England

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England

England, the largest and most populous portion of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (2022Se pop. 68,429,595), 50,334 sq mi (130,365 sq km). It is bounded by Wales and the Irish Sea on the west and Scotland on the north. The English Channel, the Strait of Dover, and the North Sea separate it from the continent of Europe. The Isle of Wight, off the southern mainland in the English Channel, and the Scilly Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the southwestern tip of the mainland, are considered part of England. London, the capital of Great Britain, is located in the southeastern portion of England. The Thames and the Severn are the longest rivers.

Behind the white chalk cliffs of the southern coast lie the gently rolling downs and wide plains stretching to the Chiltern Hills and the Cotswold Hills. Along the east coast are the lowlands of Norfolk, reaching up to the Fens, formerly marshy country that has been drained, lining The Wash, an inlet of the North Sea. In the east and southeast, river estuaries lead to some of England's great commercial and industrial centers: London, on the Thames; Hull, on the Humber; Middlesbrough and Stockon-on-Tees, on the Tees; and Newcastle upon Tyne, on the Tyne. The north of England, above the Humber, is mountainous; the chief highlands are the Cumbrian Mts. in the northwest and the Pennines, which run north-south in N central England. The famous Lake District, in the Cumbrians, has England's highest points. The center of England, the Midlands, is a large plain, interrupted and bordered by hills. In the Midlands are the industrial centers of Birmingham and the Black Country. The Midlands, especially its northern edge, was formerly a great coal-mining region. On the Lancashire plain is the great city of Manchester, the center of the English textile industry. Durham and W Yorkshire are also highly industrialized, but E Yorkshire is an area of bleak moors and wolds, and the upper reaches of Northumberland are sparsely populated. In the west and southwest the border with Wales and the peninsula of Devonshire and Cornwall have a hilly, upland terrain. The main ports in the west are Bristol, on the Avon (which flows into Bristol Channel), and Liverpool, on the Mersey. In southern England, the main ports are London, Southampton, and Plymouth.

Despite its northerly latitudes (London is on the same parallel as the easterly tip of Labrador), England has a mild climate, attributable to warm currents in the surrounding seas. Most of the region is subject to much wet weather, and some of it experiences severe cold, but in general the climate is favorable to a wide variety of agricultural and industrial pursuits.

England has 27 administrative counties: Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Sussex, and Worcestershire. Nonmetropolitan areas, the counties are further divided into districts. Cornwall, Durham, Herefordshire, Isle of Wight, Northumberland, Rutland, Shropshire, and Wiltshire are historical counties that have abandoned the two-tier county council–district council structure for a single-tier unitary council; administratively, they are unitary authorities. The former counties of Avon, Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Cheshire, Cleveland, and Humberside have been dissolved into smaller unitary authorities; these and other areas that were administratively part of the remaining counties are now independent local governing authorities.

From 1974 to 1986 there were also seven metropolitan counties: Greater London, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Midlands, and West Yorkshire; the administrative districts that comprised these counties are now responsible for most local government functions. Greater London consists of the City of London and 32 boroughs and, unlike the other former metropolitan counties, has an elected mayor and assembly. The 39 so-called ancient or geographical counties of England (Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumberland, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, Durham, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, Warwickshire, Westmorland, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, and Yorkshire) typically differ in area from the existing counties even when they share a name with a modern county or unitary authority. Some ancient counties (Sussex and Yorkshire) have been divided into separate counties or counties and other administrative units, while others (Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Cheshire, Cumberland, Huntingdonshire, Middlesex, and Westmorland) have been subdivided into smaller administative units.

For the history of England as well as more information on government and economy, see Great Britain.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

England

the administrative and political part and historical center of Great Britain. The name “England” derives from the Angles, the name of a Germanic tribe which settled in Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries. In the broadest sense, the name “England” is often applied to the entire United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

England includes 54 percent of the area and 83 percent of the population of Great Britain. The area is 131,000 sq km; the population, 45.3 million (as of 1966). Administratively, England is divided into 48 counties. It contains more than 70 percent of the cities, six out of seven of the major conurbations (powerful aggregates of towns whose urban structure is interconnected), and 85 percent of the employed industrial workers in Great Britain.

Almost all of the iron ore and two-thirds of the coal mined in Great Britain comes from England. Judging by employment figures, 75 percent of the mining industry of Great Britain is located in England, as is 84 percent of the processing industry. The proportion of British industry located in England is particularly high in the new and developing branches: England has more than 90 percent of the workers in the automotive, aircraft construction, general machine building, and electrical technology (including electronics) industries; about 90 percent of the workers in the chemical and typesetting and printing industries; and more than 90 percent of the workers in oil refining enterprises. The major scientific research centers of the atomic industry—Harwell, Amersham, Aldermaston—are concentrated in England, as are a large number of atomic power plants. A lesser proportion of the older branches of industry is concentrated in England, but it does contain about four-fifths of the textile industry, more than two-thirds of the shipbuilding industry, and three-fourths of the coal industry.

Noted for the development of new branches of the machine building industry are Greater London (which also has a major portion of the clothing, printing, chemical, and food industries) and the western Midlands (where there are also metalworking plants and steel mills). The chief industrial centers of the western Midlands are Birmingham and Coventry. Some of the old textile regions that have a well-developed machine building industry are Lancashire, where cotton goods are manufactured (chief centers, Manchester and Liverpool); Yorkshire, where the woolen industry is concentrated (chief centers, Leeds and Bradford); and Sheffield, which has developed a ferrous metal industry. In the eastern Midlands, where the chief centers (Nottingham and Leicester) have traditionally produced knitted goods and footwear, there are also heavy-machine building plants (in Derby) and ferrous metal plants (in Corby and Scunthorpe). The northeast region (whose chief centers include Newcastle and Middlesbrough) is one of the depressed areas. The coal mining, shipbuilding, ferrous metal, and major chemical industries are concentrated there. Coalfields can be found in all of the industrial regions of England except Greater London.

Two-thirds of the arable land in Great Britain is located in England, where nine-tenths of the nation’s wheat, sugar beets, and barley are grown and two-thirds of the long-horned cattle and one-half of the sheep and poultry are raised.

England has a highly developed transportation network. Its ports—including London, Liverpool, Manchester, Southampton, Hull, and Bristol—handle more than four-fifths of Great Britain’s freight traffic.

N. M. POL’SKAIA

Corpus Christi

Between May 21 and June 24; Thursday after Trinity Sunday

Also known as the Feast of the Most Holy Body of Christ, the Day of Wreaths, and in France as the FÉte-Dieu, Corpus Christi is a Roman Catholic festival that has been celebrated in honor of the Eucharist since 1246. In commemoration of the Last Supper on the day before Jesus' crucifixion, worshippers receive Communion and, in some countries, the consecrated bread (or Host) is paraded through the streets, held by the priests in a monstrance. In Spain and Provence, these processions can be quite elaborate, with saints and characters from the Bible following a path decorated with wreaths and strewn with flowers.
In Portugal the feast is known as Día de Corpo de Deus and has been one of the major religious observances—both on the mainland and in the Azores—since medieval times. In the city of Ponta Delgada, on San Miguel in the Azores, the people make a flower-petal carpet almost three-quarters of a mile in length. Over this carpet passes a colorful procession of high-ranking clergy and red-robed priests, who are followed by a group of first communicants (those who are to receive communion for the first time)—the young boys wearing dark suits and scarlet capes and the girls wearing white dresses and veils. The climax of the ceremony comes when the bishop raises the silver monstrance and exposes the Blessed Sacrament, the Body of Christ.

CONTACTS:
Portuguese National Tourist Office
590 Fifth Ave., 4th Fl.
New York, NY 10036
800-767-8842 or 212-354-4403; fax: 212-764-6137
www.visitportugal.com

SOURCES:
BkDays-1864, vol. I, p. 686
BkFest-1937, pp. 124, 186, 303
DaysCustFaith-1957, p. 156
DictFolkMyth-1984, pp. 253, 747, 749, 754, 787, 980, 1065
FestSaintDays-1915, p. 131
FestWestEur-1958, pp. 67, 98, 165, 198, 234
FolkAmerHol-1999, p. 249
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 346
IntlThFolk-1979, pp. 275, 276
OxYear-1999, p. 633
RelHolCal-2004, p. 96
SaintFestCh-1904, p. 263

Celebrated in: Germany, Mexico, Switzerland, Venezuela

Corpus Christi (England)

Between May 21 and June 24; Thursday after Trinity Sunday

In England, before the Reformation, there was a famous procession in London on Corpus Christi Day. Beginning at Cheapside, a group of clergymen would move down the street chanting the paternoster, or Lord's Prayer. Over the years they perfected their timing so that just as they reached a certain corner, they sang, "Amen." To this day, there is a street corner in London known as the "Amen Corner," and the street leading to it is known as "Paternoster Row." The procession then turned the corner and proceeded down another street, still known as "Ave Maria Lane."
Although the feast of Corpus Christi is no longer observed in England, there was a time when the city guilds were involved in processions on this day and often performed what were known as Corpus Christi plays. These were pageants based on a scriptural subject or religious mystery, named after the pagiante, the large, partitioned cart in which they were presented.

SOURCES:
BkFestHolWrld-1970, p. 69
FestSaintDays-1915, p. 133
(c)

Corpus Christi (Germany) (Fronleichnamsfest)

Between May 21 and June 24; Thursday after Trinity Sunday

Corpus Christi Day in Germany is celebrated with colorful processions where the Sacrament and other holy symbols are carried through villages. Small-town streets are decorated with flowers and greenery, and children dressed in white and wearing wreaths of flowers accompany women in regional costume and local clergy. Sometimes people display pictures of Christ and spread carpets in front of their houses in honor of the day.
The most picturesque of these processions take place in Bavaria, where Corpus Christi is a legal holiday. Some are held on lakes rather than in the streets, with flower-decked boats carrying members of the procession and worshippers across crystal clear waters. The processions at Lake Staffelsee and Lake Chiemsee in Upper Bavaria are among the most dramatic.

CONTACTS:
German National Tourist Office
122 E. 42nd St.
New York, NY 10168
800-651-7010 or 212-661-7200; fax: 212-661-7174
www.cometogermany.com

SOURCES:
FestSaintDays-1915, p. 137
FestWestEur-1958, p. 67
FolkWrldHol-1999, p. 346

Celebrated in: Germany

Corpus Christi (Mexico)

Between May 21 and June 24; Thursday after Trinity Sunday

A Roman Catholic holiday commemorating the Eucharist, Corpus Christi is often observed in Mexico with symbolic battles between the Moors (Muslims) and the Christians, particularly in the states of Puebla and Veracruz. Although costumes vary from one area to the next, the Moors can usually be distinguished by their turbans and crescents, while the Christians often wear either elaborate plumed helmets with visors or derby hats with pink masks. The battle between them may last four or five hours, at the end of which the Moors are defeated and their leader is symbolically buried.
Another spectacle that takes place on Corpus Christi is the Danza de los Voladores, or Flying Pole Dance, performed by the Totonac Indians in Papantla in Veracruz State. Four dancers dressed as birds stand on a small platform atop a 70-foot tree that has been stripped of its branches. By carefully winding ropes around the tree and around themselves, they are able to hurl themselves into space and circle the tree 13 times before landing on the ground feet first. The four dancers multiplied by the 13 circles equals 52, the number of years in the ancient Aztec calendar cycle. Other versions of the Flying Pole Dance are performed in Pahuatlan and Cuetzalan, Puebla State.
Religious processions are common in Mexico on Corpus Christi, as is the reposiar, a small shrine or altar set up along the procession's path, covered with a lace-trimmed altar cloth and decorated with candles, flowers, and garlands. As the priest makes his rounds of the village, he stops at each of these shrines and gives his benediction. Local tradespeople set up a "mock" market along the path of the procession at which they display miniature objects of their trade. A builder, for example, makes doll houses, while restaurant owners serve small portions of food in miniature dishes and weavers make tiny blankets. The inch-long breads made by the bakers are used by the children as money to buy other miniature wares.
See also Moors and Christians Fiesta

CONTACTS:
Mexico Tourism Board
21 E. 63rd St., Fl. 3
New York, NY 10021
800-446-3942 or 212-821-0314; fax: 212-821-0367
www.visitmexico.com

SOURCES:
BkFestHolWrld-1970, p. 70
DictFolkMyth-1984, pp. 253, 749
IntlThFolk-1979, p. 275

Celebrated in: Mexico

Corpus Christi (Switzerland) (Fronleichnamsfest)

Between May 21 and June 24; Thursday after Trinity Sunday

Many of the ceremonies observed on Corpus Christi in Switzerland have come down from the Middle Ages. Although customs may vary from one canton to the next, this festival is almost always observed with elaborate processions of clergy in their best robes, people in picturesque regional costumes, and soldiers in historic uniforms. The priest who leads the procession often walks on a carpet of flowers.
In Fribourg, people decorate their houses with Gobelins (tapestries) as the bishop of Fribourg carries the Holy Sacrament through the streets. In the cantons of Appenzell, the processions include women in native costume, Capuchin monks in their robes, and young girls with white dresses and wreaths of flowers in their hair.
It is customary to throw the church doors open on Corpus Christi and to decorate the altar and aisles with garlands and greens. Outdoor village altars with flowers and candles are often erected in secluded places.

CONTACTS:
Switzerland Tourism
608 Fifth Ave.
New York, NY 10020
877-794-8037 or 212-757-5944; fax: 212-262-6116
www.myswitzerland.com

SOURCES:
FestWestEur-1958, p. 234

Celebrated in: Switzerland

Corpus Christi (Venezuela)

Between May 21 and June 24; Thursday after Trinity Sunday

The Christian feast of Corpus Christi was established in Spanish America by royal decree in the latter part of the 16th century. The celebration was supposed to resemble that held in Spain, with performances and parades of people dressed up as dragons, devils, and giants. Although the dragons and giants have disappeared over the years, the Corpus Christi devils remain an important part of the festival, particularly in San Francisco de Yare in Venezuela.
The devil dancers are welcomed with a blast of fireworks at nine o'clock on the morning of the feast. Spectators gather in the Plaza Bolívar, waiting as the drumbeats become increasingly louder. Then more than 1,000 devils appear, disguised in red garments and horrible-looking masks from which protrude both the horn and the snout of an animal, usually an ox or a pig. Each dancer holds one or more maracas in his right hand and a thin rod from which dangles a small sack in his left. Cowbells and rattles are tied to each dancer's waist, and the noise they make as they leap around and shake the maracas can be deafening.
The appearance of the Sacred Host in the doorway of the church is a sign that the procession around the plaza is about to begin. The devils dance about in a frenzy, while the man at the head of the procession acts as if he is beating them with the whip he carries. When the Sacred Host is taken back to its sanctuary, the devils start crying and attempt to enter the church, but they are shut out. They become increasingly frantic, until finally they fall on their knees and toss their horned masks on the ground as a gesture admitting their defeat.
After the dance is over, the devils go to their leader's house, where everyone dances the bamba, a traditional dance of Spanish origin.

CONTACTS:
Venezuelan Tourism Department
7 E. 51st St.
New York, NY 10022
212-826-1660; fax: 212-644-7471
www.embavenez-us.org

SOURCES:
FiestaTime-1965, p. 105

Celebrated in: Venezuela