Etiquette Required Of Foreign Guests

[stuart_rayner]

Hi,

As a Brit who enjoys Major League Baseball whenever I am fortunate enough to visit the USA, I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction.

I am aware that it is considered correct to place your right hand over your heart during the national anthem, but I was wondering if I also absolutely need to do this.

During my own national anthem, I would stand quietly to attention and face the flag or music as you would expect, but I would not raise my hand to heart. Its just not something we have ever done here in the UK (as far as I know).

I feel a little uncomfortable about feeling forced to perform an action for an anthem that, lets be honest, is not my own. Would it be considered acceptable to act for the US anthem as I would for my own? ie just stand silently and respectfully.

Of course, it may be better to put my hand on my heart in any case to avoid causing anger in other people that obviously wont know I am a foreigner!

Thanks for any advice, Stu.

[NAVA1974]

As a Brit who enjoys Major League Baseball whenever I am fortunate enough to visit the USA, I was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction.I am aware that it is considered correct to place your right hand over your heart during the national anthem, but I was wondering if I also absolutely need to do this.

Hello Stu,

We are indeed, fortunate, to have a considerate visitor like you in our country. I only wish more Yanks were similarly concerned about local customs and traditions when we travel abroad.

A flag salute is expected of citizens who are under the authority represented by the flag. As you are under the authority of the Crown even when you travel, you are not expected to salute our flag. By all means men visiting from other nations should remove hats/caps during the playing of our national anthem, but that is simply a sign of respect for your hosts, not an admission of sovereignty. There is no need for you to hold your hand/hat/cap over your heart unless you wish to do so.

You could, of course, wear a jacket fashioned from your national colours to alert those who might think you are "dissing" our flag.

jacketuj1.jpg

Nick