Folk Calendar

Wednesday 5 May

Happy birthday to Martin Simpson (74 today)

Born on this day: Jim Reid (1934), John Playford (1623) and Séamus Ennis (1919)

Thursday 6 May New moon

Folklore from the old calendars

Well-dressing at Tissington Still kept DerbyshireOn Ascension Day the five wells of Tissington were dressed with boards spread with wet plaster and set with flowers into pictures, texts and patterns.
Beating the bounds Still kept EnglandOn Holy Thursday, or in Rogation week before it, the minister, parish officers and schoolboys walked the parish boundary, the boys striking the marks with peeled willow wands.
The Ince oatmeal dole No longer kept LancashireEdward Richardson, who owned an estate in the township of Ince, directed in 1784 that for fifty years after his death oatmeal should be given out to the poor of the neighbourhood on Ascension Day.
The Old Brine at Nantwich No longer kept CheshirePennant was told that the old people of Nantwich sang a hymn of thanksgiving on Ascension Day for the blessing of the brine that made the town's salt.
Hailing the Lamb on Ascension morning Lore and belief DevonIn many villages round Exeter people went out on Ascension morning to hail the Lamb.
The Tyne barges on Ascension Day No longer kept NorthumberlandOn Ascension Day the magistrates, the River Jury and other officers of Newcastle kept an old custom of going the bounds of the town's jurisdiction on the river in their barges, to guard against encroachments.
Baked peas at Evesham on Holy Thursday No longer kept WorcestershireBrand's servant Betty Jelkes, who had lived for some years at Evesham, told him of an old custom of the town's market gardens.
The smock race at Newburn No longer kept Leinster, NorthumberlandBrockett's glossary of north-country words mentions the smock race on Ascension Day, run by young countrywomen for a fine holland smock trimmed with ribbons.
New College at the Bartlemas well No longer kept OxfordshireAubrey wrote about 1690 that the fellows of New College had gone every Holy Thursday, time out of mind, between eight and nine in the morning, to the hospital of St Bartholomew near Oxford.
Holy Thursday wells at Brewood and Bilbrook No longer kept StaffordshirePlot saw the wells at Brewood and Bilbrook in Staffordshire adorned with boughs and flowers on Holy Thursday, a custom he said was kept at all the gospel places, wells, trees or hills, where the gospel was read on the bounds.
Hunting the ram at Eton No longer kept BuckinghamshireAbout Whitsuntide, on Holy Thursday as Aubrey thought, the Eton schoolboys hunted a ram until they killed it and then made a venison feast of it.
Seggs on the doorstep for Ascension No longer kept YorkshireNear York children used to lay rushes, called seggs, on their doorsteps to mark Ascension Day.
No work in the Penrhyn quarries on Ascension Day Lore and belief CaernarfonshireThe slate quarrymen at Lord Penrhyn's quarries near Bangor would not work on Ascension Day, believing an accident was certain if they did.
Damming the gutters at Exeter No longer kept DevonWhen the parishes of Exeter went their bounds the boys dammed up the water channels in the streets and splashed passers-by.
Points for the boys that were whipped at Chelsea No longer kept London, MiddlesexWhen Chelsea parish walked its bounds in 1679 the churchwardens paid for a dinner, for points for the boys, and four shillings to the boys that were whipped at the boundary marks so they would remember them.
St Margaret’s Westminster walks to Kensington No longer kept LondonThe parish of St Margaret, Westminster, fed its bounds walkers at Kensington every Rogation tide, with bread, ale, fish, cream and cheese.
Kemes against Emlyn at St Meugan’s No longer kept Cardiganshire, PembrokeshireOn Ascension Day the men of Kemes played knappan at St Meugan's against the men of Emlyn, who were joined by the men of Cardiganshire.

Saturday 8 May

Born on this day: Bobby MacLeod (1925) and Eddie Butcher (1900)

Sunday 9 May

Tuesday 11 May

Born on this day: Douglas Kennedy (1893)

Wednesday 12 May

Folklore from the old calendars

Beltane at Callander No longer kept PerthshireA correspondent sent Hone Jamieson's account of Beltane, kept in Scotland on Old May Day.
Over May hill Lore and belief EnglandMay was called a trying month for people who had been long ill.
Turning out the cattle on Old May Day No longer kept EnglandJohn Aikin, whose Natural History of the Year Hone quoted, said Old May Day was the usual time for turning cattle out into the pastures, though the grass was often still very bare.
The cowherds’ Beltan at Logierait No longer kept PerthshireThe minister of Logierait told the Statistical Account of Scotland that a festival called Beltan was held every year in the parish on the first of May, Old Style.
Horns on Old May Day at Cambridge No longer kept CambridgeshireDr E.
Cattle onto Burgh Marsh at Old May Day No longer kept CumberlandThe cattle and horses of Burgh by Sands went onto the great marsh by the Solway at Old May Day.
A month before Clamme the cuckoo sings Lore and belief MontgomeryshireIn Montgomeryshire it was said that if the cuckoo sang a month before Clamme, the Welsh Calan Mai or May Day, the hay would be so heavy that the farmer would sing for joy a month before August.

Friday 14 May

Happy birthday to Alasdair Fraser (72 today)

Born on this day: Frank Harte (1933), Gordon Duncan (1964) and Nansi Richards (1888)

Saturday 15 May

Happy birthday to Aly Bain (81 today) and John McCusker (54 today)

Sunday 16 May

Whitsun

Monday 17 May

Happy birthday to Dick Gaughan (79 today) and Sue Harris (78 today)

Folklore from the old calendars

The Greenhill Bower Still kept StaffordshireLichfield's show fair was held on Whit Monday, when members of the corporation and the town's best tradesmen walked in procession from the guildhall to Greenhill.
The Eynsham timber No longer kept OxfordshireAt Eynsham the townspeople might cut down on Whit Monday as much timber as they could haul by hand into the abbey yard, the churchwardens first marking the trees.
The Chester Whitsun plays Still kept CheshireChester's mystery plays were said to have been written by Randall Higgenett, a monk of Chester Abbey, and played on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Whitsun week.
Greenwich Fair No longer kept KentFor Londoners Whit Monday meant Greenwich Fair, and from early morning crowds poured along the Kent Road and down the river to it.
Drop handkerchief at the Devon revels No longer kept DevonA correspondent remembered from his boyhood in Devon that at the fairs and revels of Easter and Whitsuntide young men and women formed a ring to play drop handkerchief.
The Whitsuntide hirings in Cumberland No longer kept CumberlandFarm servants in Cumberland were hired by the half year at Whitsuntide and Martinmas.
Necton guild No longer kept NorfolkIn 1817 Major, later Colonel, Mason of Necton Hall set up a guild of rural sports on the afternoons of Whit Monday and Whit Tuesday, to gather the Whitsun holidays of the Norfolk villages at Necton.
Peppard Revel No longer kept OxfordshireThe Reading Mercury of 24 May 1819 advertised Peppard Revel for Whit Monday.
The stick blow at the Lancashire Whitsun fair No longer kept LancashireAt Whitsuntide fairs in parts of Lancashire a trick was played in which one person held a stick over another's head and a third, unseen, struck the stick so that it came down smartly on the victim.
The Boy’s Bailiff at Wenlock No longer kept ShropshireIn Whitsun week Much Wenlock kept a custom called the Boy's Bailiff.
Hocking and pigeon-holes at the Brentford Whitsun ale No longer kept MiddlesexA Brentford vestry of 1621 recorded that the townspeople had long met at Whitsuntide in their church house to eat and drink together, keeping up neighbourly feeling and raising a common stock for the church, the orphans and the poor.
Fetching in the Fly at Oxford No longer kept OxfordshireOn a day in the Whitsun holidays the master cook of Oxford for that year rode out on horseback with his brother cooks, all in silk doublets, to Bartholomew's or Bullingdon Green to fetch in the Fly.
The Corby toll Still kept NorthamptonshireEvery twentieth year on Whit Monday the people of Corby blocked every road into the parish and demanded a toll from all who passed.
Winlaton Hopping No longer kept County DurhamThe ironworking village of Winlaton held its hopping on the Monday and Tuesday after 14 May, with shows and stalls along Front Street.
The millers’ riding at Hinckley No longer kept LeicestershireAt Hinckley's Whit Monday fair the millers of the nearby villages used to ride in a decorated cavalcade, a show that had fallen out of favour until it was revived with new characters in 1786.
Rosley Fair from Whit Monday No longer kept CumberlandRosley Fair on its open hill opened on Whit Monday.
Whitsun jaunts to Islington and Newington No longer kept LondonOver the Whitsun holidays Londoners poured out to Islington, Newington and the villages nearby to eat and drink.
Whitsun rides in Moorfields No longer kept LondonAt Whitsuntide children paid for rides at the fairground in Moorfields, going up and down on the swings.
The Fool and the Megen No longer kept WalesAt Whitsuntide Welsh morris dancers, nine men with ribbons on their clothes and bells at their knees, danced to the tune of Country Bumpkin.
Guessing the man in green at Whitsuntide No longer kept WalesAt Whitsuntide the Welsh morris dancers were sometimes joined by a man dressed in green and entirely covered with ivy, leaves and flowers.
Nettles on the sluggard’s latch on Whit Monday No longer kept WalesEarly on Whit Monday farm boys and others went round the village with noise and song to wake the lazy, leaving a bunch of nettles tied to the latch of every sluggard's door.
Sweethearts paired for the Whit Monday dance No longer kept WalesIn the late eighteenth century, about a fortnight before Whitsun, Welsh farm boys went to a secluded spot in the woods and told each other their sweethearts' names, and the girls did the same.

Tuesday 18 May

Folklore from the old calendars

A hot May makes a fat churchyard Lore and belief EnglandAmong the weather proverbs Hone gathered from Dr Forster were two about May.
When the cuckoo comes to the bare thorn Lore and belief EnglandAmong the farming proverbs Dr Forster collected and Hone printed in May was one that read the season from the cuckoo.
Eton Montem and the salt-bearers No longer kept BuckinghamshireAt the Eton Montem the scholars marched in military dress to Salt Hill, while salt-bearers in fancy costume stopped travellers on the roads and gave a pinch of salt to everyone who paid toward the captain's purse, which could reach a thousand pounds.
The mock mayor of Costessy No longer kept NorfolkOn Whit Tuesday the poor of Costessy, near Norwich, elected a mock mayor in imitation of the Norwich city guild.
St Conwall’s Well near Huntingtower No longer kept PerthshireSt Conwall's Well, near Ruthven Castle or Huntingtower outside Perth, belonged to a saint whose day was kept on 18 May.

Wednesday 19 May

Happy birthday to John Sheahan (88 today) and Paul Brady (80 today)

Thursday 20 May Flower Moon

Happy birthday to Andy Eastwood (48 today)

Saturday 22 May

Sunday 23 May

Happy birthday to Mary Black (72 today)

Folklore from the old calendars

The Trinity garland at Newnton No longer kept WiltshireAt Newnton in North Wiltshire a Trinity Sunday rite recalled King Athelstan's gift of a common and a house for the hayward.
Mown grass in Clee church No longer kept LincolnshireOn Trinity Sunday, the feast of dedication, Clee church was strewn with fresh mown grass.
Nod Beuno calves on Trinity Sunday at Clynnog No longer kept CaernarfonshireCalves and lambs born with the Nod Beuno, a natural mark in the ear, belonged to St Beuno and were brought to his church at Clynnog on Trinity Sunday, the saint's anniversary.
Splashing at Taff’s Well after Easter No longer kept GlamorganAbout seventy years before Trevelyan wrote, the young people of the parish gathered at Taff's Well, a thermal spring a few miles above Cardiff, on the eighth Sunday after Easter.

Monday 24 May

Happy birthday to Bella Hardy (43 today)

Tuesday 25 May

Born on this day: Tom Munnelly (1944)

Wednesday 26 May

Born on this day: Ian Powrie (1923)

Thursday 27 May

Born on this day: Diz Disley (1931)

Folklore from the old calendars

The Coventry pageants No longer kept WarwickshireBefore the Reformation Coventry was famous for the pageants played on Corpus Christi day, which drew crowds from far and near.
The York Corpus Christi play Still kept YorkshireThe Guild of Corpus Christi at York was bound to put on a Corpus Christi play every year, and it was acted in the city until 1584.
Fern and flowers at the door for Corpus Christi No longer kept FlintshirePennant's manuscript notes that in Wales, on the eve of the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, the feast of Corpus Christi, the people of Caerwys strewed before their doors a kind of fern they called Red yn Mair.
The Skinners’ procession on Corpus Christi Day No longer kept LondonOn Corpus Christi Day the members of the Skinners' Company of London walked in procession from their hall on Dowgate Hill to the church of St Antholin in Watling Street to hear a service.
The Dean’s gloves on Corpus Christi No longer kept County DurhamThe Durham trades companies' Corpus Christi procession to the cathedral outlived the Reformation and lasted until about eighty years before Henderson wrote.
Holm Cultram fairs at Maundy Thursday and Corpus Christi No longer kept CumberlandThe lordship of Holm Cultram held two fairs a year, one on Maundy Thursday and one on Corpus Christi day.
Torches about the parish on Corpus Christi No longer kept LondonOn Corpus Christi Day the London parish of St Mary-at-Hill hired men to carry torches round the parish, with flags and garlands for the procession.
Corpus Christi knappan at St Meugan’s No longer kept Cardiganshire, PembrokeshireOn Corpus Christi Day the men of Kemes met the men of Emlyn and Cardiganshire at St Meugan's for the second of the two great knappan games held there.

Saturday 29 May

Oak Apple Day

Born on this day: E. Estyn Evans (1905)

Sunday 30 May

Born on this day: Clive Carey (1883) and Elizabeth Cronin (1879)

Monday 31 May

Born on this day: Bob Davenport (1932)

Tuesday 1 June

Friday 4 June New moon

Saturday 5 June

Born on this day: Mary Neal (1860)

Wednesday 9 June

Thursday 10 June

Born on this day: Ian Campbell (1933)

Friday 11 June

Folklore from the old calendars

The Glastonbury walnut tree No longer kept SomersetBesides the Holy Thorn, the abbey churchyard at Glastonbury had a miraculous walnut tree on the north side of St Joseph's chapel.
Barnaby Bright Lore and belief EnglandBefore the calendar change of 1752, St Barnabas's Day on 11 June fell close to the summer solstice, and country people still called it the longest day.
Rose and woodruff garlands No longer kept LondonOn St Barnabas's Day the priests and clerks of English churches used to wear garlands of roses and woodruff.
The Englewood forest court at Hesket No longer kept CumberlandEvery year on St Barnabas's Day the court for the whole Forest of Englewood was held at Hesket in Cumberland, by the side of the highway under a thorn tree.
Barnaby yea, Barnaby nay Lore and belief County DurhamA farmer who led his hay on St Barnabas's Day was said to have been swallowed up with his carts and horses in the Hell Kettles near Darlington.
Ragged Robin at Barnaby Bright Lore and belief EnglandSt Barnabas's Day, Barnaby Bright of the longest day, was the day of ragged robin, which bloomed then in the hayfields.
The hay rake on the clog for St Barnabas No longer kept StaffordshireOn the old wooden clog almanacs, the notch for St Barnabas's Day was cut with the figure of a rake, because the day marked the start of hay harvest.

Saturday 12 June

Happy birthday to Roy Harper (86 today)

Monday 14 June

Happy birthday to Andy Irvine (85 today)

Born on this day: Julie Felix (1938)

Tuesday 15 June

Born on this day: Roy Harris (1933)

Saturday 19 June Strawberry Moon

Born on this day: Julia Clifford (1914) and Nick Drake (1948)

Monday 21 June

Tuesday 22 June

Happy birthday to Leon Rosselson (93 today)

Wednesday 23 June

Folklore from the old calendars

The Ripon welcome table No longer kept YorkshireAt Ripon on Midsummer Eve, every householder who had moved into a new neighbourhood during the year set a table in the street before his door with bread, cheese and ale for anyone who cared to come.
St John’s Eve fires in Ireland Still kept IrelandDonald McQueen of Skye told of seeing the Irish St John's Eve fires in 1782.
The soul’s ramble on St John’s Eve Lore and belief IrelandChambers records the Irish belief that on St John's Eve every person's soul leaves the body and travels to the place where it will finally part from it in death.
Watching in the church porch Lore and belief EnglandIn England it was believed that anyone who sat up fasting all night in the church porch on St John's Eve would see the spirits of those who were to die in the parish in the coming year.
Midsummer men Lore and belief EnglandOn Midsummer Eve girls set sprigs of orpine in clay on a slate or potsherd and called them Midsummer men.
Catching fern seed Lore and belief EnglandBecause the seed of the fern is too small to see, people reasoned that whoever held it would become invisible.
Struell Wells on Midsummer Eve No longer kept UlsterAt Stoole, as Hone calls Struell, near Downpatrick, crowds gathered from midnight on Midsummer Eve at a mount sacred to St Patrick with three holy wells.
The Midsummer watch at Nottingham No longer kept NottinghamshireUntil the reign of Charles I every householder of means in Nottingham sent a man, armed with pike, musket or halberd, to keep a general watch on Midsummer Eve.
The Marching Watch No longer kept LondonIn medieval London a watch of at least two thousand men paraded the city on Midsummer Eve and again on the eves of St Peter and St Paul.
The Chester Midsummer show Still kept CheshireChester set its watch on St John's Eve with a great pageant.
Midsummer torches in Cornwall No longer kept CornwallBorlase, quoted by Hone, wrote that on Midsummer Eve the Cornish people lit bonfires and walked round them with torches tarred and pitched at the end.
The black dog at Whiteborough No longer kept CornwallBrand recorded that a Midsummer bonfire was once made on Whiteborough, a burial mound on St Stephen's Down near Launceston.
The Midsummer rose Lore and belief EnglandAmong the Midsummer Eve charms that a girl in the Connoisseur owned to trying was the rose.
Shoes in the form of a T Lore and belief DorsetA Dorset man writing for the Year Book said Midsummer Eve was the great night for girls to find out whom they would marry.
Farthing Loaf Day No longer kept WorcestershireBy an old bequest of a local spinster, a farthing loaf was given on Midsummer Eve to everyone born in Church Street, Kidderminster, rich or poor, who cared to claim it, and the day was known as Farthing Loaf Day.
The masons at Melrose No longer kept RoxburghshireSt John's Eve was a great day for the masonic lodges of Scotland, and Chambers took Melrose as the example, quoting a local history of 1861.
Bonfires of amity in London No longer kept LondonStow, quoted by Hone, described how in June and July, on the eves of feast days, bonfires were made in the London streets with every man giving wood or labour.
St John’s wort over the Welsh door No longer kept WalesPennant's manuscript notes that in Wales people had the custom of sticking St John's wort over their doors on the eve of St John the Baptist.
Green birch on the sign-posts at Little Brickhill No longer kept Buckinghamshire, LondonThe herbalist William Coles remembered riding through Little Brickhill, a town on the London road between Dunstable and Stony Stratford, and finding nearly every sign-post decked with green birch.
The Cooks’ bonfires on the Sandhill No longer kept NorthumberlandThe ordinary of the Company of Cooks at Newcastle, drawn up in 1575, bound the fellowship to keep up at its own cost the town's two bonfires on the Sandhill, as the ancient custom was.
The Cumwhitton wake on St John’s Eve No longer kept CumberlandHutchinson's History of Cumberland says that the parish of Cumwhitton held its wake on the eve of St John, with the lighting of fires and dancing.
The Burford dragon and giant No longer kept OxfordshirePlot's History of Oxfordshire records that the people of Burford, within living memory in 1677, made a dragon every year and carried it up and down the town with great jollity on Midsummer Eve, adding a giant as well for no reason anyone knew.
Snake stones at Midsummer Lore and belief Cornwall, Scotland, WalesBorlase found it a common belief in most of Wales, throughout Scotland and in Cornwall that about Midsummer Eve snakes met together in companies.
Three nails for the falling sickness Lore and belief EnglandLupton's Book of Notable Things gives a cure for epilepsy tied to Midsummer Eve.
Bede’s Well on Midsummer Eve No longer kept County DurhamAbout a mile west of Jarrow stood Bede's Well, where until about 1740 sick children were brought to be dipped; a crooked pin was dropped in and the well was laved dry between each dipping.
Fires to bless the apples No longer kept Herefordshire, SomersetOn Midsummer Eve people in Herefordshire and Somerset lit fires in the fields and along the lanes to bless the apples.
Hen’s eggs on the witches’ night Lore and belief EnglandMidsummer Eve was counted or called the witches' night, and on it hen's eggs were broken so that people might see what their fortune would be.
Birch trees at the Chester doors No longer kept CheshireOn St John the Baptist's Eve the people of Chester brought in a multitude of young birch trees and planted them before their doors to wither.
Broughton on Midsummer Eve No longer kept NorthumberlandNorthumbrian households sat down on Midsummer Eve to broughton, two cakes baked with thin slices of cheese between them.
The Bredogue No longer kept IrelandOn St John's Eve, and on some other feasts, people in the south of Ireland dressed a broomstick as a figure called a Bredogue.
Grass rent to Mannan on Barrule No longer kept Isle of ManOn Midsummer Eve the Manx carried green meadow grass to the top of Barrule as rent to Mannan-beg-mac-y-heir.
The culm fire at Port Eynon No longer kept GlamorganAt Port Eynon in Gower the villagers gathered culm, the small coal of the district, and kept it hidden for a fire on 23 June, Midsummer Eve.
A cheese through the Midsummer fire at Newton No longer kept GlamorganOld people at Newton in Glamorgan remembered meeting at a small stone enclosure near the village well on Midsummer Eve and throwing a small cheese across through the flames of the fire.
The phantom army on Souter Fell Lore and belief CumberlandOn Midsummer Eve 1735 a farm servant at Wilton Hill saw a regular army marching for over an hour along the east side of Souter Fell.
A Midsummer fire in the open street No longer kept EnglandOn Midsummer Eve, in most country places and here and there in towns, old and young gathered round a large fire made in the open street.
Children at the well on St John’s Eve at Barnwell No longer kept CambridgeshireBarnwell, then a village just outside Cambridge, was said to take its name from the children who played about a well there on St John the Baptist's Eve.
A Midsummer Eve supper for the man she would marry Lore and belief EnglandAn unmarried woman who fasted on Midsummer Eve could lay a clean cloth at midnight with bread, cheese and ale, sit down as if to eat and leave the street door open.
Burnt names and a looking-glass on Midsummer Eve Lore and belief EnglandOn Midsummer Eve lovers wrote their names on a paper at twelve o'clock, burned it, and carefully gathered up the ashes.
Burning bones to drive off the dragons Lore and belief EnglandSome medieval writers said the St John's Eve fires were made to drive away the dragons and evil spirits in the air.
Letters in a basin on Midsummer Eve Lore and belief DorsetA Dorset girl who wanted her husband's initial wrote the alphabet on scraps of paper at bedtime and floated them face down in a basin of water.
St Margaret’s dragon lent to St Sepulchre’s No longer kept LondonThe parish of St Margaret, Westminster, kept a dragon for the Midsummer Eve processions and was paid when a City parish borrowed it.
The burning wheel in the Vale of Glamorgan No longer kept GlamorganAt Midsummer people in the Vale of Glamorgan wrapped a cart-wheel thickly in straw, pushed a pole through its centre and, at a signal, set it alight and sent it rolling down the hill.
The voice in St David’s Well at Henfynyw Lore and belief CardiganshireA story of St David's Well at Henfynyw in Cardiganshire told how an old man who went there alone on Midsummer Eve heard a voice from the water crying for help.
Changelings taken on St John’s Eve Lore and belief North WalesIn North Wales the fairies were thought to be busiest at stealing babies and leaving their own in the cradle on Nos Wyl Ifan, St John's Eve.
The snail under the basin on St John’s Eve Lore and belief WalesA Welsh girl who put a snail under a basin on St John's Eve expected to find her future husband's name, or at least his initials, traced by its trail in the morning.

Thursday 24 June

Midsummer

Friday 25 June

Happy birthday to Frances Black (67 today)

Born on this day: Roy Williamson (1936)

Sunday 27 June

Born on this day: Bill Caddick (1944) and Robin Hall (1936)

Monday 28 June

Tuesday 29 June

Folklore from the old calendars

Beltan fires on St Peter’s Day at Loudoun No longer kept AyrshireThe minister of Loudoun in Ayrshire told the Statistical Account of Scotland in 1792 that the herds and young people still kindled fires on the high ground in honour of Beltan.
Carrying off the flower of the wake No longer kept NorthumberlandBrand was told that about fifty years before he wrote, the people of Northumberland villages carried firebrands of some kind about their fields on the night of St Peter.
The fishermen’s St Peter’s Day at Gisborough No longer kept YorkshireAn old account of the lordship of Gisborough in Cleveland and the neighbouring coast describes the feast the fishermen kept on St Peter's Day, the day of the fishermen's saint.
St Peter’s Day at Sandwick No longer kept OrkneyThe minister of Sandwick in Orkney reported in the 1790s that his parish church had been dedicated to St Peter, and that the people still marked the saint's day, 29 June.
St Peter’s Day fair at Thurso No longer kept CaithnessOf the four yearly fairs granted to Thurso by its charter, only the one on St Peter's Day, 29 June, was still kept at the end of the eighteenth century.
Keys on the wrists on St Peter’s Night Lore and belief WalesOn St Peter's Night unmarried Welsh women tied a small key to each wrist, folded their hands in prayer in bed and repeated two verses from the first chapter of Ruth nine times.

What’s on: folk sessions, morris, customs and folklore

Wednesday 5 May

Thursday 6 May🌑 New moon

Saturday 8 May

Sunday 9 May

Tuesday 11 May

Wednesday 12 May

Friday 14 May

Saturday 15 May

Sunday 16 May

Monday 17 May

Tuesday 18 May

Wednesday 19 May

Thursday 20 May🌕 Flower Moon

Saturday 22 May

Sunday 23 May

Monday 24 May

Tuesday 25 May

Wednesday 26 May

Thursday 27 May

Saturday 29 May

Sunday 30 May

Monday 31 May

Tuesday 1 June

Friday 4 June🌑 New moon

Saturday 5 June

Wednesday 9 June

Thursday 10 June

Friday 11 June

Saturday 12 June

Monday 14 June

Tuesday 15 June

Saturday 19 June🌕 Strawberry Moon

Monday 21 June

Tuesday 22 June

Wednesday 23 June

Thursday 24 June

Friday 25 June

Sunday 27 June

Monday 28 June

Tuesday 29 June

Image credits

Thursday 6 May New moon

Thursday 20 May Flower Moon

Friday 4 June New moon

Saturday 19 June Strawberry Moon