Why you can’t eat mince pies on Christmas, and other strange laws of England

There are many legends about Great Britain, including seemingly ridiculous ones. So, some people believe that you can go to jail because you ate meat pie for Christmas, and the guides tell tourists the story that it is forbidden to die in parliament. At the same time, the British themselves believe in most of these stories. Let's figure out where the legs grow from and which of these legends is true.

Prohibition of death in parliament

One of the city legends says that in Westminster it is forbidden to die. Therefore, everyone who is waiting for such a sad fate in the walls of parliament must urgently leave the building, moving at least to the ambulance. The legend appeared because of an old law: everyone who dies in Westminster has the right to an expensive funeral at the expense of the state treasury. So those who do not belong to the royal family should not be allowed to die in the walls of an office building.

Inverse treason charges

This myth appeared in connection with the advent of high treason law in 1848, which prohibits any action aimed at "depriving or overthrowing" the queen of the "imperial crown of the United Kingdom." But not a word about brands. Therefore, sticking an inverted stamp can cause trouble only in one case: a family card will reach your grandmother belatedly.

For eaten mince pie for Christmas - prison

And this is really one of the laws of England, though in reality it does not work. Introduced by Oliver Cromwell, an ardent Protestant. He banned many festivities and feasts, including Christmas with its puddings and stuffed pies. So he tried to fight gluttony. In addition to pies, in the code of laws of Great Britain until the present day 11 laws from Cromwell are preserved, but they do not work.

Chester allowed to kill Wales

At the beginning of the XV century in the city of Chester there was an uprising of the inhabitants of Wales - the Welsh. Therefore, in 1403, the Prince of Wales, who later became Henry V, threatened the Welsh with execution and issued a law according to which all the inhabitants of Wales were to be expelled from Chester "under pain of decapitation." And now more than six centuries have passed, and modern politicians still speculate with this law, although this is ridiculous. So, in 2006, the British actor Adam Rickitt sought to get into the Conservative Party of Great Britain, and one of his tasks was to repeal the law allowing residents of Chester to kill guests from Wales. Apparently, Rickitt forgot about the human rights law and several other important laws on murders and killers.

London taxi drivers should have hay with them

What do you think, how many Britons get into the famous black cab and think about whether there is a bale of hay in the trunk? And though every year the number of such Englishmen tends to zero, but still such a law actually existed. And it is connected with taxi drivers of the XIX century, who did not need gasoline, because the crew was run by horses. Therefore, in 1831 a law was passed that drivers must regularly feed a horse, and therefore are required to carry hay in a wagon. The law, by the way, lived for a very long time when there were no horses in sight: it was canceled only in 1976.

Scots are obliged to let any passerby in the toilet

In 2008, this law was even recognized as the funniest. If you are in Scotland and you need a toilet, then any resident must let you into the house.

But actually it is a myth, and there is no such law on paper. This legend has grown legs due to local customs: the Scots are very hospitable.

By the way, this is not the only legend associated with the toilet in public places. So, many Britons believe that if you hold your hand on your car during the process, then everything is legal and you will not be fined, and this will not be considered a violation of order. However, in reality, you can run into a substantial fine.

Boys under 10 are forbidden to see naked mannequins

And this legend fell not only into the minds of the British, but also into the Russian-language Internet. In fact, this law never existed: it was only proposed to be adopted, but it never entered the UK charter.