God save the Queen!

Long to reign over us.

Happy and glorious

God save the Queen!

It was established in 1745 and based on a song of the 17-th century.

The national anthem is the oldest in the world.

The national anthem

The green and white stripes of the flag were additions by the House of Tudor, the Welsh dynasty that held the English throne from 1485 to1603.

The origin of the adoption of the dragon symbol is now lost in history. A plausible theory is that the Romans brought the emblem to what is now Wales during their occupation of Britain, but it could be older.

The Welsh flag was only granted official status in 1959, but the red dragon has been associated with Wales for centuries.

The flag of Wales is the RED DRAGON. It consists of a red dragon on a green and white field.

One part of the UK – Wales – is not represented in the national flag.

Besides the Union Jack there is Royal Standard (Royal personal flag).

Jack” was flown from a ship’s jack mast.

The name, the colours and crosses symbolize the union of the united parts of the country. Union Jack comprises three crosses.

The flag reflects the peculiarities of the existing at that time national flags of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Union Jack presents the combination of colours and crosses.

The UK national flag is Union Jack. t was set up in 1801 after the last of the three Acts of Union.

He also wears a low topper (sometimes called a John Bull topper) on his head and is often accompanied by a bulldog, as on the pub sign left.

The UK's national flag is Union Jack. It was set up in 1801 after the last of the three Acts of Union. Union Jack presents the combination of colours and crosses reflecting the peculiarities of the existing at that time national flags of England, Scotland and Ireland. The name, the colours and crosses symbolize the union of the united parts of the country. Union Jack comprises three crosses.

The UK

The UK national flag

• The red upright cross on the white field is St. George’s Cross – the patron saint of England (April 23).

• The diagonal white cross on the blue field is St. Andrew’s Cross – the patron saint of Scotland (November 30).

The UK flag

• The red diagonal cross on the white field is St. Patrick’s Cross (March 17)– the patron saint of Ireland).

The national flag

The national flag

• The beginning of it runs as follows:

God save our gracious Queen,

God save our noble Queen,

Send her victorious,

Besides the Union Jack there is Royal Standard — Royal personal flag. National emblems are: the red rose — of England, the thistle — of Scotland, the leek — of Wales, the shamrock — of Ireland.

The red rose became the emblem of England after the Wars of the Roses (1455—1485) which was the war of the dynasties for the English throne. All rivalry between the Roses ended by the marriage of Henry VII Tudor (the Lancastrian whose emblem was the red rose) with Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward IV (the Yorkist whose emblem was the white rose). The red rose has since become the national emblem of England.

The thistle, the national emblem of Scotland, was chosen as such, because it saved the country from the enemy. This is what a legend says about it. In ancient times the Norsemen raided the east coast of Scotland intending to plunder it and settle in the country. The Scots took their stations behind the river Tay, the largest in Scotland. Not expecting the enemy before the next day and being weary and tired after a long march they pitched their camp and were resting. The Norsemen saw that no guards protected the camp so they crossed the river intending to take the Scots by surprise. On coming quite near they took off their shoes not to make noise. But one of the Norsemen stepped on a thistle and shrieked with pain. The alarm was given in the Scots camp and the Norsemen were put to flight. Scots, thankful for timely help, chose the thistle as their national emblem.

The leek or daffodil is Welshmen's national emblem. Welshmen all over the world celebrate (on March 1st) St. David's Day by wearing either leeks or daffodils. St. David is supposed to have lived for several years on bread and wild leeks, so the link between the leek and St. David is a strong one.

The daffodil is also closely associated with St. David's Day due to the belief that it flowers on that very day. It became an alternative to the leek as a Welsh emblem in the present century, because some thought the leek vulgar.

The shamrock, the national emblem of the Irish, is proudly worn on St. Patrick's Day, March 17. It is worn in memory of Ireland's patron saint, who when preaching the doctrine of the Trinity to the pagan Irish used the shamrock (a small white clover with three leaves on one stem) as an illustration of the mystery.

Дата добавления: 2015-05-26