SportsarethereflectionofBritishcultures.docVIP

Page  PAGE 6 of  NUMPAGES 6 Feini Dai The Research Essay British Life and Culture Dr Philip Woods 4/28/2010 Sports are the reflection of British cultures Britain, as a traditional and strong country in the area of sport, has a long history for playing sports. Many branches of sports are originated from. Because of its distinctive culture background that England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales together constitute the island of Great Britain. Sports are used to help to unite the home countries, but it has also exhibited independent identities among the four home nations.Meanwhile, the origin and organisation of spots in Britain eflect the contemporary social context. Sports, as a reflection of cultures, is an important view to understand British life and culture. It is well known that many traditional sports in the world such as football, dog racing, rugby, horse racing and golf are originated from Britain. The origins and the organization of these sports reflect the contemporary social context in Britain. There are many evidences which can prove this idea. For example, country sports such as horse racing, according to the book “ British Culture” that was written by David Christopher, it pointed that hunting and shooting first became organised activities in the Eighteenth century of Britain. At that time, wool was a highly profitable commodity, so the landowners prefer to create space for sheep farming. Poor tenants had no houses to live in the countryside and majority of them went to the expending industrial centres. Then, the rich landowners owned the countryside. Hunting, as the origin of “National Hunt Racing” in horse racing which is traditionally called “steeplechase”, appeared in that time. The wealthy aristocrats and landowners raced their horses around the countryside. “Riders jumped over hedges, walls and ditches in preparation for hunting trip, navigating they are using the pointed st