Folk Calendar

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.

Thursday 1 July

Friday 2 July

Saturday 3 July

Born on this day: Wiggy Smith (1926)

Sunday 4 July New moon

Born on this day: Phyllis Kinney (1922)

Folklore from the old calendars

St Martin of Bullion’s Day Lore and belief Scotland4 July keeps the moving of St Martin's remains to the cathedral of Tours, and in Scotland it was called St Martin of Bullion's Day.
The Fairlop Oak Fair No longer kept EssexOn the first Friday in July a fair grew up round the Fairlop Oak in Hainault Forest, a tree said to measure thirty-six feet round.
Reed Day at Farnborough No longer kept KentOn the Sunday after St Peter's Day the porch of Farnborough church was strewn with reeds, and a sermon was preached under the will of George Dalton, dated 1556.
Whalton’s bonfire on Old Midsummer Eve Still kept NorthumberlandWhalton in Northumberland lit its Midsummer fire on 4 July, Midsummer Eve in the Old Style.
The Weston Favell wake No longer kept NorthamptonshireThe wake of Weston Favell, near Northampton, began on the Sunday after St Peter's Day with a special sermon and psalms that drew crowds from the neighbouring villages.
Claybrooke wake after St Peter’s Day No longer kept LeicestershireClaybrooke in Leicestershire kept its wake on the Sunday after St Peter's Day, St Peter being the patron of the church.

Tuesday 6 July

Wednesday 7 July

Happy birthday to Lisa O’Neill (45 today)

Born on this day: Sheila Stewart (1937)

Thursday 8 July

Born on this day: Percy Grainger (1882)

Friday 9 July

Saturday 10 July

Monday 12 July

Happy birthday to Dave Burland (86 today)

Born on this day: George Butterworth (1885)

Thursday 15 July

Born on this day: Roy Saer (1936)

Saturday 17 July

Sunday 18 July Buck Moon

Born on this day: Belle Stewart (1906)

Tuesday 20 July

Wednesday 21 July

Happy birthday to Cara Dillon (52 today) and Kenna Campbell (90 today)

Thursday 22 July

Saturday 24 July

Sunday 25 July

Folklore from the old calendars

The Mutton Pie at Cliffe No longer kept KentSt James's Day was reckoned the day oysters came in, and Hone records the vulgar belief that whoever ate oysters on it would never want money.
Knill’s Games at St Ives Still kept CornwallJohn Knill of St Ives left the income of an estate to trustees to pay for prizes in racing, rowing and wrestling, to be held every fifth year for ever round the mausoleum he built in 1782 on a high rock near the town.
Hops before St James’s Day Lore and belief HerefordshireAmong the folk lore of St James's Day Chambers gives a Herefordshire saying about the county's hop crop.
Garlands on the Graves on St James’s Day No longer kept LondonThe Argus newspaper of August 1790 reported that on St James's Day, which had fallen on a Sunday, crowds went to St James's churchyard to honour the graves of their friends.
St James’s oysters Lore and belief LondonOysters came in in London on St James's Day, Old Style, and it was believed that whoever ate oysters on that day would never want for money all the year.
London against Westminster on St James’s Day No longer kept LondonThe citizens of London held a yearly public wrestling trial on St James's Day.
St James’s Fair forborn No longer kept LondonA fair was held every year at St James's in Westminster on or about 25 July, St James's Day.

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

Thursday 1 July

Friday 2 July

Saturday 3 July

Sunday 4 July New moon

Tuesday 6 July

Wednesday 7 July

Thursday 8 July

Friday 9 July

Saturday 10 July

Monday 12 July

Thursday 15 July

Saturday 17 July

Sunday 18 July Buck Moon

Tuesday 20 July

Wednesday 21 July

Thursday 22 July

Saturday 24 July

Sunday 25 July

Monday 26 July

Tuesday 27 July

Saturday 31 July

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

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

Thursday 1 July

Friday 2 July

Saturday 3 July

Sunday 4 July🌑 New moon

Tuesday 6 July

Wednesday 7 July

Thursday 8 July

Friday 9 July

Saturday 10 July

Monday 12 July

Thursday 15 July

Saturday 17 July

Sunday 18 July🌕 Buck Moon

Tuesday 20 July

Wednesday 21 July

Thursday 22 July

Saturday 24 July

Sunday 25 July

Monday 26 July

Tuesday 27 July

Saturday 31 July

Image credits

Saturday 19 June Strawberry Moon

Sunday 4 July New moon

Sunday 18 July Buck Moon