Customs

Friday 15 January

Fri 15 Jan All day
Custom, day 1 of 3

Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival

Manor Leisure Centre, Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire
Fri 15 Jan from 18:30
Custom

Aberystwyth Mari Lwyd for Hen Galan

Sets off from Aberystwyth Bandstand, Ceredigion

Saturday 16 January

Sat 16 Jan Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival day 2 of 3 · All day
Sat 16 Jan 09:30 16:00
Custom

Goathland Plough Stots Day of Dance

Goathland Community Hub, Goathland, North Yorkshire
Sat 16 Jan 12:30 18:00
Custom

Chepstow Wassail and Mari Lwyd

Chepstow Museum, Chepstow, Monmouthshire

Maintained
Sat 16 Jan from 18:30
Custom

Carhampton Wassail

Butchers Arms, Carhampton, Somerset

Sat 16 Jan from 18:30
Custom

Caerleon Mari Lwyd for Hen Galan

Goldcroft Inn, Caerleon, Newport

Sunday 17 January

Sun 17 Jan Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival day 3 of 3 · All day

Monday 18 January

Mon 18 Jan from 18:30
Custom

Whimple Wassail

Whimple Heritage Centre, Whimple, Devon

Wednesday 20 January

Thursday 21 January

Friday 22 January Wolf Moon

Saturday 23 January

Sat 23 Jan from 14:00
Custom

Aberystwyth Santes Dwynwen Parade

Sets off from Town Clock, Great Darkgate Street, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion
- Procession
- Valentine's Day

Sunday 24 January

Monday 25 January

Burns Night

Tuesday 26 January

Tue 26 Jan 19:30 16:00
Custom

Up Helly Aa

Sets off from Hillhead, Lerwick, Shetland

Friday 29 January

Saturday 30 January

Sunday 31 January

Monday 1 February

Tuesday 2 February

Folklore from the old calendars

The Candlemas King No longer kept ScotlandIn Scottish schools the children made their master a present of money on Candlemas Day, going up one by one to lay it on his desk.
The Candlemas Ba’ Still kept RoxburghshireAnother Scottish Candlemas custom was a football match between the east and west ends of a town, the married men and the bachelors, or one parish and another, which brought the whole community out in high excitement.
If Candlemas Day Be Dry and Fair Lore and belief England, ScotlandChambers found a belief all over Christendom that fine weather at Candlemas meant a long winter and a poor harvest, while a wet and stormy Candlemas was a good omen.
Briid’s Bed No longer kept Outer HebridesMartin, in his Description of the Western Islands, recorded that at Candlemas the mistress and servants of each house dressed a sheaf of oats in women's clothes, laid it in a large basket with a wooden club beside it, and called it Briid's Bed, after St Bride.
Fair Maid of February Lore and belief EnglandCountry people tied certain flowers to the saints whose days fell when they came into bloom.
God Send Us the Light of Heaven No longer kept EnglandCandlemas takes its name from the blessing of candles by the clergy and their carrying in procession on the feast of the Purification.
Throw Candle and Candlestick Away Lore and belief EnglandCandlemas marked the point in the year when the days had grown long enough to manage without lights at evening prayers.
The Candlemas Candle at Lyme Regis No longer kept DorsetA Dorset gentleman told Hone of a household custom he remembered from boyhood at Lyme Regis.
Beans in the Candlemas waddle Lore and belief SomersetRay's Collection of Proverbs has a Somerset rule for Candlemas: sow or set beans on Candlemas waddle.
The smock at the Candlemas fire Lore and belief EnglandOn Candlemas night a smock was to be hung before a charcoal fire as a charm.
Candles for Februa No longer kept EnglandCandlemas processions with lighted candles were said to go back to the Roman custom of carrying torches through Rome in honour of Februa, mother of Mars.
Bull beef at Candlemas No longer kept Northern EnglandBull beef was the proper meat for Candlemas in Denham's list of certain dishes for certain times.
The snowdrop, emblem of the Purification Lore and belief EnglandCountry people took the snowdrop, which reliably flowered through the snow at Candlemas, as an emblem of the Purification of the Virgin.
Candlemas candles for the year in Ireland No longer kept IrelandOn Candlemas Day Irish country people brought to mass all the candles they expected to need for the year, to be blessed by the priest at high mass.
Barristers put out of commons for not dancing No longer kept LondonAt Lincoln's Inn the whole bar was expected to dance before the judges on Candlemas Day, according to the ancient order of the society.
Christmas cheer kept till Candlemas No longer kept EnglandMost ordinary people kept Christmas going not just for the twelve days but until Candlemas, feasting all the while and proud to have some of their Christmas fare still in hand.
The Wives’ Feast Day No longer kept EnglandCandlemas was a day of feasting kept above all by women, and for that reason it was called the Wives' Feast Day.
The Christmas brand burnt again at Candlemas No longer kept EnglandOn Candlemas Day the saved brand of the Christmas log was lit once more and left to burn until sunset, then put out and laid up again until the next Christmas.
The white loaf and the pie end at Candlemas No longer kept EnglandCandlemas Day marked the very end of the Christmas season, when the last of the white bread and the Christmas pie was eaten and the sports laid aside.
Grey peas at Candlemas Lore and belief EnglandGrey peas and runcivals were sown at Candlemas, with a generous hand.
The luck of the Candlemas taper No longer kept EnglandAt the Candlemas procession each worshipper watched his own candle, for whoever carried the largest taper, and whoever's candle burned clear and bright, was held to be fortunate.
A berry left in the pew at Candlemas Lore and belief SuffolkIf a leaf or berry of the Christmas greenery was left in church after Candlemas, the family sitting in that pew would see a death within the year.
The judges’ dance round the coal fire No longer kept LondonOn Candlemas Day the judges and serjeants feasting in the Temple hall kept an ancient custom of dancing round the coal fire while singing an old French song.
Hands on Glanville’s tomb at Wotton No longer kept SurreyEach year on the anniversary of William Glanville's death, five poor boys of Wotton earned forty shillings by kneeling with their hands on his tomb behind the church and reciting the Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the Commandments.
The Candlemas crown at St Andrews grammar school No longer kept FifeAt the grammar school of St Andrews the boys gave the master a Candlemas gift according to their rank and means, from five shillings up to five guineas, and competed keenly for the Candlemas crown.
The horn beaker thrown between the Candlemas candles No longer kept WalesOn Candlemas Day Welsh families lit two candles on a table, and each member in turn sat between them, drank from a horn beaker and threw it backwards over their head.
Candlemas candles against witchcraft Lore and belief EnglandCandles hallowed on Candlemas Day were counted among the things that kept people safe from witchcraft, with holy water, consecrated salt and green leaves blessed on Palm Sunday.

Wednesday 3 February

Thursday 4 February

Friday 5 February

Saturday 6 February New moon

Monday 8 February

Tuesday 9 February

Shrovetide

Tue 9 Feb 14:00 22:00
Custom, day 1 of 2

Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football

Sets off from Shaw Croft car park, Ashbourne, Derbyshire
Tue 9 Feb 14:00 17:00
Custom

Alnwick Shrovetide Football

Alnwick Castle barbican, Alnwick, Northumberland
Tue 9 Feb from 16:30
Custom

The Great St Davids Pancake Race

The Bishops, St Davids, Pembrokeshire
- Custom game
- Shrovetide

Wednesday 10 February

Folklore from the old calendars

The Oxford Penny No longer kept OxfordshireOn St Scholastica's Day in the reign of Edward III a battle broke out between the students of Oxford and the townsmen and lasted three days.
Jack-a-Lent No longer kept EnglandOn Ash Wednesday, the Shrovetide cocks being done with, a thin scarecrow of a puppet called a Jack-a-Lent was set up and pelted with sticks.
The King’s Cock Crower No longer kept LondonThrough Lent an officer of the royal household called the King's Cock Crower used to crow the hours each night within the palace instead of calling them like a watchman, in memory of the cock that called St Peter to repentance.
Staying Away from the Commination Lore and belief EnglandOn Ash Wednesday the Church of England reads the Commination, the curses against impenitent sinners, with the people answering Amen to each.
Wind on Ash Wednesday Lore and belief NorfolkIt was a proverb in Norfolk that wherever the wind lay on Ash Wednesday, there it would stay for the whole of Lent.
Ashes that outlived the Reformation Still kept EnglandGiving ashes on Ash Wednesday was said to be almost the only Catholic custom to survive the Reformation under Henry VIII.
Pancakes and grey peas at Leeds Lore and belief YorkshireAt Leeds it was said that anyone who ate pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and grey peas on Ash Wednesday would have money in their pocket all the year.
Jack o’ Lent at Polperro No longer kept CornwallAt the start of Lent, Polperro people carried a straw figure in old clothes round the village and then burnt it, shot at it or otherwise disposed of it.
St Scholastica’s Day pennies at Oxford No longer kept OxfordshireOn St Scholastica's Day the Mayor of Oxford and sixty-two townsmen went to St Mary's Church and each paid a penny in submission to the University.
Herring first, saltfish last No longer kept EnglandThe thrifty farmer ate his herring early in Lent and kept the saltfish for last, because saltfish still ate well once Lent was over.
Clacking at doors on Ash Wednesday No longer kept EnglandOn Ash Wednesday boys went about clacking at doors, begging eggs or scraps of bacon to make a feast among themselves.
Rods for Lent at St Mary-at-Hill No longer kept LondonBefore the Reformation the London parish of St Mary-at-Hill bought rods for the penitential discipline of Lent.
Black clothes for Lent No longer kept WalesSome old people in Wales used to wear black clothes all through Lent as a sign of the season.

Wed 10 Feb Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football day 2 of 2 · 14:00–22:00

Customs

Friday 15 January

Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival

Aberystwyth Mari Lwyd for Hen Galan

Saturday 16 January

Goathland Plough Stots Day of Dance

Chepstow Wassail and Mari Lwyd

Carhampton Wassail

Caerleon Mari Lwyd for Hen Galan

Sunday 17 January

Monday 18 January

Whimple Wassail

Wednesday 20 January

Thursday 21 January

Friday 22 January Wolf Moon

Saturday 23 January

Aberystwyth Santes Dwynwen Parade

Sunday 24 January

Monday 25 January

Tuesday 26 January

Up Helly Aa

Friday 29 January

Saturday 30 January

Sunday 31 January

Monday 1 February

Tuesday 2 February

Wednesday 3 February

Thursday 4 February

Friday 5 February

Saturday 6 February New moon

Monday 8 February

Tuesday 9 February

Ashbourne Royal Shrovetide Football

Alnwick Shrovetide Football

The Great St Davids Pancake Race

Wednesday 10 February

Friday 12 February

Saturday 13 February

Image credits

Friday 15 January

Saturday 16 January

Sunday 17 January

Monday 18 January

Wednesday 20 January

Thursday 21 January

Friday 22 January🌕 Wolf Moon

Saturday 23 January

Sunday 24 January

Monday 25 January

Tuesday 26 January

Friday 29 January

Saturday 30 January

Sunday 31 January

Monday 1 February

Tuesday 2 February

Wednesday 3 February

Thursday 4 February

Friday 5 February

Saturday 6 February🌑 New moon

Monday 8 February

Tuesday 9 February

Wednesday 10 February

Friday 12 February

Saturday 13 February

Image credits

Friday 22 January Wolf Moon

Saturday 6 February New moon