The dismal day of 3 May

3 May · Perthshire Highlands

Lore and belief

A Highlander would begin nothing of consequence on the day of the week on which 3 May fell, a day he called the dismal day. Pennant heard of the belief in the Breadalbane country of Perthshire in 1769 and set it first among the singular customs he recorded there.

A Highlander never begins any thing of consequence on the day of the week on which the 3d of May falls

From Pennant's Tours, A Tour in Scotland, 1769, p. 90. Read the original

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Folklore from the old calendars

Heavy cake Sunday at Penzance No longer kept CornwallOn the first Sunday after May Day families from Penzance went out together to Rose Hill, Poltair and other villages near by.
All friends round the Wrekin No longer kept ShropshirePeople from round Wellington in Shropshire used to climb the Wrekin on the Sunday after May Day, and on the three Sundays following, to drink a health to all friends round the Wrekin.
Ringing the old bailiff out at Buckingham No longer kept BuckinghamshireA visitor to Buckingham on the first Sunday after May Day found the main street lined with townspeople and villagers crying that they were ringing the old bailiff out.
The crowfoot on Holy Cross Day Lore and belief EnglandThe feast of the Finding of the Cross on 3 May belonged to the crowfoot, or buttercup, which by then turned the grass gold.
The bull kept from the cows till Crouchmas No longer kept EnglandThe bull was kept from the cows until Crouchmas, the feast of the Finding of the Cross on 3 May, and from the heifers until Lammas.
Llantwit’s Anwyl Day and the pirate O’Neil No longer kept GlamorganOn 3 May Llantwit Major kept Llantwit's Anwyl, its darling or pet day, in memory of the capture of an Irish pirate named O'Neil.

The dismal day of 3 May

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