1. Their hats are made from bear fur.
   Every guard has to pass the British Army Recruit Battery.
2. They are not allowed to speak under any circumstances.

The Queen's guardsmen are highly trained soldiers, and their hats are made from bear fur. Some of the hats are nearly a century old! It's a common myth that they are forbidden from speaking. Speaking is simply reserved for when a more forceful means of communicating is needed.

1. Parkin Cake is consumed.
   Fireworks displays are held.
2. A curfew is set for 11 P.M.

Since Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament in 1605, the British have been telling the world to "remember, remember the 5th of November." There's no official curfew for Bonfire Night, but being respectful is encouraged. You can be fined for setting off your own fireworks when it gets too late.

1. Boxing Day is also celebrated in Canada.
   Boxing Day originates at a time when servants were given gift boxes by their employers.
2. Boxing Day boxing matches are held at Buckingham Palace every year.

During Victorian times, those who worked as servants were given boxes filled with meager gifts. Though that tradition has died out, Boxing Day is still celebrated every December 26th. There are no boxing matches held at Buckingham Palace, though.

1. If you want to race, you have to wear an apron.
   You can use your frying pan to push another racer out of the way.
2. You must flip your pancake at the start and the finish.

In the U.S., it's called Fat Tuesday, but the British take the celebration before Mardi Gras to a whole new level. Contestants who participate in the traditional pancake races have to wear an apron and flip their pancakes a few times. Hitting someone with a frying pan will get your disqualified!

1. She must always wear pantyhose.
   She must travel with a spare set of mourning clothes.
2. She's not permitted to give autographs.

From not being allowed to sit with her legs crossed to the color of nail polish she uses, Duchess Meghan has a lot to remember. Thankfully, there are no traditional rules that say she must always wear pantyhose. If she chooses, bare legs are acceptable.

1. The day is declared a national holiday.
   Alcohol consumption is banned.
2. Royal wedding guests are served a slice of fruitcake.

Fruitcake and all, royal weddings have always been considered reasons to celebrate. Citizens often enjoy their day off by flocking into the streets. They are permitted to drink as freely as they like.

1. Contestants chase the cheese in the nude.
   The wheel of cheese weighs nine pounds.
2. The cheese is rolled for over 200 yards.

No one really knows how Cotton Hill's cheese rolling tradition began back in the 1800s, but hundreds gather every year to chase a 9-pound block of Double Gloucester down a hill for 200 yards. Thankfully, all of the contestants are clothed — mostly.

1. The maypole is said to represent wealth.
   Maypole dancing started in Wales.
2. May Day is the most popular day for the dance.

You'll see more Welsh Maypole dancing on May Day than any other time of year, though, other celebrations can involve it. Participants use ribbons to dance around a pole that symbolizes fertility.

1. They are made from metal.
   They usually contain a paper crown.
2. The person who gets the biggest parts gets the contents.

The British are crazy about the cardboard tubes knowns as crackers. Every Christmas, crackers are handed out, then pulled by two people. The person with the biggest half wins the prize.

1. Black tea is the most popular type of tea.
   It's frowned upon to dunk your biscuits into your tea.
2. Over 165 million cups of tea are consumed every year.

Dunk away! In the United Kingdom, the biscuit industry is a three-billion-dollar industry. It's more uncommon to be served a "cuppa" with biscuits than without them. Dunking is highly encouraged.

1. She celebrates twice.
   Prince Philip bakes her a cake.
2. She rides in a horse-drawn carriage.

We're not sure that Prince Philip knows how to bake a cake, but the Queen does get to celebrate twice and ride in a carriage. Although her birthday is in April, the traditional Trooping of the Color ceremony doesn't take place until June.

1. Every adult drinks green beer.
   It's common to get a Blessing of the Shamrock.
2. Many participate in the "wearing of the green."

If you want to find green beer on St. Patrick's Day, you'll have to head to the United States. Although many of the holiday's traditions have crossed the pond, this is one that the American's came up with all on their own. You won't find green beer in Northern Ireland.

1. You are welcome to climb the stones.
   Charles Darwin studied earthworms there.
2. The largest stones weigh up to 25 tons.

Historians and archeologists estimate that Stonehenge is around 3,000 years older than the Pyramids of England. You're no longer permitted to climb them, but years ago it was part of the adventure. Visitors were even given chisels to carve their own souvenirs!

1. Legend has it that the monarchy will fall if they escape.
   King Charles II ordered them to be kept there.
2. They are used to keep drones away from the tower.

Legend says that if the six ravens ever leave the Tower of London, the nation will fall into chaos. Visitors are welcome to see them, but they might want to hold off until after meal time. Every day, the ravens each eat six ounces of raw meat and blood-soaked treats.

1. Heart
   Peas
2. Oatmeal

Traditionally served on the birthday of national poet Robert Burns, haggis is the national dish of Scotland. A sheep's stomach is filled with all sorts of offal, oatmeal and a battery of spices. It might be the only time you'll ever hope to find peas on your plate! Sadly, you will not.

1. Lecturers take place in a ceremony that involves swearing off marriage.
   Boats are bumped together.
2. There's an "Alice in Wonderland" day.

Over 21,000 people apply to attend Oxford University every year for the academics — not the wacky traditions. Though there are plenty of them, there's no ceremony that asks professors to stay single. You would have to go back a few centuries to observe those Oxford rules.

1. An envelope
   A birthday card
2. A tray of biscuits

Assuming your birthday card comes with an envelope, the Queen will not send you a birthday cake. If you make it to age 105, she'll send you a personalized card every year, but you'll never get a sweet treat from her.

1. Swimmers may not flap their arms.
   Swimmers must wear a snorkel.
2. Swimmers must swim for a mile.

Should you want to become a bog snorkeling champion, head to Wales! Every year, a competition takes place in Llanwrtyd Wells. Swimmers must race through a bog and swim for 60 meters only using their flippers.

1. It was self-adhesive like the stamps we have now.
   It was called the Penny Black.
2. It has a picture of Queen Victoria.

Printed with black ink and an image of Queen Victoria, the Penny Black was the world's first postage stamp. The self-adhesive version wasn't invented until 1974, but it's still considered an act of treason to place it upside down.

1. She allowed a divorced woman to be married in the church.
   She allowed Prince Charles to walk her down the aisle.
2. She insisted that Prince Harry not wear a wedding band.

Queen Elizabeth II is one of the more modern monarchs to ever sit on the throne. She's broken over 10 royal traditions for the new duchess, including allowing Harry to wear a wedding band. No other male royal has the same liberty.

1. Prince Phillip
   Queen Elizabeth II
2. Duchess Meghan

Horses, dogs, donkeys, Prince Philip and every U.K. citizen are required to have a passport. Even Meghan Markle has to have one because she has dual citizenship. Since they are issued in her name, Queen Elizabeth has never been a passport holder.

1. Eight minutes of silence are observed on November 11th.
   It's also called Poppy Day.
2. The Queen attends a service at Whitehall.

Remembrance Day, or Poppy Day, is always celebrated on the Sunday that falls closest to November 11. Silence is observed on the 11th, but it doesn't last for eight minutes. Two minutes are observed on that date, and another two minutes are observed on the second Sunday of November.

1. Each corgi has its own room in Buckingham Palace.
   They are all descended from a dog named Susan.
2. The corgis are fed at 5 PM every day.

Susan, the Queen's first corgi, is the great, great granddog to her current two pups Vulcan and Candy. They don't have their own room in the palace, but they do have a shared room. Servants provide their pricy beds with clean, pressed sheets every day.

1. The castle does not have a kitchen.
   It's the oldest royal residence in the world.
2. There are over 1,000 rooms.

With 20 chefs, 33 kitchen staff and three pastry chefs, no one ever goes hungry at Windsor Castle. The Great Kitchen is only one of the kitchens found within the castle. It's the country's oldest.

1. It's named Ben Nevis.
   It's located in the Grampian Mountains of Scotland.
2. You must pay to climb it.

You have to pay to park at the base of Ben Nevis, but there's no fee for attempting to climb its 4,413 feet. Once you've conquered it, you can same the local whiskey at a nearby pub that uses a recipe that originates in that region of Scotland.

1. It takes place at a local pub.
   Singing takes place from 3 A.M. to 6 A.M.
2. Candles are lit to light the service.

Plygain is a Welsh tradition that goes all the way back to the 13th century. While there may or may not be an official version of it taking place every night at a local pub, it's traditionally held in a local church in the wee hours of Christmas morning.

1. The clock's name is Big Ben.
   It's found at the northern end of Westminster Palace.
2. There are 334 steps inside the tower than houses it.

Watching New Year's fireworks at the Tower of London is the British equivalent of New York's Times Square. The annual display of over 70,000 fireworks doesn't take place until the hands on the clock strike midnight and Ben Ben chimes. FYI ... Big Ben is the bell inside the tower, not the clock!

1. The tree is a gift from Oslo, Norway.
   You are not permitted to take photos of the tree.
2. A lighting display takes place every year on the first Thursday in December.

Since 1947, a 196-foot-tall Christmas tree has been donated to London by Oslo. It's a gesture of gratitude for the defense in WWII. Thousands gather for the lighting ceremony, and plenty of selfies are taken. We're totally lying about that.

1. Furmety is a traditional food to serve your mum.
   Dinner is a popular gift.
2. Greeting cards are considered taboo.

Get your mum a Mother's Day card before the fourth Sunday of Lent! There's nothing wrong with giving her a card or taking her out to dinner. She might want to skip the boiled whole grain called frumenty, though!

1. They date back to the 12th century.
   They were once banned.
2. They are eaten on Shrove Tuesday.

Shrove Tuesday is reserved for pancakes, but hot cross buns can be eaten all year round. Traditionally served warm on Easter, Elizabeth I once banned them because she didn't care for the religious symbolism.

1. The first broadcast was in 1957.
   Channel 4 airs an "Alternative Christmas Message."
2. It's a live broadcast.

The first Royal Christmas Broadcast didn't go very well for Queen Elizabeth II. Many missed it because of radio interference. Since 1959, she's solved the problem by pre-recording the message that airs at 3 P.M. on Christmas day.

1. Competitors must wear a kilt.
   A hammer is thrown during one of the games.
2. Women are not allowed to participate.

The Highland Games have taken place in Scotland since 1836, but a lot has changed about it. Until the late 1990s, women were not allowed to participate in the festival celebrating Scottish and Celtic heritage, but they now make up a huge portion of participants.

1. The fabric is called tartan.
   Going commando is encouraged.
2. They symbolize individual clans.

Every tartan print is representative of a Scottish clan, and kilts were originally worn to symbolize them. There are no hard and fast rules about what must, if anything, be worn under a kilt. 55% percent of men who have worn them to admit to going commando, though.

1. Women wear bells on their shins.
   It's not accompanied by music.
2. Moves are choreographed to include handkerchiefs.

The earliest reference of Morris dancing goes all the way back to 1448! A dance filled with color and music, Morris dancing was the original form of entertainment. You can still find Morris dancers at festivals throughout the country.

1. The Queen writes her own speech.
   The Queen addresses Parliament.
2. The Queen outlines the year's agenda for the nation.

When the Queen delivers her Speech From the Throne speech, the British government listens. Given while wearing the Imperial Crown, she lets everyone know the direction she wants to see lawmakers take.