I've had some thoughts in the last several days, and I wanted to get them down before I don't have them anymore.
For those that might not know...Americans, I'm talking to you...this week marked the State Opening of Parliament in the United Kingdom. From an American's perspecitive, at least, this is a very interesting process to watch! There's so much 'pageantry', pomp and circumstance...it truly is something to be seen. And they apparently do it every year!
First of all, this one of only two times you'll see some of the crown jewels put to use publicly. For example, the Queen wore the 'Robes of State' and more imporantly, the Imerial State Crown. The only other time, outside of the Opening of Parliament that you'll see this crown worn is actually at crownings. So this is reason enough to tune in...how often do you get to see someone wearing over 3,000 precious stones and gems on their head?
And that crown is carried into the Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) by one poor guy with a cushion. He's accompanied by guards, of course...but I've never seen so much concentration on one person's part in the act of walking. But who can blame him? Would you want to be the poor soul who has 3-5 minutes of imporance in a huge ceremony, and during that span you managed to drop what is arguably the most imporant symbol of the monarchy? Methinks not.
It's not just the queen and the jewels though. It's the ceremony. There's all the different guards. The palace guards, the yeoman warders, the horse guard, and many more. But one of the more important and intriguing members of the services was Black Rod.
Although Black Rod is a yeoman, he is anything but an ordinary guard and has a very important role to the opening of Parliament...he summons the members of the House of Commons into the House of Lords to attend and hear the Queens speech...a speech without which, members of congress could not by tradition conduct business.
From Wikipedia:
Once on the Throne, the Queen, wearing the Imperial State Crown, orders [Black Rod] to summon the Commons. As Black Rod approaches the doors to the Chamber of the Commons, they are closed in his face – symbolically to maintain the right of the Commons to debate without the presence of the Queen's representative. Black Rod then strikes three times with his staff (from which he derives his name), and is then admitted and issues the summons of the monarch to attend.
More interesting still, I think, is the hostage situation. From Wikipedia:
Likewise, before the monarch departs her residence, the Crown takes a member of the Government as a ceremonial hostage. This is to guarantee the safety of the Sovereign as she enters a possibly hostile Parliament. The hostage is released upon the safe return of the Queen.
Anyway, this was Tony Blair's last State Opening, so it was sort of a good time for me to become aquainted with the whole ceremony. There's lots more to tell, but you may already be bored to tears.
On to Holidays. I'm finding it very interesting that I'm in the UK for Thanksgiving this year. It was never a huge holiday to me...being really only a day to eat turkey. But it was fun to see everyone gathered together. Really strange to be away from it all this year!
But equally, it's going to be very interesting to be around for Boxing Day this year! Boxing Day, celebrated in the UK and other areas of the world, is the day after Christmas. There's lots of theories as to why Boxing Day is thusly named, and I'm not going to go into them as other people have done the work for me. But the point is, it's all new and interesting to me!
Not only are some of the holidays new, but some of the traditions are new as well. I've already been told that I have to try a 'pickled walnut' on Christmas...something that sounds...well...very British, to say the least. But it's different for everyone. Helen asked me the other day what eggnog is!
Can you imagine?? Not knowing what eggnog is? Well, I suppose if you're not accustomed to it...if it's not part of tradition, you might have no clue! The best I could tell her is it's a yummy, creamy drink enjoyed at Christmas time in the States...and it's name likely has it's origins because of having egg in the recipie. The 'nog' part? I don't know. I always associated 'nog' with the nutmeg that you're bound to find in eggnog. But I may be wrong.
The important thing for you Brits to remember is that the best eggnog is spiked with alcolhol!! (Rum, anyone??) Oh yes...and it's also extremely fatty and bad for you. I.E., it's a perfect American drink!
Finally, I want to comment on British television. What the hell is wrong with the people over here not being able to put a believable parent-child relationship together on the TV? I mean, I'm watching shows like Emmerdale, EastEnders, and Coronation Street, and it seems every time you turn around, there's a mother or father with their son or daughter, and it looks like there's only 5-10 years difference between the actors! It's been more than once I've asked Helen, "Who's that?" "That's their father." "No way...it looks like her brother."
Anyway, I find it amusing!
Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions?
1 comment:
very interesting stuff i can't wait to get over there
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