Introduction
England is a country with a long history,
and unique English customs and traditions have been formed here over the
centuries. Many of them are associated with the tea drinking process. Of course,
it has had an impact on English language culture: various steady expressions,
proverbs and sayings associated with England's favourite drink have appeared.
In my work I affect the history of tea drinking and the customs associated with
it. I also found some 'tea' idioms that correlate them with the traditions of
England. The result of my work is presented as an online quiz for primary
school pupils. During the quiz, the children have the opportunity to learn a
little about the history of England, tea traditions and, of course, to see how
the idioms they are offered can be used in practice.
Hypothesis
There are various tea-related idioms in
English. And how did they come about and where did they come from? I decided to
look for the history of tea in England and the customs associated with it.
The
story of the emergence of tea in England
The first people in the world to drink tea
were the Chinese. It arrived in Europe a few centuries later, and by the 17th
century it was finally in England. The first merchants assured the customers
that "undoubtedly approved by doctors Chinese drink tcha" saves you
from all sickness, allows the night to spend without sleep and at the same time
stay healthy until old age.
Since 1662, tea has been a fashionable
drink for aristocrats. Catherine of Braganza, the Portuguese princess and wife
of King Charles II of England, loved to drink tea and instilled this love into
the court officials. The secular elite, lords and ladies followed her example and
soon tea drinking became very popular in higher classes in England.
A hundred years later, the East India
Company was importing more and more tea into England, prices were falling, and
the overseas drink had admirers among other classes. Doctors sounded the worry:
they claimed that tea caused heartbeat and weakness, sometimes acting deadly.
However, it was difficult to blame them:
there were too many fakes then. Dried ash and sloe leaves, bad black tea,
repainted in green, at best used brew. And not everyone knew how to prepare the
drink correctly: they put the leaves in cold water and stewed them for hours.
But it was too late to quit the new habit:
by the 30s of the 19th century, when England acquired plantations in India, tea
became not just a folk drink, but a national one. He's been drunk by everyone
and everywhere. There was a new event in Victorian life - tea drinking.
One of the first tea recipes: take the
yolks of two eggs for a pint (≈ 0.47 liters), beat them with sugar and mix
them.
Tea
traditions
The British (about 59 million) drink 165
million cups of tea daily, and tea accounts for 40% of all liquids drunk in
Britain.
According to English concepts of tea
drinking culture, several different types of tea are necessarily served to the
table, regardless of the time of day, so that everyone can choose tea according
to their preferences and mood.
While tea is brewed, milk, sugar, lemon,
etc. is served, as well as a separate kettle with boiling water to dilute the
tea to the right level of the fortress.
Milk is an obligatory product on the table
during a tea ceremony in England. It is added to many varieties of Indian and
Ceylon teas. The British have been arguing about what to pour first, tea or
milk, for over two hundred years. Supporters and opponents of both versions
make strong arguments for their positions, but etiquette allows both ways of
mixing.
Traditional
time for tea drinking in England
- morning, earliest tea, drink around six
o'clock in the morning, sometimes right in bed;
- then tea is served around 8:00, during
the first light breakfast. The English prefer a drink called «English Breakfast»
at this time. It is dominated by special leaves, giving an invigorating
infusion that can wake up even the sleepiest person.
- a little later, at eleven or twelve
o'clock, it is time for a "lunch" - a "second", a thicker
breakfast, which, of course, doesn’t go without tea.
- For the fourth time, the English drink
tea already in the middle of the working day, taking a short break, which is
called a "tea break". This custom still exists to this day.
- Whatever happens, at five o'clock in the
evening, at the famous 'five o'clock', millions of Britons, from a servant to
the Queen, drink tea generously donated with milk or cream. At this time shops
and institutions, offices and banks close and everyone drinks tea. No manager
would risk forbid his subordinates to take a tea break at five o'clock in the
afternoon.
- The evening after work is a time of
"high tea", a thick and savoury aristocratic drink.
Tea-related
idioms
Storm in a teacup
This idiom (from the British version of
English) is used in a situation when a whole tragedy is "inflated"
out of a minor problem.
For example: Don't make a storm in a
teacup-this small cut can't be dangerous.
My cup of tea / not my cup of tea
People or things that felt close to each
other began to be called "my cup of tea" in 1930.
The situation changed after World War II
with the arrival of the Americans on English land. The English had absolutely no
understanding of the culture and behavior of people who spoke a language
similar to theirs. The English did not like the way the Americans behaved, and
they started using the expression "not my cup of tea" towards them.
Since then, this expression has only been used in a negative context.
If you want to say, for example, that you
do not like to watch horror movies, use the expression "not my cup of
tea".
For example: Watching horror movies is not
my cup of tea.
Or, conversely, if you want to show your
preference, use "my cup of tea".
For example: Go shopping with friends
every weekend is my cup of tea. I absolutely love it!
It's as good as a chocolate teapot.
Imagine a chocolate teapot - a totally
unusable invention, right?
So, the English idiom «It's as good as a
chocolate teapot» means something completely useless, just like this chocolate
teapot.
For example: Your plan is as good as a
chocolate teapot.
Not for all the tea in China.
In Russian, this idiom corresponds to the
expression "for no reason, no money".
If literally translated, "even for
all the tea in China."
For example: I won't do this for all the
tea in China.
Quiz
creation and realization
I created an electronic quiz called
"Can I invite you to a tea party?"
The quiz contains questions on knowledge
of the material learned. The game consists of three rounds, each round has four
questions.
Round 1 - Immerse yourself in history
The questions of this round aim to
consolidate the studied material on the history of tea drinking.
Round 2 - Traditions of Tea Drinking
The questions of this round are related to
the traditions and traditions of tea drinking presented in the work.
Round 3 - Reflections on Traditions and
History in English
With the questions from this round,
knowledge about the idioms in the work can be consolidated.
I ran a quiz in class 4 "M-1"
students. The children were divided into two teams. The goal of the game is to
get as many points as possible for correct answers to the question and get a
prize. After studying new material, the quiz started. At the end of the game
after counting the points, we identified a winner and gave a prize set of tea
for a real tea ceremony.
Conclusion
There are so many interesting and unusual
things in the world, but it seems to us that there is no such thing as
surprise. The simplest and most everyday things have a rich history, many
events and unique customs are connected with them. In the course of my
research, I have learned things that I have never even thought about. For
example, I knew that the Chinese were the first to drink tea in the world, but
how it spread across Europe was a mystery to me. Now I have discovered so many
unusual, seemingly usual inventions - tea. I learned many new English expressions,
it helped me to develop my vocabulary and to enrich my knowledge of the
language.
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