浅谈英国人的派对文化

　　Welcome to Joking Around!

　　British people love to have fun and enjoy being sociable with each other. So, joking around is one of the best things to do in the evening, especially as the evenings get longer, and in order to avoid a complete state of melancholy it is necessary to gather in groups and share the abundance of fine ales on offer. In the long dark evenings of the British wintertime swamped down by academic essays it becomes necessary for ones sanity to indulge in the company of others. Friendship and laughter are simply necessary for survival during these long dark months of winter. It is in these times that the British have learnt to take solace and comfort in the art of fancy dress.

　　Fancy dress parties are quite common in the UK. These parties are popular among both adults and kids! To be perfectly honest, adults love them more than kids do and dress up for any occasion! It could be a birthday party, Stag Party, Hen Do, and especially Halloween! The costumes are readily available, you can buy them in Party Shops or online, and if you are creative enough you can let your imagination go and make one yourself! The list of ideas is endless: for one crazy night you can become a superhero, film or TV character, medieval or renaissance lookalike, anyone but yourself. This is the age old English tradition of escapism. When times are hard there are few better ways to have lift ones spirit than becoming Marilyn Monroe (Malilian, Menglu) for an evening. A few of the popular fancy dress costumes include outfits worn like Spiderman, Elvis, Darth Vader, Cleopatra, and Catwoman! Animal costumes, wizards, magicians, fairies, pirates, and cowboys are also popular. But no costume would be completed without a perfect set of accessories! As a lady myself I can tell you now, no outfit will ever be perfect without the likes of hat, mask, glasses, gloves, wig, footwear, and of course face paints!!

　　British people are not afraid of laughing at themselves! In fact they take pleasure of being stupid in a comical way. Lets face it, this is a country that gave you Laurel and Hardy.

　　Fancy dress parties are not a novelty! They have been popular since Victorian times! Their origins can be traced back to masked balls of the 18th century, when fancy dress balls were a typical part of the social calendar. Old tradition still remains in some parts. Nowadays, even the British Royal Family is fond of an occasional fancy dress party. Many colleges hold numerous Summer Balls, Graduation Balls and May Day Celebrations, which provide a perfect opportunity to dress up! Students dressed in all their finery wander down the enchanted cobbled lanes as if time has stood still for a 100 years.

　　So during your time in the UK to be fully successful, graduation is not enough! You must be prepared to make a fool of yourself and in doing so you will be the most popular student on campus.