London, Feb 25 (ANI): Dressing in Sunday best, playing conkers and keeping a diary are just some of the British traditions that will turn obsolete within a generation, according to a survey.
Other pastimes in yesteryears-like having Elevenses, taking afternoon tea and playing parlour games-are also set to be consigned to the pages of history books, reports The Telegraph.
The study showed that all the above classic British pastimes are increasingly being replaced by modern customs like blogging, social networking, weekly pub quizzes and curry nights and computer ‘’sports” like Wii tennis.
The survey of 2,000 Brits was carried out to mark the launch of UKTV’’s new channel Blighty, which claims to celebrate all that is great about Britain.
The study gives a fascinating insight into changing British life over the past few decades, and highlights which habits are dying out and which have stood the test of time.
And it was found that Sunday Best clothes, traditionally reserved for wearing to church, was at the top of the list of customs being forgotten, with only six per cent of Britons below 25 years of age ever making efforts to wear them on the traditional day of rest.
Next in line of risk of extinction were playground games like hopscotch, skipping, hide and seek and conkers, with just 13 per cent of under 25s having tried or even seen them.
May Day celebrations such as Morris dancing, crowning a May Queen and dancing around a Maypole are also on their way out with only 13 per cent of the young aware of them.
And that traditional cuppa in the afternoon is also on the verge of disappearing, with just 14 per cent of the under 25s ever going for afternoon tea, cucumber sandwiches and cake.
Putting pen to paper is something that today’’s youngsters don”t bother to do, and only 15 per cent of under 25s have reported keeping a diary and writing letters to family and friends.
Instead, they prefer communicating through email, social networking sites and blogs-65 per cent of under 25s are registered on Facebook, MySpace or Bebo and 56 per cent regularly write a blog.
Rather than playing once popular parlour games like blind man’’s buff and charades, majority of youngsters now prefer more solitary computer-based pastimes, with 47 per cent regularly playing Wii games.
While only 38 per cent of the under 25s were aware of Elevenses nowadays, one in five enjoyed a weekly curry night.
Victorian favourites like Punch & Judy shows and donkey rides are turning obsolete and water sports like surfing, riding jet skis and water-skiing are taking their place.
Shopping is a major modern day tradition among the young with two thirds (67 per cent) enjoying the January sales, 38 per cent hitting the high street on a Sunday and 28 per cent attending farmers” markets.
Other modern day traditions among the young include Halloween parties (33 per cent), pub quizzes (22 per cent) and hen and stag dos abroad (20 per cent) rather than the traditional bash the night before the wedding.
Voting on the Eurovision Song Contest or reality TV shows like X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing is another new ritual for one in five.
But there are some British traditions that have stood the test of time, and these include roast Sunday lunch, Christmas pantomime, Bonfire Night display and weekly fish and chip supper. (ANI)