a young woman with brown or golden hair, wearing a Corinthian helmet and white robes. She holds Poseidon’s three-pronged trident and a shield, bearing the Union Flag. Sometimes she is depicted as riding the back of a lion. At and since the height of the British Empire, Britannia has often associated with maritime dominance, as in the patriotic song Rule Britannia.

The lion has also been used as a symbol of the UK; one is depicted behind Britannia on the 50 pence piece and one is shown crowned on the back of the 10 pence piece. It is also used as a symbol on the non-ceremonial flag of the British Army. Lions have been used as heraldic devices many times, including in the royal arms of both the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Wales. The lion is featured on the emblem of the England national football team, giving rise to the popular football anthem Three Lions, and the England national cricket team.

The bulldog is sometimes used as a symbol of Great Britain, and is often associated with Winston Churchill’s defiance of Nazi Germany.

The ancient British landscape, and especially some of its distinctive fauna such as the oak tree and the rose, have long been a widely used for the visual representation of British identity. The red rose is the emblem of the England national rugby union team.

Corinthian helmet – коринфский шлем

superimposition– наложение, совмещение

Symbols of the UK

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«Symbols of the UK»

National emblems of the United Kingdom

The Union Flag, popularly known as the Union Jack, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. It is the British flag.

It is called the Union Flag because it symbolizes the administrative union of the countries of the United Kingdom. It is made up of the individual Flags of three of the Kingdom’s countries all united under one Sovereign – the countries of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland (since 1921 only Northern Ireland has been part of the United Kingdom). As Wales was not a Kingdom but a Principality it could not be included on the flag.

Ex.1 Answer the questions

What countries are represented in the British flag?

What does the Union Jack symbolize?

Why are not all the countries represented in the British flag?

What does the Russian/Buryat flag represent?

Ex.2 Scan the information about symbols of the countries that constitute the UK

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 defence. The Scottish Bluebell is also seen as the flower of Scotland.

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.

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.

Ex.3 Each country has also its own patron. Match the floral emblems and patrons with the countries: Scotland; Wales; Northern Ireland, England.

1

2

3

4

a) St. Andrew and the Thistle

b) David and the Daffodil

c) St. Patrick and the Shamrock