RITES OF PASSAGE
Rules for talking about children
pride, but modesty
dispassionate humorous
humility
it is forbidden to criticize the children of your interlocutors
Irony, self-deprecation, understatement, innuendo, ambiguity and polite pretense
Student rituals
freshman Week
final exams
graduation ceremony
Wedding ceremonies
bachelor and bachelorette parties
engagement
Funeral rites
cutting off humor
sincerity should not be excessive
tears are acceptable
"Such grief", "How sad", "I don't even know what to say"
a kind of code of the clergy
Seasonal rituals
The default religion rule
English were God’s
chosen and peculiar people
15 % of Christians attend church
The English Church is the least religious
church in the world.
The benign indifference rule
60% of the population believe in God
56% of Englishmen believe in
opinion polls.
Rules of ambivalence
mandatory interaction with other people over a long period of time.
expression of feelings
especially painful
it's hard to cope with informality
does not give much
pleasure
Birth of children and initiation rites
a quarter of Englishmen baptize their children
newborn viewing