1.Marriage

According to the English law，no child can get married below the age of 16.If they are between 16and 18the parents’consent to the marriage is necessary，but over the age of 18the parents’consent is unnecessary.Actually，in Britain most girls and nearly all men are well over 18when they get married.Marriage marks the beginning of a new and independent family，which means leaving one’s parents and starting one’s own life for both the man and the woman.

Now British society is considered to be permissive，which allows a considerable amount of freedom，especially in matters concerning morality.Discipline at home and school has largely given way to“freedom of expression”（e.g.self-expression）and young people of both sexes associate freely in a way not possible thirty years ago.In terms of marriage the young people do not like to have control placed on them by other family members.It is quite normal for a girl of 16to go out with a boyfriend.Kisses and embraces between them are considered quite natural behavior.If they are together for a long time and know each other well，the girl would invite her boyfriend to her house to meet her parents.And the boy would do the same.If they had made private promise to marry，the boy will buy an engagement ring for the girl.The engagement ring is placed on the third finger of the girl’s left hand，which is simply apublic declaration of engagement and a means of discouraging the attentions of other young men.If the girl changes her mind，she usually returns the ring.If they continue getting along well，the engagement ring will be replaced by the wedding ring of plain gold.

For the wedding，most British couples，whether religious or not，will go to church to have the ceremony.Other couples may go to a registry office to have the ceremony，where the ceremony is usually less formal and more purely legal.For the church ceremony the bride dressed in a long white dress and attended by her close relatives and friends.During the ceremony a churchman will ask whether they are willing to marry each other.If the answer is affirmative，they have also to make promises of loyalty to each other until they die.Ironically，Britain is actually one of the developed countries with highest divorce rate.One out of three new marriages is now expected to end in divorce.After the wedding ceremony，a new life begins.The newly married couple will have a lot of problems to deal with，such as purchasing house and raising children.