Customs

Saturday 9 October

Sat 9 Oct 16:00 23:00
Custom, day 2 of 2

Tewkesbury Mop Fair

Sets off from The Cross, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire
Sat 9 Oct from 19:15
Custom

Heathfield Bonfire

Sets off from Heathfield Community Centre playing fields, East Sussex

Sunday 10 October

Sun 10 Oct All day
Custom, day 8 of 8

Ballinasloe October Fair

Sets off from Fair Green, Ballinasloe, County Galway
- Fair or wakes
- Animal Customs
Sun 10 Oct All day
Custom, day 10 of 10

Nottingham Goose Fair

Sets off from Forest Recreation Ground, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
- Fair or wakes
- Animal Customs
Sun 10 Oct 09:30 16:00
Custom

World Conker Championships

Shuckburgh Arms, Southwick, Northamptonshire
- Custom game
- Sports and Games
Sun 10 Oct 11:00 12:00
Custom

Harvest of the Sea at St Mary-at-Hill

St Mary-at-Hill, London, Greater London

Monday 11 October

Folklore from the old calendars

Ganging Day No longer kept HertfordshireOn Old Michaelmas Day young men in Hertfordshire met in the fields, chose a leader and had to follow him wherever he went, through ponds and ditches and over brake and briar.
Statutes and Mops Still kept WarwickshireFarm servants in Warwickshire looked for new places at the statute fairs, called mops, held from early September until Old Michaelmas Day, when servants moved to their new masters.
Crab-apple Initials on Old Michaelmas Day Lore and belief West CountryAbout Michaelmas village girls in the west of England went along the hedges gathering crab apples, carried them home and laid them out in a loft in the shapes of the initials of their supposed suitors.
Clack Fall Fair and the Mop No longer kept WiltshireClack's fall fair was kept on Old Michaelmas Day, when farm lads stood about the Mop in clean smock frocks and maid servants waited in a corner to be hired.

Mon 11 Oct All day
Custom

Abingdon Runaway Fair

Sets off from Market Place, Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Mon 11 Oct 08:00 22:00
Custom

Pack Monday Fair

Sets off from The Conduit, Sherborne, Dorset

Wednesday 13 October

Wed 13 Oct All day
Custom, day 1 of 4

Banbury Michaelmas Fair

Sets off from Market Place, Banbury, Oxfordshire
Wed 13 Oct 09:00 21:00
Custom

Tavistock Goosey Fair

Sets off from Bedford Square, Tavistock, Devon

Thursday 14 October

Thu 14 Oct All day
Custom, day 1 of 3

Pembroke St Michaelmas Fair

Sets off from Main Street (by the Town Hall), Pembroke, Pembrokeshire
- Fair or wakes
- Michaelmas
Thu 14 Oct Banbury Michaelmas Fair day 2 of 4 · All day

Friday 15 October Hunter’s Moon

Fri 15 Oct Pembroke St Michaelmas Fair day 2 of 3 · All day
Fri 15 Oct Banbury Michaelmas Fair day 3 of 4 · All day
Fri 15 Oct 17:00 22:00
Custom, day 1 of 2

Warwick Mop

Sets off from Market Place, Warwick, Warwickshire

Saturday 16 October

Sat 16 Oct Pembroke St Michaelmas Fair day 3 of 3 · All day
Sat 16 Oct Banbury Michaelmas Fair day 4 of 4 · All day
Sat 16 Oct from 12:00
Custom

Marlborough Big Mop

Sets off from High Street, Marlborough, Wiltshire
Sat 16 Oct Warwick Mop day 2 of 2 · 17:00–22:00
Sat 16 Oct from 19:15
Custom

Seaford Bonfire

Sets off from Martello Fields, Seaford, East Sussex
Sat 16 Oct 19:15 16:00
Custom

Hastings Borough Bonfire

Sets off from Beach opposite Pelham Crescent, Hastings, East Sussex
Sat 16 Oct from 19:30
Custom

Hailsham Bonfire

Sets off from Western Road Recreation Ground, Hailsham, East Sussex

Sunday 17 October

Monday 18 October

Folklore from the old calendars

Horn Fair No longer kept KentA three-day fair was held at Charlton on St Luke's Day, where visitors wore horns in their hats and rams' horns, horn toys and even horned gingerbread were sold.
Whip-dog Day at York No longer kept YorkshireDrake wrote in his history of York that St Luke's Day was known in the city as Whip-dog Day, because the schoolboys whipped every dog they found in the streets.
St Luke’s ointment Lore and belief EnglandThe chapbook Mother Bunch's Closet Newly Broke Open held that St Luke's Day was better than St Agnes's for seeing a future husband.
The New Forest keepers’ offerings to St Luke No longer kept Gloucestershire, Hampshire, WiltshireAt St Luke's-tide the keepers and foresters of the New Forest came every year to St Luke's chapel at Stoke Verdon, in the parish of Broad Chalke, to make offerings for luck with their game, deer and cattle.
The ladle in a sling at York Dish Fair No longer kept YorkshireOn St Luke's Day a fair for small wares was held in York, commonly called Dish Fair from the wooden dishes and ladles brought to it.

Wednesday 20 October

Wed 20 Oct All day
Custom, day 1 of 5

Ilkeston Charter Fair

Sets off from Market Place, Ilkeston, Derbyshire
- Fair or wakes
- Harvest and Hiring
Wed 20 Oct 15:00 23:00
Custom

Sloe Fair

Sets off from Northgate car park, Chichester, West Sussex
- Fair or wakes

Thursday 21 October

Thu 21 Oct Ilkeston Charter Fair day 2 of 5 · All day
Thu 21 Oct 18:00 22:00
Custom, day 1 of 3

Yarm Fair

Sets off from High Street, Yarm, North Yorkshire

Friday 22 October

Fri 22 Oct Ilkeston Charter Fair day 3 of 5 · All day
Fri 22 Oct Yarm Fair day 2 of 3 · 18:00–22:00

Saturday 23 October

Sat 23 Oct Ilkeston Charter Fair day 4 of 5 · All day
Sat 23 Oct Yarm Fair day 3 of 3 · 18:00–22:00
Sat 23 Oct from 19:30
Custom

Littlehampton Bonfire

Sets off from The Green by Banjo Road, Littlehampton, West Sussex

Sunday 24 October

Sun 24 Oct Ilkeston Charter Fair day 5 of 5 · All day

Monday 25 October

Wednesday 27 October

Thursday 28 October

Thu 28 Oct 09:00 16:00
Custom

Bampton Charter Fair

Sets off from Newton Square, Bampton, Devon
- Fair or wakes
Thu 28 Oct from 18:00
Custom

Punkie Night

St George’s Hall, Hinton St George, Somerset

Friday 29 October New moon

Saturday 30 October

Sat 30 Oct 19:30 16:00
Custom

Newick Bonfire

Sets off from The Green, Newick, East Sussex

Sunday 31 October

Hallowe'en

Sun 31 Oct from 17:30
Custom

Samhain Fire at Athboy

Sets off from Fair Green, Athboy, County Meath
Sun 31 Oct 18:30 22:30
Custom

Samhuinn Fire Festival

Sets off from Calton Hill, Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh
Sun 31 Oct from 19:00
Custom

Derry Halloween Carnival Parade

Sets off from Guildhall Square, Derry, County Londonderry
- Procession
- Hallowe'en

Monday 1 November

Folklore from the old calendars

All-Hallowtide revels at the Middle Temple No longer kept LondonThe young lawyers of the Middle Temple counted All-Hallowtide as the start of Christmas, and in the reign of Charles I they chose a Master of the Revels for the season.
The All Saints’ triplets Lore and belief WalesA correspondent signing himself Gwilym Sais sent Hone seven triplets for the first of November, the Welsh Calan Gaeaf, from William Owen Pughe's translations of the elegies of Llywarch Hen.
Dole bread in Monmouthshire No longer kept MonmouthshireBritton wrote in his Cathedral Antiquities that in Monmouthshire the poorer people, Catholic and Protestant alike, went begging bread for the souls of the dead on All Saints' Day.
Seed cake at Allhallows No longer kept WarwickshireBrand's servant, a Warwickshire man, told him that in that county a seed cake was had at Allhallows, marking the end of wheat sowing.
Souling in Staffordshire No longer kept StaffordshireTollett noted that on All Saints' Day the poor of Staffordshire went from parish to parish souling, begging and singing for soul cakes or anything else to make them merry.
The Cheshire souling song Still kept CheshireOn the eve of All Souls' Day parties of boys in Cheshire went souling from door to door, singing for apples, pears, plums, beer or money.
The first three days of winter Lore and belief BanffshireThe minister of Kirkmichael in Banffshire reported a Gaelic weather saying about the first three days of winter, which began at Hallowtide.
Ringing for all Christian souls No longer kept EnglandBefore the Reformation the church bells were rung all night at Allhallowtide for all Christian souls.
Pork, souse and sprats at All Saints No longer kept EnglandAll Saints was the season for pork and souse, the pickled parts of the pig, and for laying in sprats and spurlings.
Slaughter time at Hallowtide No longer kept EnglandHallowtide began the season for killing stock, and with it the husbandman's feasting.
Hallow-fair at Fordyce No longer kept BanffshireFordyce's yearly market was called Hallow-fair, and its charter of 1592 set it at All Hallows, to run for eight days.
The rough first day of winter Lore and belief WalesAn old Welsh triplet held that Calangauaf, the first day of winter, brought hard weather quite unlike the first day of summer, but that only God could foretell what was to come.

Tuesday 2 November

Folklore from the old calendars

Soul-mass cakes No longer kept Herefordshire, LancashireOn All Souls' Day in Lancashire and Herefordshire the well-off used to hand out oaten cakes, called soul-mass cakes, to the poor.
Old Hob No longer kept CheshireA correspondent told Hone of a Cheshire frolic called Old Hob, in which a man carried a dead horse's head covered with a sheet to frighten people.
The Shropshire soul-cake heap No longer kept ShropshireAubrey wrote that in his time, in Shropshire and elsewhere, a high heap of soul cakes was set on the board on All Souls' Day, lying one upon another like the shewbread in the pictures of old Bibles.
Tindles at Findern No longer kept DerbyshireAt Findern in Derbyshire the boys and girls went every year on the evening of All Souls' Day to the common and lit a number of small fires among the furze, which they called Tindles.
Stot Tuesday at Settle No longer kept YorkshireOn the first Tuesday after 27 October, Settle held a fair for selling stots, or bullocks, known as Stot or Great Tuesday.
The Gill-Bushes dole on All Souls’ Day No longer kept CumberlandEvery year on 2 November the rent of a field called Gill-Bushes was given out to the poor of Blennerhasset in Torpenhow church.

Wednesday 3 November

Thursday 4 November

Friday 5 November

Bonfire Night

Fri 5 Nov 16:00 00:00
Custom

Ottery St Mary Tar Barrels

Sets off from The Square, Ottery St Mary, Devon
Fri 5 Nov 20:00 16:00
Custom

Shebbear Turning the Devil’s Stone

St Michael’s Church, Shebbear, Devon

Saturday 6 November

Sat 6 Nov from 18:00
Custom

Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival

Sets off from High Street, Bridgwater, Somerset
Sat 6 Nov from 18:30
Custom

Edenbridge Bonfire

Sets off from Recreation Ground, Edenbridge, Kent
Sat 6 Nov 19:30 22:00
Custom

Battle Bonfire

Sets off from Abbey Green, Battle, East Sussex

Sunday 7 November

Tuesday 9 November

Thursday 11 November

Folklore from the old calendars

Wroth Silver at Knightlow Cross Still kept WarwickshireBefore sunrise on Martinmas morning the parishes of the hundred of Knightlow paid their wroth silver, or ward money, to the lord of the hundred at the stump of Knightlow Cross near Rugby.
The Martinmas mart No longer kept Northumberland, ScotlandMartinmas was the time to kill beasts and salt them down for winter, so in Scotland and the north of England a fat ox for killing was called a mart.
St Martin’s little summer Lore and belief EnglandSt Martin's little summer was the name for the spell of fine days that sometimes breaks into the usual stormy weather about the beginning of November.
Martinmas is past and gone at Wooler Lore and belief NorthumberlandA Wooler rhyme lamented that Martinmas had come and gone with Christmas drawing near and no mutton left in the house for the feast.
Martinmas stray-sheep day at Patterdale No longer kept Cumberland, WestmorlandIn the dales round Ullswater nobody went looking for a strayed sheep; whoever found one simply looked after it.
Martlemas beef hung up for Easter No longer kept EnglandAt Martinmas the farmer killed a beast and hung the beef up to dry in the chimney, keeping it until Easter.
Rose garlands and wine for the singers on St Martin’s Day No longer kept LondonThe City church of St Martin Outwich kept its patron's day with bread, ale, wine and rose garlands for the singers.
Young people on the hill at Martinmas No longer kept WiltshireThe antiquary William Stukeley believed that on St Martin's Day the young people of the neighbourhood used to gather on Martinsall Hill for the drinking of healths to St Martin, the Martinalia of the Saxons and Danes.

Friday 12 November

Saturday 13 November

Sunday 14 November Beaver Moon

Monday 15 November

Tuesday 16 November

Wednesday 17 November

Saturday 20 November

Sunday 21 November

Monday 22 November

Tuesday 23 November

Folklore from the old calendars

Old Clem at Woolwich No longer kept Kent, LondonOn the evening of St Clement's Day the blacksmiths' apprentices of Woolwich dockyard chose one of their seniors to be Old Clem, in a greatcoat, a mask, an oakum wig and a long white beard.
Clementing in Worcestershire No longer kept WorcestershireA correspondent born in Worcestershire remembered boys going in a band from house to house on the afternoon of St Clement's Day.
St Clement and the hatters Lore and belief IrelandHatters had a tradition that St Clement, fleeing his persecutors, put wool between his sandals and his blistered feet, and found at the end of his journey that it had pressed into a firm cloth.
The smiths’ ode for St Clement No longer kept LondonThe secretary of the Benevolent Institution of Smiths, writing from Southwark in 1825, asked Hone not to forget St Clement, the smiths' saint.
St Clement’s pot No longer kept StaffordshirePlot's Staffordshire recorded an old custom of going about on the night of St Clement's Day to beg drink to make merry with.
Queen Mary’s St Clement’s Day procession No longer kept LondonOn St Clement's Day in Queen Mary's reign a great procession went through the streets of London.

Thursday 25 November

Folklore from the old calendars

Cathar’ning No longer kept England, KentSt Catherine was the patron of spinsters, and on her day young women met to make merry together, which was called Cathar'ning.
St Catherine’s fast Lore and belief IrelandIn Ireland women and girls once fasted every Wednesday and Saturday of the year, and some also on St Catherine's Day.
The charms of St Catharine Lore and belief EnglandMother Bunch's Golden Fortune Teller gave a charm for St Catharine's night.
The Cattern bowl at Worcester No longer kept WorcestershireUntil shortly before Ellis wrote, the dean and chapter of Worcester gave out a rich mixture of wine and spices on St Catharine's Day, the last day of their yearly audit, to the people living in the cathedral precincts.
The ropemakers’ Queen Catherine at Chatham No longer kept KentOn St Catherine's night the ropemakers of Chatham dockyard carried a woman dressed as Queen Catherine, founder of the ropery, through Chatham, Rochester and Brompton by torchlight.
Laurel for St Catherine’s learned men Lore and belief EnglandBy St Catherine's Day only the evergreen laurel was left in leaf, and the rhyme of the saints' flowers says it crowned learned men on her feast, since Catherine was the patron of scholars.
Five hundred lights round St Paul’s steeple No longer kept LondonOn the evening of St Catherine's Day 1553, five hundred great lights were carried round the steeple of St Paul's in her procession.

Saturday 27 November

Sunday 28 November New moon

Tuesday 30 November

St Andrew's Day

Sunday 5 December

Monday 6 December

Folklore from the old calendars

The boy bishop Still kept WiltshireOn St Nicholas's Day a chorister was chosen as boy bishop and, with a boy dean and chapter, carried out the bishop's offices until Holy Innocents' Day.
Cocks and pence at Wye School No longer kept KentHasted recorded that the master of Wye School in Kent, founded by Archbishop Kempe in 1447, was to teach grammar free to rich and poor alike.
Breaking the master’s cellar door at Curry Rivel No longer kept SomersetOn St Nicholas's Day the schoolboys of Curry Rivel, who were taught in a school inside the church, had a barrel of good ale brought into the church.
Orders, Master, orders No longer kept YorkshireAround St Nicholas's Day, the schoolboys' patron, northern grammar school boys shut their master out and chanted for their orders before letting him back in.
Choosing the mayor in Brightlingsea belfry Still kept EssexBrightlingsea chose its deputy mayor, answerable to the Cinque Ports, in the belfry of the parish church at the start of December, with the vicar acting as recorder.
The child bishop sings to Queen Mary No longer kept LondonIn 1554 the boy bishop of St Paul's and his company were admitted to Queen Mary's privy chamber and sang before her on St Nicholas's Day.
The boy bishop’s dinner at Lambeth No longer kept London, SurreyOn St Nicholas's Day the boy bishop of Lambeth and his company were given a dinner at the parish's expense.

Monday 13 December Cold Moon

Thursday 16 December

Friday 17 December

Sunday 19 December

Monday 20 December

Tuesday 21 December

Folklore from the old calendars

Going a-gooding No longer kept Kent, Staffordshire, WarwickshireOn St Thomas's Day, the shortest day, poor women went round the parish begging money or food for Christmas, and gave sprigs of holly, mistletoe, palm or primroses in return.
Apple wassailing on St Thomas’s Day No longer kept Staffordshire, WorcestershireSt Thomas's Day falls on the shortest day, as the couplet has it, St Thomas gray, St Thomas gray, the longest night and the shortest day.
St Thomas’s onion Lore and belief EnglandMother Bunch's Closet Newly Broke Open, printed under St Thomas's Day, told a girl that this was the best time of year to learn who her husband would be.
Blowing the Yule-Girth at York No longer kept YorkshireAn old custom book of the city of York, printed by Leland, set down that on St Thomas's Day before Yule the sheriffs heard a mass of St Thomas at All Hallows on the Pavement.
Broughton for St Thomas’s night No longer kept NorthumberlandOn St Thomas's night the old Northumbrian dish of broughton came out again, as it did on Midsummer Eve.
St Thomas’s Day for killing fat swine Lore and belief Northern EnglandSt Thomas's Day, 21 December, was held to be a good day for brewing, baking and killing fat pigs.
Going a-Thomasing for wheat No longer kept YorkshireOn St Thomas's Day poor widows in the West Riding went round the farms asking for Christmas gifts, and were usually given a small measure of wheat.
Five shillings in the Thornton tombstone No longer kept DorsetBefore noon on St Thomas's Day the tenants of the manor of Thornton put five shillings into a hole in a certain tombstone in the churchyard.
A turf for Fingan’s Eve No longer kept Isle of ManManx people once went into the mountains before Christmas to catch deer and sheep, and in the evening lit a large fire on top of every cliff.
Doleing Day in Staffordshire No longer kept StaffordshireOn St Thomas's Day in a Staffordshire parish, old women, widows and someone from every poorer family went round asking for alms, and the clergyman gave each a shilling.
The St Thomas’s Day weathercock Lore and belief WorcestershireWorcestershire people looked at the weathercock at noon on St Thomas's Day, believing the wind would stay in that quarter for the next three months.
Mumping for wheat in Herefordshire No longer kept HerefordshireAt Christmas the Herefordshire poor went mumping, mostly on St Thomas's Day, and the farmers gave each a small dishful of wheat, with smaller gifts from other houses.
The St Thomas’s Day wardmotes No longer kept LondonOn St Thomas's Day every ward of the City of London held its wardmote to elect the inquest, the common councilmen and the other ward officers for the coming year.
The iron rattle at Guildhall before the St Thomas’s Day elections No longer kept LondonBefore the court of common council on St Thomas's Day, the members of the London council used to gather in the great hall of Guildhall until an officer of the lord mayor's household summoned them to their chamber with a harsh iron rattle.

Friday 24 December

Folklore from the old calendars

The ashen faggot Still kept DevonIn Devon the Yule log took the form of the ashen faggot, a bundle of ash sticks bound with bands of ash, ideally nine of them.
The Christmas Eve orchard wassail Still kept Devon, Hampshire, NorfolkOn Christmas Eve in parts of Devon the farmer, his family and friends ate hot cakes dipped in cider, then carried cake and cider to the chief apple tree in the orchard.
The kneeling oxen Lore and belief Cornwall, DevonIn west Devon and Cornwall it was believed that at midnight on Christmas Eve the oxen in their stalls knelt as if in prayer, and after the change of calendar they were said to do it only on Old Christmas Eve.
Hoodening Still kept KentAt Ramsgate the Christmas festivities began with a hoodening.
The Christmas mummers Still kept England, PembrokeshireThe mummers, called guisers in Scotland, set out on Christmas Eve to visit the chief houses of the parish and act the play of St George.
The Yule log and the mock Lore and belief Cornwall, EnglandThe Yule log was brought in with ceremony on Christmas Eve and lit from the saved remains of the year before.
Carols after midnight in Wales Still kept WalesHone found that carol singing, unknown in Presbyterian Scotland, was kept up in Wales more fully than in England.
Mistletoe at York Minster No longer kept YorkshireStukeley, writing in the eighteenth century, said that within the last hundred years mistletoe had been carried to the high altar of York Minster on Christmas Eve.
Kissing under the mistletoe Still kept EnglandBrand found that mistletoe was kept out of churches, where one sexton told him it had once been put up and the clergyman at once ordered it down, but that it was hung in state in the kitchen.
The Yule candle No longer kept EnglandAlongside the Yule log a candle of great size, called the Yule candle or Christmas candle, lit the table through the evening.
The cock crows all night Lore and belief EnglandIt was held that on the night before Christmas the powers of darkness were helpless and no evil could touch mankind.
The Christmas waits Still kept Cumberland, Lanarkshire, LondonThe waits were bands of musicians who played through the streets at night for two or three weeks before Christmas, usually finishing on Christmas Eve, and then called at the houses for a Christmas box.
The Lord of Misrule No longer kept EnglandStow wrote that at Christmas the king's house, and the house of every nobleman of honour, had a Lord of Misrule or Master of Merry Disports, and that the Lord Mayor of London and each of the sheriffs had one too, each trying to make the rarest pastime.
The Christmas standard at Leadenhall No longer kept LondonStow recorded that at Christmas every London house and parish church was decked with holm oak, ivy, bays and whatever else was green, and the conduits and standards in the streets were dressed too.
Ivy or his breeches No longer kept OxfordshireAubrey recorded that in several parts of Oxfordshire it was the custom at Christmas for the maidservant to ask the manservant for ivy to decorate the house.
Bees singing on Christmas Eve Lore and belief EnglandAlongside the belief that the cattle knelt in their stalls at midnight on Christmas Eve, it was said that the bees sang in their hives at the same hour.
The Quainton thorn No longer kept BuckinghamshireAfter the calendar change of 1752, crowds went to see whether the famous thorns would blossom on the new Christmas Day.
Old folks’ night in Cumberland No longer kept CumberlandA Cumberland correspondent told Hone that with Christmas Eve began a round of feasts and merrymakings that kept farmhouse fires and candles burning until the small hours night after night.
Greening the church Still kept EnglandOld church calendars marked Christmas Eve with the words templa exornantur, churches are decked.
Hagmena at Newcastle No longer kept NorthumberlandLittle troops of boys and girls at Newcastle upon Tyne and other places in the north of England went from house to house a few nights before Christmas, on Christmas Eve and on Christmas night, knocking and singing.
Hunting the wren in Man No longer kept Isle of ManWaldron wrote that on the evening of 24 December all the Manx servants had a holiday.
The threepenny loaf at Aston Hall No longer kept WarwickshireOn Christmas Eve at the house of the Holt family at Aston, near Birmingham, a table was set in the hall after supper with a brown loaf bearing twenty silver threepences on top, a tankard of ale, pipes and tobacco.
Frumenty on Christmas Eve No longer kept YorkshireMr Beckwith told the Gentleman's Magazine in 1784 that in the country about Rotherham frumenty had always been the breakfast and supper on Christmas Eve within his memory.
Rumbald Night at Folkestone No longer kept KentHasted recorded that the fishermen of Folkestone used to pick out eight of the largest and best whitings from every boat on its return from the whiting fishery and sell them apart.
The first yessle-cup singer Lore and belief Northern EnglandIn the North it was thought that turning away the first yessle-cup singer at Christmas without a gift meant losing the luck of the whole coming year.
No stirring the fire at the Yule supper Lore and belief Northern EnglandAt the northern Christmas Eve supper nobody was to stir the fire, move the candlestick or snuff the Yule candle, and nobody left the table until the meal was over.
Milly-boxes in the West Riding No longer kept YorkshireAt Christmas the children of the West Riding carried figures of the Virgin and Child from door to door in boxes lined with spice, oranges and sugar.
The Cleveland bessel cup No longer kept YorkshireChristmas singers in Cleveland carried a "bessel cup", that is a wassail cup, together with a boxed figure of the Virgin and Child decked with whatever ornaments they could gather.
The devil’s knell at Dewsbury Still kept YorkshireOn Christmas Eve the church bells at Horbury, near Wakefield, and at Dewsbury were tolled as the "devil's knell".
Pepper-cake and the Christmas cheese No longer kept YorkshireIn Cleveland the master of the house cut the Christmas cheese on Christmas Eve, and it sat on a platter beneath a thick gingerbread called pepper-cake.
The ox cake at Tretire No longer kept HerefordshireOn Christmas Eve at Tretire the farm men made a cake, pushed a stick through it and fixed it on the horn of an ox, saying words that begged a good crop of corn for the master.
Keeping back the yule-cake Lore and belief LincolnshireOn Christmas Eve in Lincolnshire the yule-clog blazed and the yule-candle burned while the family ate slices of yule-cake toasted and soaked in spiced ale.
Myrtle and laurustinum for Christmas in the West Still kept West CountryIn the West of England houses were decked for Christmas with myrtle and laurustinum as well as holly and mistletoe.
Christmas beer for the Cornish carol singers Still kept CornwallIn the west of Cornwall carol singers went from house to house at Christmas wherever they were encouraged, and in some parishes met in church on Christmas Eve to sing in the morning.
The Whitbeck ox kneels at midnight Lore and belief CumberlandIn Whitbeck it was said that the labouring ox knelt at midnight on the night before Christmas Day.
The Yule-clog in the northern parts No longer kept Northern EnglandOn Christmas Eve families lit candles of an uncommon size and laid a great log on the fire, called the Yule-clog or Christmas-block, to light the house and turn the night into day.
Born on Christmas Eve, blind to ghosts Lore and belief EnglandPeople born on Christmas Eve were thought to be unable to see spirits, even when a dog at their side plainly saw one and crept whining to its master.
Modranicht, the night of the mothers No longer kept EnglandThe heathen English called the night before Christmas Day Modranicht, the mothers' night, and kept ceremonies through it without sleeping.
Psaltries for luck while the Yule log kindles No longer kept EnglandOn Christmas Eve the new log was lit from last year's brand, and music was played while it caught so that good luck would come with its burning.
Unwashed hands and the Christmas fire Lore and belief EnglandMaids were warned to wash their hands before kindling the fire at Christmas, for a fire laid or lit with unwashed hands would not catch however hard they blew.
Ivy and holly to deck the house Still kept EnglandAt Christmas the farmer's wife decked the house with ivy and holly and boiled and soused the brawn.
Threshing wheat for the Christmas furmity No longer kept EnglandThe mock calendar in Poor Robin for 1670 read like a householder's Christmas diary.
Lamb’s-wool on Christmas Eve No longer kept EnglandOn Christmas Eve apples were roasted on a string until they dropped into a large bowl of spiced ale, and the mixture was drunk as lamb's-wool.
Dives on the serpent’s knee No longer kept WarwickshireAt Christmas the street carol singers of Warwickshire still sang Dives and Lazarus, in which two serpents come out of hell for the rich man's soul and tell him he has a place provided there to sit upon a serpent's knee.
The charity boy’s Christmas piece No longer kept EnglandAt Christmas the charity boys went from door to door showing a fair copy of their best handwriting, and were given pence for it.
The Yule log that burned Haughmond Abbey No longer kept ShropshireThe Yule logs of old country houses were great trees, big enough to be used as a weapon.
Rosemary and bays in St Margaret’s at Christmas 1647 No longer kept LondonIn 1647, when Parliament had forbidden the keeping of Christmas, the churchwardens of St Margaret's, Westminster, still paid for rosemary and bays to be stuck about the church.
A cake on the horns of the finest ox No longer kept WalesOn Christmas Eve in many parts of Wales the master of the house made a bowl of hot spiced beer and the mistress brought a cake, both decked with holly and ivy, and the household carried them in procession to the stall of their finest ox.
Never name the wolf at Christmas Lore and belief WalesWelsh farmers believed that if anyone spoke the name of a wolf between Christmas Eve and Twelfth Night, misfortune would soon visit their homesteads.
The Aberglasney thorn on Christmas Eve Lore and belief CarmarthenshireAt Aberglasney in Carmarthenshire there was once a hawthorn that flowered every Christmas Eve, its blossoms faded by the next morning.
No evil spirit abroad on Christmas Eve Lore and belief WalesChristmas Eve was the one night of the year when no evil spirit could walk in Wales.
Onions on the altar at Christmas Eve No longer keptGirls laid onions on the altar on Christmas Eve to learn when they would be married and how many husbands they would have.
The rose of Jericho at Christmas Eve Lore and beliefThe rose of Jericho was said to flower every year about Christmas Eve, a story famous in Christian lore.

Saturday 25 December

Folklore from the old calendars

The Glastonbury Thorn Still kept SomersetGlastonbury tradition said Joseph of Arimathea stuck his hawthorn staff into Wearyall Hill, where it grew and blossomed every Christmas Day.
The Cumnor Christmas feast No longer kept BerkshireAfter evening service on Christmas Day the tithe-paying parishioners of Cumnor went to the vicarage to be given bread, cheese and ale.
Wrestling for the boar’s head No longer kept EssexAt Hornchurch the lessee of the tithes, which belonged to New College, Oxford, provided a boar's head, dressed and garnished with bay leaves, every Christmas Day.
West Country church carols Still kept Cornwall, DevonDavies Gilbert, who published the old carols of the West of England with their tunes, said that on Christmas Day they were sung in place of the psalms in all the churches, above all at the afternoon service, with the whole congregation joining in.
Yule doughs No longer kept County Durham, EnglandBakers once baked a little image of paste at Christmas, called a yule dough or dow, and gave one to each of their customers, just as chandlers gave their customers Christmas candles.
The hackin No longer kept EnglandAn old tract called Round about our Coal Fire described how an English gentleman had all his tenants and neighbours into his hall at daybreak on Christmas morning.
Christmas pie and plum porridge Still kept EnglandEvery family once made a great Christmas pie, which Misson found stuffed with neats' tongues, chicken, eggs, sugar, raisins, peel and spice, and Brand said that in the north of England goose was always its chief ingredient.
Christmas Day in the Highlands No longer kept HighlandsGrant's Popular Superstitions of the Highlands described a Highland Christmas.
Christmas weather lore Lore and belief Devon, England, ScotlandAn old song in the Harleian manuscripts foretold the year by the weekday of Christmas: a Sunday Christmas meant a good winter, a fair summer and peace, while a Saturday one brought storms that killed man and beast, failing crops and dying children.
The boar’s head at Queen’s College Still kept OxfordshireThe boar's head was once the first dish of every great Christmas dinner, carried in with minstrelsy and a carol, and Aubrey said that before the civil wars it came to the table in gentlemen's houses with a lemon in its mouth.
No spinning on Yule Day No longer kept ScotlandIn Scotland there was an old superstition against spinning on Christmas, or Yule Day.
The Yorkshire gooding carol No longer kept YorkshireOn Christmas morning children in Yorkshire went gooding from house to house, carrying a small Christmas tree as the badge of their errand.
A Christmas feed for the beasts No longer kept StirlingshireIn former times the charity of Christmas and New Year was extended to the animals.
Alexander and the King of Egypt No longer kept CumberlandA Whitehaven correspondent sent Hone the printed text of the mummers' play acted there every Christmas by companies of boys.
The bells under the valley Lore and belief NottinghamshireNear Raleigh in Nottinghamshire, a Hone correspondent wrote, there was a valley said to have been made by an earthquake centuries before, which swallowed a whole village and its church.
The apple Florentine No longer kept BedfordshireAt Potton in Bedfordshire and the places round about, some sixty years before Hone's Year Book, every Christmas entertainment had an apple Florentine on the table, of which all the guests ate.
A male first foot on Christmas morning Lore and belief EnglandEllis recorded a set of Christmas beliefs alongside the vessel-cup carol.
Crying Yule in Yorkshire No longer kept YorkshireBlount wrote that in Yorkshire and other northern parts the people would cry Ule, Ule even in the churches after the Christmas service, as a token of rejoicing, while the common sort ran about the streets singing a rhyme of puddings and nuts.
Hunting owls and squirrels on Christmas Day No longer kept SuffolkA man brought up in a village not far from Bury St Edmunds told Brand that when he was a boy the youths there had a country custom of hunting owls and squirrels on Christmas Day.
Christmas carols in Scilly church No longer kept Isles of ScillyHeath's account of the Isles of Scilly described the islanders singing carols in church on Christmas Day.
Red apples at Ripon No longer kept YorkshireAt Ripon on Christmas Day the singing boys came into the church with large baskets of red apples, each with a sprig of rosemary stuck in it, and gave them to the whole congregation.
Wad-shooting at Kirkden No longer kept AngusThe minister of Kirkden in Angus reported in 1792 that Christmas was kept as a great festival in his parish.
Ice to bear a goose Lore and belief LincolnshireEllis gave a Lincolnshire saying about the winter's ice.
The boy bishop tickled to death No longer kept WiltshireThe choristers of Salisbury Cathedral told of a boy bishop who fell melancholy in his term of office, so the other choirboys tickled him to make him merry and tickled him to death.
Christ’s mass-box No longer kept EnglandTaylor traced the Christmas box to a box kept on board ships, into which the poor put money so that priests would pray to a saint for the vessel's safe return.
The church of boughs Lore and belief EnglandChristmas greenery was said to recall the first Christian church in Britain, built of boughs.
Haggis for Christmas breakfast No longer kept Northern EnglandCountry people in the North of England used to eat haggis for breakfast on Christmas Day, and someone in the family sat up all night so it would be ready early.
A giblet pie at Christmas in Newcastle No longer kept NorthumberlandIn Newcastle almost every household, however poor, had a giblet pie at Christmas.
Largess for the fool-plough No longer kept Northern EnglandAt Christmas bands of rustics in white and coloured ribbons dragged a plough round the villages, begging drink money, with a man dressed as an old woman called the Bessy and a Fool rattling a collecting box.
The Christmas loving cup in Cumberland No longer kept Cumberland, WestmorlandAt Christmas parties in Cumberland and Westmorland a bowl of hot rum punch went round as the wassail or loving cup before the guests left.
A horse and a gig and a good fat pig No longer kept YorkshireAt Christmas the children of Woodhouse near Sheffield went from neighbour to neighbour to beg their Christmas box with a rhyme.
The kissing bush at York and Newcastle No longer kept Northumberland, YorkshireAt York and Newcastle upon Tyne a kissing bush was hung up at Christmas, made of mistletoe, evergreens, ribbons and oranges.
As many mince pies, so many happy months Lore and belief Cumberland, WestmorlandIn Westmorland and Cumberland it was said that you would have as many happy months in the coming year as mince pies you tasted at Christmas.
A fool that marries at Yule Lore and belief Northern EnglandA northern saying called anyone who married at Yule a fool, because the baby would come just when the corn needed cutting.
The Houghton pitmen’s sword dance No longer kept County DurhamAt Christmas a team of nine pitmen from Houghton Colliery went round as sword dancers: five dancers, a clothes-carrier, two clowns and a fiddler.
Mummers who swept the hearth No longer kept YorkshireChristmas mummers at Wakefield would come into a house and, if they found it dirty, sweep the hearth and clean the range, humming "mum-m-m" the whole time.
The ferryman’s dog at North Clifton No longer kept NottinghamshireBecause the people of North Clifton crossed the Trent free of charge, the ferryman and his dog each got a Christmas dinner at the vicarage.
The Lord Mayor of Pennyless Cove No longer kept PembrokeshireAround Christmas the fishermen of Tenby dressed one of their number in evergreens and a mask, named him Lord Mayor of Pennyless Cove, and carried him through the town in a chair with flags and two fiddlers.
The Ashton faggot at Lydeard No longer kept SomersetAt Christmas, Lydeard St Lawrence in Somerset burned a hooped bundle of sticks called the Ashton faggot, and a quart of cider went to those who watched.
A dark first foot, because Judas was red Lore and belief YorkshireIn parts of the West Riding, the first person to enter a house on Christmas morning and New Year's morning had to be dark-haired, or the year would be unlucky.
The Culfer bells of Christmas No longer kept YorkshireIn Josiah Beckwith's parish near Leeds two church bells were rung alternately at seven every morning and evening through the twelve days of Christmas, and at no other time of year.
The Merry Lewid at Monmouth Still kept MonmouthshireAt Christmas the boys round Monmouth carried the Merry Lewid from house to house: a white horse's head and neck, striped black like a zebra, on a pole carried by a man hidden under a sheet.
The Play of the Nativity in the Percy chapel No longer kept EnglandThe gentlemen and children of the Earl of Northumberland's chapel acted the Play of the Nativity before him in his chapel on Christmas morning, for which he gave them twenty shillings.
Christmas with the Devonshire farmers No longer kept DevonIn The Vindication of Christmas of 1653, Father Christmas said his best welcome in the Puritan years had been among the country farmers of Devonshire.
Carminow’s twelve fat bullocks No longer kept CornwallJohn Carminow, of a leading Cornish family in the time of Henry VIII, kept open house through the twelve days of Christmas for all comers, drinkers, minstrels and dancers.
An ancient Cornish mince-meat Still kept CornwallSandys printed a mince-meat receipt handed down in a Cornish family for many generations, headed as an ancient Cornish custom at Christmas.
A boon asked on Christmas Day Lore and belief EnglandIt was believed that anyone in a clean life who asked God for a boon on Christmas Day would be granted it, so far as it was right and good for him.
Goose in the West, turkey in London Still kept London, West CountryIn Sandys's day the Christmas dinner divided by region: goose was the dish in the western counties, while turkey prevailed in London.
The boar’s head at St John’s, Oxford No longer kept OxfordshireWhen St John's College, Oxford, kept its celebrated Christmas Prince in 1607, the boar's head was carried into hall by the tallest and lustiest of the prince's guard.
Neighbours’ gifts for the Wotton Christmas No longer kept SurreyIn 1634 Richard Evelyn, High Sheriff of Surrey and Sussex, kept a splendid Christmas at his house at Wotton with a regular Lord of Misrule.
The Middle Temple Lord of Misrule’s court No longer kept LondonAt the Middle Temple Christmas of 1632 the Lord of Misrule kept a full mock court, with his own Lord Keeper, Lord Treasurer, eight white staves, a band of pensioners with their captain, and two chaplains.
St George and General Wolfe in West Cornwall No longer kept CornwallAt Christmas young people in the west of Cornwall went round the towns, inns and gentlemen's houses acting the doggerel play of St George for money.
Geese-dancers in Cornwall Still kept CornwallBesides the St George players, Cornish guisards or geese-dancers went about at Christmas visiting the houses, the men and women often dressed in each other's clothes.
Lighting the candle from the pole No longer kept CornwallOne of the Christmas games of the country people of west Cornwall was played on a round pole about ten feet long laid between two chairs, with a lighted candle on one of them.
Cornyshe’s reward for a Christmas carol No longer kept EnglandThe book of expenses of Elizabeth of York, queen of Henry VII, shows William Cornyshe, a favourite poet and composer of the court, paid thirteen shillings and fourpence for setting a carol on Christmas Day.
Fifty-three Christmas carols at Rhuddlan No longer kept FlintshireDavid Jones, a Welsh village poet of Rhuddlan, sang a carol of his own composing in Rhuddlan church every Christmas Day for fifty-three years.
Hack-pudding for Christmas breakfast at Whitbeck No longer kept CumberlandOn Christmas morning the people of Whitbeck, under Black Combe, rose early to breakfast on hack-pudding.
Christmas dinner at Holm Cultram Abbey No longer kept CumberlandBefore the Dissolution every tenant of Holm Cultram and his wife dined at the abbey at Christmas.
Laurel in the college windows No longer kept Cambridgeshire, OxfordshireAt Christmas the windows of houses were dressed with bay and laurel, a custom Bourne said was seldom seen in the North but very common in the South.
Carols from Christmas dawn to Twelfth Day No longer kept EnglandAs soon as it grew light on Christmas morning the common people began to sing a Christmas carol, and carols went on being sung until Twelfth Day, alongside the New Year's songs and the one with the burden Hagmena.
Stanging the scholars at Cambridge No longer kept CambridgeshireAt Christmas-time in some Cambridge colleges a scholar who missed chapel was made to ride a colt-staff or pole as his punishment, which was called stanging.
Ale for as long as the Christmas block burns No longer kept Northern EnglandIn northern farmhouses the servants laid by a large knotty block of wood for the Christmas fire, and for as long as it lasted they were entitled by custom to ale with their meals.
Is it not Christmas? No longer kept EnglandAt Christmas people gave themselves up to cards, dice, tables, masking, mumming and bowling, as if the season gave them a special licence to do as they liked.
The heathen English New Year on 25 December Lore and belief EnglandThe heathen English began their year on 25 December, the day on which Christians keep the birth of Christ.
The wassail bowl after fox-i’-th’-hole No longer kept EnglandAt Christmas the wassail bowl was tossed off after a round of the game fox-i'-th'-hole, and blind-man's-buff was played by the fire.
Shoeing the mare at Christmas No longer kept EnglandAmong the Christmas sports of the young men was shoeing the mare, a game of the twelve holidays kept alongside blind-man's-buff and the wassail bowl.
Choosing husbands and wives by streaks in the ashes Lore and belief EnglandIn the Christmas holidays young people read streaks in the ash-heap to learn who they would marry.
Plough and harrow hung up for the twelve days No longer kept EnglandOver Christmas the farm labourers hung up the plough and harrow and did no field work until the twelve holidays were over, spending the time in piping and merriment.
Post and pair at Christmas No longer kept EnglandChristmas was the season for card games played for money, such as post and pair and slam, and a man with empty pockets had to sit them out.
The holly and ivy carol before the King at Whitehall No longer kept LondonAt the court of Charles I a Christmas carol was sung before the King in the Presence Chamber at Whitehall, opening with a flourish of music before the song.
Christmas comes but once a year Still kept EnglandThe saying that Christmas comes but once a year is found in Tusser's verses on the farmer's diet, added in the edition of 1580, as the reason to play and make good cheer at Christmas.
Christmas husbandly fare No longer kept EnglandA farmer's Christmas table had brawn, pudding and souse with mustard, beef, mutton and pork, shred pies, pig, veal, goose, capon and turkey.
A yawning match for a Cheshire cheese No longer kept EnglandAmong the Christmas gambols Addison had seen was a yawning match for a Cheshire cheese, which began about midnight when everyone was drowsy.
The quintain on Cornhill at Christmas No longer kept LondonAt Christmas a quintain was set up on Cornhill by Leadenhall, and the Lords of Misrule's followers rode at it.
The sectary who loved Christmas pies No longer kept EnglandIn the Restoration years Poor Robin mocked the Puritans who had tried to put down Christmas.
The husbandman’s great log and Christmas cheese No longer kept EnglandAt Christmas the countryman laid a great log behind the fire and gathered his neighbours round it.
Christmas only in the red letters No longer kept EnglandBy 1740 Poor Robin was complaining that the old Christmas could only be found in the red letters of the almanacs.
The wassail horn on the clog No longer kept StaffordshireOn the notched wooden clog almanacs, Christmas Day was marked with a drinking horn, the old vessel for wassailing and drinking healths.
Christmas on a Sunday or a Saturday Lore and belief EnglandIt was thought very lucky when Christmas Day fell on a Sunday, and ill-omened when it fell on a Saturday.
Cards only at Christmas No longer kept EnglandPeople who never touched a card for the rest of the year felt bound to play a few games at Christmas.
The Bungay watchmen’s Christmas verses No longer kept SuffolkAt Christmas the night watchmen of Bungay printed a copy of verses for the townspeople in the hope of a Christmas gift.
Private heralds crying Largesse at Christmas No longer kept EnglandIn the old great households a nobleman or gentleman of fair estate kept his own herald, who wore his master's coat of arms at Christmas and other solemn times and cried Largesse three times.
Christmas, not Hogmanay, in Forfarshire No longer kept Angus, HighlandsIn Forfarshire and much of the Highlands the great merry-making of the year was held at Christmas, when most of Lowland Scotland kept it at New Year instead.
Yule and Pasch in the isles No longer kept Inner Hebrides, Inverness-shireProtestants on many of the Hebridean islands still kept Yule and Pasch, Christmas and Easter, as feasts.
Christmas as Saturnalia in Moray No longer kept MorayChristmas was the only yearly festival kept by the people of Moray, and they kept it more like the old Roman Saturnalia than the birth of Christ.
The Montrose burghers’ round of feasts No longer kept AngusAt Christmas and the New Year the well-off burghers of Montrose began feasting their friends and going round each other's houses, a round of visits that took up many weeks.
Christmas broth and beef at Mains No longer kept AngusIn 1760 the people of Mains, outside Dundee, visited one another only once a year, at Christmas.
The young men’s Christmas begging for the poor at Grange No longer kept BanffshireIn the Christmas holidays the young men of Grange went round the parish in parties, begging on behalf of its neediest people.
Bloccyn gwilian, the festival block No longer kept WalesThe Welsh Christmas log was called bloccyn gwilian, the festival block, and it had to be big enough to burn right through the twelve days of Christmas.
A new carol every Christmas No longer kept WalesIn Wales a new Christmas carol was usually written each year by a local poet or rhymer and sung in church after the morning or evening service.
Twelve salted onions for the months Lore and belief WalesSome Welsh people foretold the coming year's weather with onions.
The Earl’s bearward at Christmas No longer kept EnglandThe fifth Earl of Northumberland kept a bearward, paid twenty shillings a year when he came to the Earl at Christmas with his beasts to make sport through the twelve days.

Sunday 26 December

Boxing Day

Folklore from the old calendars

Boxing Day in the old calendars 8 entriesThe Inner Temple Christmas, Christmas boxes, Goose pies in the North Riding, Hunting the wren at Middleton, Beating the lapstone, No game laws on St Stephen’s Day, No fasting on St Stephen’s even, Holly-beating on St Stephen’s Day
Bleeding the horses No longer kept EnglandIt was an old belief that on St Stephen's Day horses should be galloped hard and then bled, to keep them free of disease for the coming year.
Stephening No longer kept BuckinghamshireOn St Stephen's Day the whole parish of Drayton Beauchamp went to the rectory and claimed the right to as much bread, cheese and ale as they liked at the rector's expense.
The servants’ holiday at Chester No longer kept CheshireCheshire farm servants were hired from New Year's Eve to Christmas Day, and then took six or seven days off, leaving their masters to manage alone.
The Northumberland sword dancers Still kept NorthumberlandA correspondent of the Table Book, describing the miners of Northumberland, wrote that the old custom of sword dancing at Christmas was kept up there only by the pitmen.

Monday 27 December New moon

Tuesday 28 December

Folklore from the old calendars

Childermas Lore and belief Cornwall, EnglandHoly Innocents' Day, or Childermas, was reckoned the unluckiest day of the year, and no one who could help it began any work or undertaking on it.
The King of Cockneys at Lincoln’s Inn No longer kept LondonDugdale printed an order of Lincoln's Inn from the ninth year of Henry VIII that the King of Cockneys should sit and have due service on Childermas Day.
Gawby Day at Wrexham No longer kept DenbighshireOn 28 December, Wrexham filled with country men and women servants for Gawby Day.
The weekday of Childermas unlucky all year Lore and belief EnglandIt was thought very unlucky to begin any work on Childermas, Holy Innocents' Day, and whatever day of the week it fell on was held unlucky for starting anything for the whole of the following year.
Colet’s scholars and the child bishop’s sermon No longer kept LondonEvery Childermas the boys of St Paul's School went to the cathedral to hear a sermon preached by the boy bishop and gave him a penny each.

Wednesday 29 December

Friday 31 December

New Year's Eve

Saturday 1 January

Folklore from the old calendars

First-footing in Edinburgh Still kept Midlothian, ScotlandIn Scotland the new year was let in at midnight with a hot pint of spiced ale and spirits, carried from house to house in a kettle.
Riding the Stang on New Year’s Day No longer kept Cumberland, WestmorlandA writer in the Gentleman's Magazine of 1791 reported that in Westmorland and Cumberland crowds gathered early on New Year's morning carrying baskets and stangs, or stout poles.
The Hutton Conyers Pie Court No longer kept YorkshireThe lord of the manor of Hutton Conyers held his court on the first day of the year, when the shepherds of six townships around the moor came to keep their right of sheep-walk.
The Falkirk Guisards No longer kept StirlingshireIn the Daft Days around the new year, bands of guisards went from house to house in Falkirk acting a short play in which Galgacus, the Caledonian chief, fights and kills Jack, a doctor haggles over his fee and raises him, and Judas comes round with the bag for money.
The New Year Wassail Bowl Still kept Gloucestershire, Staffordshire, WarwickshireAt the New Year the head of an English household gathered his family round a bowl of spiced ale called lamb's wool and drank their health with the old greeting wass hael, and the bowl went round.
Jack of Hilton No longer kept StaffordshireHilton Hall in Staffordshire kept a hollow brass figure about a foot high, known across the county as Jack of Hilton, which was filled with water and set by the fire so that steam blew from its mouth like a bellows.
Coventry God-cakes No longer kept WarwickshireAt Coventry it was the custom to eat God-cakes on New Year's Day.
New Year’s Gifts No longer kept EnglandGiving presents on New Year's Day was once general in England, though by Chambers's day it had shrunk to parents and elders giving to children.
The Fair First-foot at Preston Lore and belief LancashireA gentleman of Preston told Notes and Queries that for many years he had called on an elderly lady early on New Year's Day at her own request, because he was fair-complexioned and so thought to bring good luck for the year.
Kiss ’em and Sugar Toast No longer kept EnglandA Table Book correspondent described seeing the new year in at a village party.
Juniper Smoke and the Dead and Living Ford No longer kept HighlandsHone gives an account from Stewart's Popular Superstitions of the Highlands of how the Strathdown Highlander let in the new year.
New Clothes on New Year’s Day Lore and belief EnglandHone notes from Forster's Perennial Calendar that many people made a point of wearing something new on New Year's Day and thought it unlucky not to.
New Year cakes at Cambridge No longer kept CambridgeshireA visitor to friends at Cambridge was woken at seven on New Year's morning by the familiar Good Friday cry of one a penny, two a penny, buns, all hot.
Take out, then take in Lore and belief LincolnshireIn Lincoln and the country round it people held that it was unlucky to carry anything out of the house on New Year's morning before something had been brought in.
Dancing at the stone of North Ronaldsay No longer kept OrkneyThe Statistical Account of Scotland described a great upright stone, some nine or ten feet high and four feet broad, standing in a plain on the Orkney island of North Ronaldsay.
Opening the Bible on New Year’s morning Lore and belief EnglandIn some parts of the country the Bible was consulted on New Year's morning to learn what the year would bring.
No light from the house on New Year’s Day Lore and belief EnglandEllis's edition of Brand gathers several warnings for New Year's Day.
Verses for luck at Eton No longer kept BuckinghamshireA manuscript account of Eton College written in 1560 records that on the feast of the Circumcision, New Year's Day, the boys played for small New Year's gifts before and after supper.
If the grass grows in Janiveer Lore and belief Northern EnglandA saying still heard in the north of England in Ellis's day warned against a mild start to the year: if the grass grows in January, it grows the worse for it all the year.
Summer till New Year, winter till May Lore and belief WalesThe Welsh held that if summery weather lasted until New Year's Day, wintry weather would last until May Day.
A needle and thread at Queen’s College Still kept OxfordshireOn New Year's morning at Queen's College, Oxford, the dean or bursar gave every fellow and scholar a threaded needle, saying take this and be a good husband.
Vervain from the grove of Strenia Lore and belief EnglandNew Year's gifts were said to go back to a bunch of vervain given to a Sabine king on the first day of the year.
A favoured youth for first-foot Still kept Northern EnglandThe first person over the threshold on New Year's Day was thought to shape the family's luck, above all the daughters', for the whole year.
The shoe left with the ale-wife No longer kept WestmorlandOn New Year's Day in Westmorland towns and villages the men lifted the women onto a ladder, pole or chair and carried them off to the nearest public house.
The bachelor first-foot at Stamfordham No longer kept NorthumberlandAt Stamfordham the first-foot on New Year's morning had to be a bachelor, and he usually carried in a shovelful of coals, though whisky was taking its place.
The hired Lucky-bird No longer kept County Durham, YorkshireIn the west of County Durham a man might be engaged in advance to be a household's first-foot, or Lucky-bird as Yorkshire called him, and was paid with a glass of spirits.
Nothing carried out on New Year’s Day No longer kept County DurhamIn the old farmhouses of County Durham nothing was allowed to leave the house on New Year's Day, though anything might be brought in.
Wishes through the keyhole in Cleveland No longer kept Northumberland, YorkshireEarly on New Year's morning the lads of Cleveland called a greeting through their neighbours' keyholes, wishing them a pantry full of roast beef and a barrel full of beer.
The cream of the well at Bromyard No longer kept HerefordshireAs midnight struck on New Year's Eve, people round Bromyard raced to the nearest spring for the first water of the year.
The globe of thorns and Old Cider No longer kept HerefordshireVery early on New Year's Day, Herefordshire farm boys wove blackthorn branches into a globe and singed it over a straw fire while the household stood round shouting "Old Cider".
New Year apple-trees at Monmouth No longer kept MonmouthshireOn New Year's Day little boys near Monmouth carried round a little tree made of deal, its branches tipped with apples that were gilded, covered in silver tissue, or floured and stuck with black and white oats.
Lads for hire as first-foot Lore and belief Shropshire, WorcestershireIn Worcestershire and Shropshire it was unlucky for a woman to be the first to enter the house on New Year's morning.
Le Fortresse dangerus No longer kept EnglandAgainst New Year's night in the Christmas of 1513 to 1514, Henry VIII had a castle with gates, towers and a dungeon built in the hall, garrisoned by six ladies in russet satin and gold.
Sir Thomas More keeps the gloves No longer kept LondonSuitors used to give New Year's gifts to the Lord Chancellor in hope of a favourable judgment.
Ferrers’s New Year’s robe No longer kept EnglandWhen George Ferrers of Lincoln's Inn was made Lord of Misrule to divert the young Edward VI, he had a different costume for Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Twelfth Day.
The Workington women’s club dinner on New Year’s Day No longer kept CumberlandWorkington had a friendly society of more than two hundred women, and every New Year's Day its members sat down to an annual dinner.
The monkish verses of unlucky days Lore and belief EnglandAn old monkish calendar gave the unlucky days of every month in a Latin verse, and for January it named the first and the seventh, days that cut like a sword.
Charming the first new moon of the year Lore and belief England, YorkshireTo learn whom she would marry, a girl went out on the evening the first new moon appeared after New Year's Day, stood over the bars of a gate or stile, and hailed the moon.
A New Year’s song at the door No longer kept EnglandAt the New Year people wished each other a good year whenever a gift was given or friends met, and singers came to the door with a New Year's song whose burden was a wish for a happy New Year.
Mumming in each other’s clothes No longer kept EnglandAt the New Year season men and women exchanged clothes and went disguised from one neighbour's house to another, sharing their Christmas cheer and making merry with dancing and singing.
All hail to the Moon after New Year’s Day Lore and belief EnglandAt the first new moon after New Year's Day, anyone wishing to see a future husband or wife went out in the evening, stood over the spars of a gate or stile, and hailed the moon with a rhyme asking it to reveal who that should be.
Crackling laurel for a plentiful harvest Lore and belief EnglandAt Christmas and the New Year laurel was thrown on the fire, and a loud crackling was taken to promise a plentiful harvest in the year ahead.
The wassailers’ blessing and the dry house No longer kept EnglandWassailers at the gate sang blessings on the household for the twelve months ahead, but a house that gave them no ale or beer was left with a parting reproach.
A crown under the chaplains’ plates No longer kept LondonThe last trace of the royal New Year's gift at court was a crown-piece laid under the plate of each chaplain in waiting on New Year's Day.
Lady Shelley’s New Year rewards at Maresfield No longer kept SussexEvery New Year's Day at Maresfield Park the industrious poor who had kept off parish relief were given prizes of up to two guineas.
Juniper before the cattle at New Year near Dingwall No longer kept Highlands, Ross and CromartyOn New Year's Day the Highlanders round Dingwall burnt juniper before their cattle.
Meat on the bench for Gobelyn Lore and belief EnglandIn the late Middle Ages some people left food and drink out on the bench overnight at the new year to feed a household spirit called Alholde or Gobelyn.
Leading the plough about the fire Lore and belief EnglandIn the late Middle Ages some country people began the year by leading a plough round the fire, so that they would fare the better all the year after.
Oidhche Choille, the night of the trees Lore and belief BanffshireOn the first night of January the people of Kirkmichael watched the wind with anxious attention, reading from it the weather for the whole year to come.
The royal well at New-year-field Lore and belief West LothianNear the house of Livingston stood the farm of New-year-field, where tradition held the Scottish kings had a hunting seat while they stayed at Linlithgow.
Thumb-holed cakes after New Year’s Day Lore and belief WalesWhen the first batch of bread was baked after New Year's Day, Welsh women made a small round cake for each person in the house, named it and pressed a hole in it with the thumb.

Monday 3 January

Folklore from the old calendars

Handsel Monday No longer kept ScotlandThe first Monday of the year was a great holiday for the Scottish peasantry and for children, the day for giving and receiving presents, or handsel.
Hansel Monday and the scholars’ king No longer kept Berwickshire, Dumfriesshire, Roxburghshire, SelkirkshireOn the Scottish Borders the Monday after New Year's Day was Hansel Monday, when presents of money were put into people's hands.
The Handsel Monday ale that cured a Tillicoultry collier No longer kept ClackmannanshireOn Handsel Monday in 1738 the neighbours of a bedridden collier at Tillicoultry came to make merry with him, and he drank his share of the new ale as it went round.
Handsel Monday by the fireside at Auchterderran No longer kept FifeThe people of Auchterderran kept only one holiday for merry-making in the whole year, Handsel Monday, and spent it at home.

Wednesday 5 January

Twelfth Night

Thursday 6 January

Folklore from the old calendars

Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh Still kept LondonOn Twelfth Day the king used to go in procession with heralds and the knights of the Garter, Thistle and Bath to the Chapel Royal at St James's, and offer gold, frankincense and myrrh in imitation of the Magi.
Cutting Off the Fiddler’s Head No longer kept Isle of ManWaldron's history of the Isle of Man says that through the twelve days of Christmas every barn was in use and every parish hired fiddlers at the public charge.
The King of the Bean No longer kept EnglandOn Twelfth Night a large cake was baked with a bean inside, and the family and friends cut it by lot: whoever found the bean was King of the Bean for the night, and in England there was always a queen too, sometimes found by a pea.
The Hobby Horse of Paget’s Bromley No longer kept StaffordshirePlot's Natural History of Staffordshire records a Twelfth Day custom at Paget's Bromley, now Abbots Bromley, which had gone out by the seventeenth century.
The Twelfth Night Wassail at Court No longer kept EnglandThe Royalle Book of Henry VII's household laid down how the king kept Twelfth Day, going crowned in his robes and offering gold, myrrh and incense.
Lobscouse and Ponsondie No longer kept CumberlandIn Cumberland and other northern parts of England, Twelfth Night ended the Christmas holidays with a dance in a large room from seven o'clock until twelve.
Hazard for the groom-porter No longer kept LondonThe Gentleman's Magazine for January 1731 reported that on Twelfth Day the king and the Prince of Wales made their offerings of gold, frankincense and myrrh at the Chapel Royal, and that at night the royal family played at hazard for the benefit of the groom-porter.
Presents from the Twelfth Day king and queen No longer kept EnglandWhoever was chosen king and queen on Twelfth Day was once expected to give each other handsome presents and to entertain the whole company.
Stang and swill on Old Christmas Day No longer kept CumberlandIn Cumberland it was a regular Old Christmas Day custom to catch every man in reach, carry him to a public-house on a pole, and fine him a pint of beer.
The Piddle Hinton Old Christmas dole No longer kept DorsetOn Old Christmas Day the rector of Piddle Hinton handed every poor parishioner a pound of bread, a pint of ale and a mince pie.
Yule straw in Aberdeenshire No longer kept AberdeenshireIn parts of Aberdeenshire nobody worked during the three days of Old Style Christmas.
Aderyn bee y llwyd on Old Christmas Day No longer kept WalesOn Old Christmas Day a party in Wales went from house to house with the Aderyn bee y llwyd, the bird with the grey beak, made from the skull of a horse with false eyes and ears, ribbons and coloured paper.
Buying fire with a pin Lore and belief HerefordshireOn Old Christmas Day in Herefordshire nobody might borrow fire from a neighbour; it had to be bought with some trifle, such as a pin.
The Lady Mary’s Twelfth Night banquet No longer kept GloucestershireIn November of about 1525 the council of the young Princess Mary's household wrote from Tewkesbury to Cardinal Wolsey asking how she should keep the coming Christmas.
The Chapel gentlemen’s Twelfth Night play No longer kept EnglandAt the court of Henry VII the Christmas plays were acted by the gentlemen of the King's Chapel, who were well rewarded for playing on Twelfth Night.
Regan the trumpeter and the King of the Bean No longer kept EnglandEdward III's court had its King of the Bean on Twelfth Day.
A bean, a pea and a forked stick on board ship No longer kept EnglandHenry Teonge, chaplain of an English warship, recorded Twelfth Day 1676 at sea in rough weather past Zante.
The golden mountain at Richmond No longer kept SurreyOn Twelfth Night in the second year of Henry VIII a pageant like a glittering golden mountain, with a golden tree of roses and pomegranates on top, was wheeled up to the King in the hall at Richmond.
The first maske in England No longer kept EnglandOn the night of the Epiphany in the third year of his reign, Henry VIII and eleven others came in disguised after the manner of Italy, in long gold garments with visors and caps of gold.
The Lord Mayor’s Twelfth Day sermon at St Paul’s No longer kept LondonOn the afternoon of Twelfth Day the Lord Mayor, the aldermen, all the crafts of London and the bachelors of the Mayor's company went in procession to St Paul's to hear a sermon, after the old custom.
The king’s gold, frankincense and myrrh Still kept EnglandEnglish kings made an offering at the high altar on the Epiphany of gold, frankincense and myrrh, in memory of the gifts of the three kings.
Maidens with the wassel-bowl on Twelfth Night No longer kept EnglandOn Twelfth Night poor maidens carried a wassail bowl of spiced ale with apples from door to door, singing to be let in and hoping for a gift.
The fond-plough on Twelfth Day No longer kept EnglandOn Twelfth Day the youths of each parish or township dragged a plough from village to village, begging money to make merry with that evening.
A Twelfth-tide King chosen at Whitehall No longer kept LondonFor Twelfth-tide at the court of Charles I, Herrick's Star-Song turned the old game of choosing a Twelfth Night king and queen to the Epiphany, with the singers promising to wassail the Christ child at nightfall, choose Him king and make His mother queen.
The riche mount on Twelfth Night No longer kept Kent, LondonOn Twelfth Night in the fifth year of Henry VIII, while the court kept Christmas at Greenwich, a pageant mountain called the riche mount was drawn into the great hall by four wild men.
The Devon carol-singers’ Twelfth Day feast No longer kept DevonCarol singing on Christmas Eve was very general in Devonshire, and the singers pooled the money they were given at the houses.
Nailing coat-tails at the Twelfth-cake shops No longer kept LondonOn Twelfth Night London boys crowded round the pastrycooks' windows, full of iced Twelfth-cakes, and nailed the coat-tails of onlookers to the window frames.
The Anti-Gregorians’ Old Christmas at Worcester No longer kept WorcestershireWhen the calendar changed in 1752, many country people round Worcester went on keeping Christmas by the old reckoning, which now fell on Twelfth Day.
Turning shirts on the night of Epiphany Lore and belief WalesWelsh girls who wanted to see their future husbands washed linen after the household had gone to bed, set it before the fire to dry and watched to see who came at midnight to turn it.

Friday 7 January

Monday 10 January

Plough Monday

Tuesday 11 January

Wednesday 12 January Wolf Moon

Thursday 13 January

Friday 14 January

Monday 17 January

Thursday 20 January

Friday 21 January

Saturday 22 January

Sunday 23 January

Monday 24 January

Tuesday 25 January

Burns Night

Wednesday 26 January New moon

Saturday 29 January

Sunday 30 January

Monday 31 January

Tuesday 1 February

Wednesday 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.

Thursday 3 February

Friday 4 February

Saturday 5 February

Thursday 10 February Snow Moon

Saturday 12 February

Sunday 13 February

Monday 14 February

Valentine's Day

Monday 21 February

Tuesday 22 February

Friday 25 February New moon

Saturday 26 February

Sunday 27 February

Monday 28 February

Tuesday 29 February

Shrovetide

Wednesday 1 March

St David's Day

Folklore from the old calendars

St David's Day in the old calendars 11 entriesWearing the leek, Hanging Taffy, The Ancient Britons’ procession, Swig Day at Jesus College, Oats and barley in the clay, The serjeant-porter’s leek, The crows begin to search, The daffodil for St David, Gingerbread taffies on a goat, The leek and the field of Poictiers, Round the leek-bed on St David’s Eve
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.
A peck of March dust Lore and belief EnglandMarch was expected to be a dry, blustery month, and its dust was welcomed because dry weather was wanted for sowing and planting.
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.
Leeks in Lide Lore and belief West CountryIn the West Country March was called Lide, and eating leeks that month was thought to keep the doctor away all year.
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.
Whuppity Scoorie at Lanark Still kept LanarkshireWhen the Lanark town bell began its six months of nightly ringing in March, the young folk gathered at the cross for Whuppity Scoorie.
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.
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.
Blind Days in Devon Lore and belief DevonOld farmers in one Devon parish called the first three days of March the Blind Days, and no farmer would sow any seed on them.

Thursday 2 March

Friday 3 March

Sunday 5 March

Monday 6 March

Tuesday 7 March

Wednesday 8 March

Thursday 9 March

Saturday 11 March Worm Moon

Sunday 12 March

Monday 13 March

Thursday 16 March

Friday 17 March

St Patrick's Day

Saturday 18 March

Monday 20 March

Saturday 25 March

Folklore from the old calendars

The Tichborne Dole Still kept HampshireThe story is that the dying Lady Mabella asked her husband, Sir Roger Tichborne, for a dole of bread to be given every Lady Day, and he promised her as much land as she could go round while a brand burned, thinking she could not go far.
My Lord in my Lady’s lap Lore and belief EnglandAn old rhyme warned that when Easter Day fell on or near Lady Day, 25 March, England would suffer some misfortune.
Pope Ladies at St Albans No longer kept HertfordshireSt Albans sold buns called Pope Ladies on Lady Day, baked in the shape of ladies.
Our Lady’s smock at Lady Day Lore and belief EnglandCuckoo flower was called Our Lady's smock because it first flowered about Lady Day, and its name was taken to recall the Virgin's garment in honour of the Annunciation.
Entering the fallows at Lady Day No longer kept EnglandIn the open-field champion country a new farmer could enter on all the fallow land at Lady Day, half a year before his Michaelmas entry.
Plucking the fen geese at Lady Day No longer kept LincolnshireThe great flocks of geese in the Lincolnshire fens had their first plucking of the year at Lady Day, for feathers and quills.
When Easter falls on Lady Day Lore and belief WalesThe Welsh held it a very evil omen for Wales when Easter Day fell on 25 March, Lady Day.
Monday fasts when Lady Day falls on a Monday Lore and belief EnglandIn the late fifteenth century some people fasted on every Monday of the year when Lady Day, the feast of Our Lady in Lent, fell on a Monday, trusting such new-found fasts to save them from sudden death.

Sunday 26 March New moon

Mothering Sunday

Wednesday 29 March

Saturday 1 April

Folklore from the old calendars

Hunting the gowk Still kept ScotlandIn Scotland April fooling went further than in England.
Washing the lions No longer kept LondonIn March 1860 a great many people received through the post an official-looking card inviting them to the Tower of London to see the annual washing of the white lions on Sunday 1 April.
Sleeveless errands on All Fools’ Day Still kept EnglandChambers found the first of April given over to harmless tricks on unsuspecting neighbours, mostly by the young.
Ah, you April fool! Still kept EnglandHone traced how the April fool's street trick changed with fashion.
A cold April the barn will fill Lore and belief EnglandOpening his April, Chambers observed that proverbial wisdom took a kindly view of the month.
April fools and the Sabine virgins Lore and belief EnglandOne explanation of April fooling traced it to a trick played by the Romans on the Sabines.
Oil of hazel on All Fools’ Day No longer kept County DurhamAs a boy in Durham, Henderson was sent on 1 April to the chemist for a pennyworth of oil of hazel, and got it from the hazel stick kept behind the counter.

Sunday 2 April

Folklore from the old calendars

Too late for fooling at Skipton No longer kept YorkshireAt Skipton in Craven the young people had a set answer for anyone who tried to play a trick a day late.
Carlings on Carling Sunday Still kept Northern EnglandOn the second Sunday before Easter northern families ate carlings, grey peas soaked overnight and fried in butter.
The carling-groat No longer kept Northern EnglandAt carling time a northern drinker's carling-groat was the money he spent at the public-house, and in return the landlord set out the carlings free.
The gy-carling on Carling Sunday Lore and belief NorthumberlandOn the Borders people were told to eat carlings on Carling Sunday until they were too full for the gy-carling to get a grip of their belly.
Boys pelting with carlings No longer kept Northern EnglandIn the North the fifth Sunday in Lent was called Care, Carle or Carling Sunday, and the proper food was grey peas soaked overnight and fried in butter.
Whirlin Sunday and whirlin cakes No longer kept CambridgeshireIn the villages round Wisbech the fifth Sunday in Lent was kept as Whirlin Sunday, when almost every family baked whirlin cakes.

Monday 3 April

Saturday 8 April

Sunday 9 April Pink Moon

Folklore from the old calendars

Going a-palming No longer kept LondonEarly on Palm Sunday men and boys went out from London to gather willow or sallow branches with their grey, velvety buds, which stood in for palms.
The Caistor gad-whip No longer kept LincolnshireEvery Palm Sunday a man from Broughton came to the north porch of Caistor church during the first lesson and cracked a great ox-whip, the gad-whip, three times.
The palm cross in Nantswell No longer kept CornwallBefore the Reformation people went on Palm Sunday to the well of Our Lady of Nantswell at Little Conan in Cornwall, carrying a cross made of palm.
Cakes from the steeple No longer kept EnglandA Protestant dialogue of 1554, quoted by Brand and Hone, mocked the old Palm Sunday processions, saying hardly one in ten thousand knew what they meant.
Hiring an angel for Palm Sunday No longer kept LondonLondon churchwardens' accounts show parishes paying players for the Palm Sunday procession.
No palm, no hand Lore and belief EnglandAn old saying held that whoever did not have a palm in his hand on Palm Sunday would have his hand cut off.
Hail be thou our King No longer kept SurreyDives and Pauper, printed in 1496, describes the priest in the Palm Sunday procession drawing up the veil before the rood and falling to the ground with all the people, saying three times Ave Rex Noster, hail be thou our King.
Fig Sunday at Kimpton No longer kept HertfordshireAt Kempton in Hertfordshire, as the book spells Kimpton, it had long been the custom for the villagers to eat figs on Palm Sunday, which they called Fig Sunday.
A bundle of box for Palm Sunday No longer kept ShropshireDomesday Book records under Shropshire a tenant who paid for half a carucate of land with a bundle of box twigs on Palm Sunday.
Double flowers from Palm Sunday sowing Lore and belief GloucestershireMr R.
Walking the corn on Palm Sunday No longer kept EnglandAfter taking the sacrament on Palm Sunday, young men and maids went out after dinner and walked about the cornfields to bless the corn.
Saugh palms on Palm Sunday No longer kept Northern EnglandMany country people in the North believed the saugh, or sallow willow, was the true palm strewn before Christ in Jerusalem.
Palm crosses on the cottage wall No longer kept Northern EnglandChildren in the North of England carried bright palm crosses on Palm Sunday, made of coloured materials arranged in one, two or even three crosses.
Willow palms from Kepier No longer kept County DurhamAs a boy in Durham, Henderson walked with his friends to the riverbank near Kepier Hospital to gather willow catkins for Palm Sunday.
Pawne bottles at the wells No longer kept YorkshireYorkshire children kept Palm Sunday with "pawne bottles", bottles holding a little sugar.
The Hentland Palm Sunday bun No longer kept HerefordshireOn Palm Sunday the churchwardens at Hentland gave the minister and congregation a cake or bun, and in earlier days a cup of beer as well, which was eaten in church.
Flowering Sunday in South Wales Still kept South WalesIn South Wales Palm Sunday was called Flowering Sunday, when people gathered in the churchyards and laid fresh flowers on the graves of their friends and family.
Bringing in the with before Easter No longer kept LondonIn the week before Easter great shows were made in London by carrying a twisted tree, called a with, into the king's palace and the houses of the nobility and gentry.
The wooden ass in the Palm Sunday procession No longer kept EnglandIn some English parishes before the Reformation, a wooden ass on wheels carrying a wooden figure of Christ was drawn in the Palm Sunday procession while the crowd threw willow branches in its path.
The Mallwyd yew for Palm Sunday No longer kept MerionethshireChurchyard yews once stood in for palms on Palm Sunday: their boughs were blessed that day and some were burnt to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday.
Palm flowers, cakes and juniper in the City churches No longer kept LondonBefore the Reformation London parishes bought palm, box, flowers and cakes for Palm Sunday, and sometimes juniper to sweeten the church.
Ale for the Passion singers at Reading No longer kept BerkshireAt St Laurence's church in Reading the singers of the Passion on Palm Sunday were rewarded with ale and wine.

Thursday 13 April

Folklore from the old calendars

St Herbert’s day on Derwentwater No longer kept CumberlandIn 1374 the Bishop of Carlisle ordered the vicar of Crosthwaite to go to St Herbert's island in Derwentwater on 13 April and have a mass of St Cuthbert sung there.
Shere Thursday No longer kept EnglandMaundy Thursday had an old English name, Shere Thursday, from the priests' custom of shearing their hair on that day.
Wolsey’s maundy at Peterborough No longer kept NorthamptonshireOn Maundy Thursday 1530 Cardinal Wolsey washed and kissed the feet of fifty-nine poor men in the Lady Chapel of Peterborough Abbey.
The royal maundy Still kept LondonOn Maundy Thursday the sovereign gave food, clothes and money to as many poor men and women as the years of the royal age, and once washed their feet as well.
Pottage crosses over the byre on Maundy Thursday No longer kept Highlands, Ross and CromartyOn the Thursday before Easter a cross cut on a stick and dipped in pottage was set over each sheep-cot, stable and cow-house.
Rice and almonds for Shere Thursday at Barking Abbey No longer kept EssexThe nuns of Barking Abbey marked Shere Thursday, the day before Good Friday, with a special dish from the convent kitchen.
Pelting the target on Maundy Thursday No longer kept WalesOn Maundy Thursday Welsh schoolboys set up a target of wood or stone and pelted it with pebbles.

Friday 14 April

Folklore from the old calendars

Good Friday bread Lore and belief EnglandBread baked on Good Friday was kept in the house all year, in the belief that a little of it grated into water would cure almost any illness, and diarrhoea especially.
Hot cross buns Still kept England, LondonIn London and all over England, though not in Scotland, Good Friday began with the street cry of hot cross buns, and a plate of them on every breakfast table.
Washing Molly Grime No longer kept LincolnshireIn Glentham church a tomb carries a carved figure the people called Molly Grime.
The Good Friday fast in Connaught No longer kept ConnachtIn Connaught poor Catholic families kept Good Friday with a total fast, giving their children nothing from midnight to midnight, even babies at the breast.
Black Monday No longer kept EnglandEaster Monday was long known in England as Black Monday.
The clerk’s Good Friday cakes No longer kept Devon, DorsetIn some parishes of Dorset and Devon the parish clerk carried a few white cakes round to every house as an Easter offering.
Creeping to the cross at Durham No longer kept County DurhamBefore the Reformation a gold crucifix kept inside the image of Our Lady of Bolton in Durham Abbey was taken out every Good Friday, and everyone in the church crept to it.
First Cuckoo Day in Sussex Lore and belief SussexA naturalist who sent Hone the average arrival days of the spring birds from a twenty years' journal noted that 14 April was called First Cuckoo Day in Sussex.
The Good Friday sermon at Paul’s Cross No longer kept LondonFor a long time a learned man chosen by the bishop preached every Good Friday afternoon at Paul's Cross, the timber pulpit on stone steps in St Paul's churchyard, on the Passion.
Paste egging at West Derby No longer kept LancashireA Liverpool correspondent wrote to Hone on Good Friday 1826 about paste egging around West Derby, kept up by the young country people.
The passion-dock pudding No longer kept Northern EnglandIn the north of England a herb pudding was a dish nobody went without on Good Friday, and its chief ingredient was the leaves of the passion-dock.
The witches’ Good Friday meeting Lore and belief LancashireGood Friday was believed in Lancashire to be the witches' great day of gathering.
Fig-sue on Good Friday No longer kept Northern EnglandMany families across the North of England ate nothing but fig-sue for dinner on Good Friday.
The Fishlake bell tolled for Good Friday No longer kept YorkshireAt Fishlake, at eight on Good Friday morning, the great church bell was tolled slowly as for a death or funeral, instead of being rung for service as on other holy days.
Charlie Marston’s Good Friday potatoes Lore and belief County Durham, YorkshireIn the North Riding it was held impious to disturb the earth on Good Friday with spade, plough or harrow.
No washing on Good Friday Lore and belief YorkshireIn Cleveland it was said that clothes washed and hung out to dry on Good Friday would come in spotted with blood.
Long Rope Day at Brighton No longer kept SussexOn Good Friday the children of Brighton's back streets brought ropes up from the beach and skipped across the width of the street.
No iron in the fire on Good Friday Lore and belief Isle of ManOn Good Friday no iron was allowed in the fire on the Isle of Man, and even the tongs were put away; the fire was stirred with a rowan stick.
Mother Shipton and Ham Hill Lore and belief SomersetMid-Somerset labourers believed a prophecy of Mother Shipton that Ham Hill would be swallowed by an earthquake at noon on Good Friday 1879, and Yeovil flooded at the same moment.
A cross bun kept all year Lore and belief EnglandSome people kept one hot cross bun from Good Friday to the next Good Friday as a charm against the many crosses of life, out of piety and fear of disease.
No washing at Offenham on Good Friday Lore and belief WorcestershireThe poorer people of Offenham would not allow any washing to be about on Good Friday, for fear of much ill luck.
The Suffolk Good Friday loaf Lore and belief SuffolkA small loaf baked on Good Friday was hung in a corner of a Suffolk cottage, where it was believed never to go mouldy and to cure diseases such as the bloody flux.
The Bowaldeth Good Friday dole No longer kept CumberlandEvery Good Friday the interest on forty pounds was given to the poor of Bowaldeth, a quarter of Torpenhow parish.
Cross buns from the Easter bread Still kept EnglandBrand thought the cross buns sold on Good Friday in his day had come down from the cakes of Easter bread given as presents at Easter in the Greek church.
The king’s cramp-rings on Good Friday No longer kept EnglandOn Good Friday the English king crept along a carpet to a crucifix laid on a cushion in his chapel and there blessed rings in a silver basin, which were given out as sure cures for cramp.
The cross on the ass’s back Lore and belief West CountryIn the west of England it was believed that the dark cross on a donkey's shoulders was a mark of honour given by Christ, and that before he rode an ass no donkey carried it.
Changing the baby’s cap on Good Friday Lore and beliefGood Friday and Easter Sunday were both held to be lucky days for changing a young child's cap.
Bees moved only on Good Friday No longer kept DevonIn Devon bees were never moved from one place to another except on Good Friday.

Saturday 15 April

Folklore from the old calendars

Watching the Easter sepulchre No longer kept EnglandBefore the Reformation churches set up Easter sepulchres showing the burial of Christ, and crowds came to see them.
Swallow Day Lore and belief EnglandThe same twenty years' journal of bird arrivals that Hone printed recorded that 15 April was called Swallow Day, because the chimney swallow arrived about then.
An Easter egg, good dame No longer kept Cheshire, Cumberland, WestmorlandIn Cheshire children went round the village begging eggs for their Easter dinner, singing a short song to the farmer's wife that asked for an egg, bacon, cheese, an apple or anything that would make them merry.
We fasted in the light No longer kept DorsetIn Dorset during the eighteenth century boys went in procession on Easter Eve carrying rough torches and a small black flag.
Yew for the house on Easter Eve No longer kept EnglandOn Easter Eve the box that had decked the house since Candlemas was taken down and yew put up in its place.
Out with the Lent at midnight No longer kept IrelandOn the night of Holy Saturday, cottagers in the middle districts of Ireland put a fat hen and a piece of bacon in the pot, but no one dared taste it before the cock crew.
The Paschal taper at Reading and Westminster No longer kept Berkshire, LondonOn Easter Eve the medieval church lit a huge Paschal taper, and a font taper beside it.
Fives and stool-ball from Easter Eve No longer kept WalesWelsh holiday ball games began on Easter Eve and started again once Easter Day was over.

Sunday 16 April

Easter

Monday 17 April

Folklore from the old calendars

Lifting at Easter No longer kept Cheshire, Lancashire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, WarwickshireIn Lancashire, Cheshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Shropshire, men lifted the women on Easter Monday and the women lifted the men on Easter Tuesday.
Taking the shoes at Durham No longer kept County DurhamIn Durham on Easter Monday the men claimed the right to take off the women's shoes, and on Easter Tuesday the women did the same to the men.
Clipping the churches No longer kept WarwickshireA Warwickshire correspondent remembered being taken as a child every Easter Monday to watch the charity-school children clip the churches of Birmingham.
The Biddenden Maids Still kept KentTwenty acres at Biddenden, called the Bread and Cheese Lands, paid for a dole at Easter; Hasted in 1790 counted six hundred cakes given to churchgoers and loaves and cheese to parishioners.
The Coleshill hare No longer kept WarwickshireBy an old custom at Coleshill, if the young men of the town caught a hare and brought it to the parson before ten o'clock on Easter Monday, he had to give them a calf's head, a hundred eggs and a groat for their breakfast.
Riding the Black Lad No longer kept LancashireEvery Easter Monday a stuffed figure of a man was carried on horseback round the streets of Ashton-under-Lyne, while its followers begged drink at every public house and fired at it.
The Epping Hunt No longer kept EssexHenry III confirmed to the citizens of London the right to hunt around their city, and the Lord Mayor and aldermen once rode out to hunt in state.
The Spital Sermon Still kept LondonOn Easter Monday and Tuesday the boys of Christ's Hospital walked in procession to the Mansion House and went with the Lord Mayor, aldermen and their ladies to Christ Church, where a bishop preached the Spital Sermon and the children sang an anthem.
Going a-pudding-pieing No longer kept KentAt Easter young people in Kent went holiday-making to public houses to eat pudding-pies, which they called going a-pudding-pieing.
Easter football on the Roodee No longer kept CheshireAt Easter the mayor and corporation of Chester and the city's twenty guilds went in procession to the Roodee to play football.
The sheriffs’ breakfast at Chester No longer kept CheshireEvery man married in Chester who had not finished his first year of marriage had to give the drapers' guild a silver arrow as a prize for archery.
Cock eggs on the Solway Still kept CumberlandA Maryport man told Hone that Cumberland families sent each other's children presents of eggs at Easter, and the price of eggs rose for weeks before Good Friday.
The old women’s trap-ball at Bury No longer kept SuffolkA correspondent told Hone of a ball custom still kept every year at Bury St Edmunds.
The corporation at ball on the Forth No longer kept NorthumberlandCorporations once went out in state to play at ball at Easter.
Greenwich Fair at Easter No longer kept KentEaster Monday and Tuesday were holidays in most London trades, and on the Monday Greenwich Fair began.
Old Vinegar and the Moorfields cudgel players No longer kept LondonIn the old days the cudgel players' sports in Moorfields began on Easter Monday.
Kissing at the Walter No longer kept UlsterOn Easter Monday several hundred young people from Portaferry and the country round went in their best clothes to a pleasant spot near the town called the Walter.
Easter Monday on the Cave Hill No longer kept UlsterOn Easter Monday several thousand working people of Belfast and the country round went out to the Cave Hill, about three miles from the town.
Tilting on the Thames at Easter No longer kept LondonFitzStephen, writing in the twelfth century and quoted by Stow, describes a water game played by the young men of London in the Easter holidays.
The Nottingham corporation at St Anne’s Well No longer kept NottinghamshireDeering's History of Nottingham records that by a custom beyond memory the mayor and aldermen of Nottingham and their wives walked out on Easter Monday, after morning prayers, to St Anne's Well outside the town.
The inspector heaved at Warrington No longer kept LancashireIn Lancashire the lasses heaved the lads on Easter Monday, lifting them off the ground, and the lads heaved the lasses on the Tuesday.
Trundling eggs at Holywood No longer kept UlsterAt Holywood, Easter eggs were boiled hard, dyed and rolled along the ground, especially down a slope, and the broken pieces were eaten.
The hare-pie scramble at Hallaton Still kept LeicestershireOn Easter Monday the rector of Hallaton provided pies, ale and penny loaves to be scrambled for, under a bequest of land once called Hare-crop Leys.
Hand-ball for a tansy cake No longer kept EnglandIn the Easter holidays work stopped and servants were given their liberty, and the favourite pastime was playing at hand-ball for a tansy cake.
Dick and Doll’s Easter Monday walk to Islington No longer kept LondonOn Easter Monday afternoon servants who had been kept at home all week walked out to Islington to court.
The bridegrooms’ silver arrow at Chester No longer kept CheshireEvery man married in Chester who had not yet completed his first year of marriage had to hand the drapers' guild, before the mayor, a silver arrow as the prize for the Easter archery on the Roodee.
When the daughter is stolen, shut the Pepper-gate Lore and belief CheshireChester's proverb for locking up too late came from an Easter football game.
Easter Monday football at White Conduit Fields No longer kept LondonOn Easter Monday the London roughs gathered in great numbers in the fields round White Conduit House, near Islington, to play football.
The clerk’s ale at Easter No longer kept EnglandIn the Easter holidays the parish clerk held his own church-ale, brewing for his private profit and for the pleasure of the neighbourhood.
The Sheffield climbing boys’ Easter Monday dinner No longer kept YorkshireEvery Easter Monday the poet James Montgomery and a few friends gave a dinner to the climbing boys employed by the Sheffield chimney sweeps.
Lifting in a chair in North Wales No longer kept North WalesOn Easter Monday in North Wales troops of men seized women, sat them in a chair and lifted them three times with cheering, and on Easter Tuesday the women did the same to the men.
Knappan at Pont Gynon No longer kept PembrokeshireOn Easter Monday the parishes of Meline and Eglwyswrw met at Pont Gynon in Pembrokeshire for a yearly game of knappan.
The last-married man and the Easter stocks No longer kept Caernarfonshire, GlamorganIn Glamorgan the man most recently married before Easter led a crowd, each carrying a branch of gorse, up the highest hill after morning service on Easter Day, and there ordered every young man to be up at dawn on Easter Monday.
Flowers at the spring on Easter Monday No longer kept Carmarthenshire, GlamorganOn Easter Monday young men and women walked to the nearest important spring, drew water into jugs and threw flowers on the grass, stones and bushes around it.

Tuesday 18 April

Thursday 20 April

Friday 21 April

Sunday 23 April

St George's Day

Folklore from the old calendars

St George's Day in the old calendars 8 entriesThe St George’s Day bells at Chester, The mail-coach procession, Blue coats for St George, Riding the George at Leicester, The St George pageant at Dublin, St George cries go, St Mark cries ho, Harebells for St George, Horse-skins for St George at Reading
The swan against the wind Lore and belief SurreyA man living on the Thames at Kingston told Hone that when a swan flew any distance against the wind, however fine the weather looked, a wind of almost hurricane strength was certain within twenty-four hours, and usually within twelve.
When the bull leads the herd Lore and belief EnglandHone quotes an old book on husbandry for signs of rain in cattle.
Sunday in White No longer kept EnglandLow Sunday, the Sunday after Easter, was once called Sunday in White because on that day the newly baptised laid aside their white robes.
Knappan on Low Sunday No longer kept PembrokeshireKnappan, a mass ball game, was played at Pwlldu in Pembrokeshire on Low Sunday by as many as fifteen hundred men, parish against parish or county against county.

Monday 24 April New moon

Folklore from the old calendars

The church-porch watchers of Burton Lore and belief LincolnshireIn the north of England it was believed that anyone who watched in the church porch from eleven till one on St Mark's Eve would see the ghosts of all who would be buried there in the coming year.
Joe Brown the church watcher Lore and belief YorkshireIn Yorkshire a watcher at the church door at midnight on St Mark's Eve, Old Style, was said to see the souls of all who would be buried there within the year go into the church in the order they would die, those to drown coming in splashing and struggling.
The dumb cake Lore and belief NorthamptonshireA correspondent near Peterborough told Hone that girls in his district still made the dumb cake on St Mark's Eve.
Riddling the ashes Lore and belief EnglandCottage families on St Mark's Eve sifted the ashes over the hearth-stone at night, hoping not to find in the morning the footprint of anyone who would die that year.
The Scarborough watcher who saw herself Lore and belief YorkshireAbout eighty years before Henderson wrote, an old woman kept the St Mark's Eve watch in the porch of St Mary's, Scarborough, to see who would die that year.
Riddling chaff at Malton Lore and belief YorkshireIn Yorkshire people riddled chaff at midnight in a barn with its doors thrown open, to learn whether they would die within the year.
The Mayor of Randwick in the horse-pond No longer kept GloucestershireOn the second Monday after Easter the people of Randwick chose a mayor and carried him with flags and drums to a horse-pond, where he sat in an armchair while the clerk gave out a song about the weavers' trade line by line.
Running round the haystack on St Mark’s night Lore and belief YorkshireOn St Mark's night a Beverley woman ran nine times round a haystack with a ring in her hand to learn whether she would win the man she wanted.

Tuesday 25 April

Folklore from the old calendars

Hock Tuesday at Coventry No longer kept WarwickshireOn Hock Monday and Tuesday, a fortnight after Easter, the men and then the women went out with ropes and tied up anyone of the other sex they met until they paid a small sum, which went to the church.
Hock money at Reading No longer kept BerkshireThe churchwardens' accounts of Reading show hocking there for generations: in 1499 the women of St Laurence's gathered twenty shillings and the men only four.
No ploughing on St Mark’s Day Lore and belief North WalesOn St Mark's Day blessings were asked on the growing corn.
Through the Freemen’s Well Still kept NorthumberlandOn St Mark's Day the men being made freemen of Alnwick rode out in white, with swords at their sides, behind the Duke of Northumberland's officers to the Freemen's Well, a large muddy pool on the common.
The ale-wife who brewed on St Mark’s Day Lore and belief EnglandUnder the old church St Mark's Day was kept as a great fast in England.
Men on Monday, women on Tuesday in Hampshire No longer kept HampshireIn several Hampshire manors the men hocked the women on Hock Monday, and on the Tuesday the women took their turn with the men.
Lambeth wives out-gather the men at Hock-tide No longer kept LondonThe churchwardens' accounts of Lambeth for 1515 and 1516 recorded hock money gathered by both the men and the women for the church.
The Durham monks’ St Mark’s Day procession No longer kept County DurhamSt Mark's Day was once kept as a fast all over the country, with no meat eaten.
Hocktide for the church repairs at St Peter in the East No longer kept OxfordshireIn seventeenth-century Oxford a parish that needed money for church repairs would keep a Hocktide, and the takings could be large.

Wednesday 26 April

Sunday 30 April

Folklore from the old calendars

The Swinton May-singers No longer kept LancashireIn 1861 a man at Swinton, near Eccles, was surprised one April evening by a party of singers on his lawn with a flute and a clarinet.
The storm cock Lore and belief EnglandBefore a storm the mistle thrush was said to sing especially loud and to keep on singing until the rain began, and for this it was called the storm cock in some places.
Dun-pickles on the downs Lore and belief WiltshireIt was said in Wiltshire that the dun-pickles, or moor buzzards, came down in great numbers on the downs before rain.
Fetching the elm on May Eve in Cornwall No longer kept CornwallBorlase wrote that the Cornish people of the towns went out into the country on May Eve and cut down a tall elm, which they brought back with rejoicing.
The May bush in Westmeath No longer kept LeinsterSir Henry Piers wrote in 1682 that on May Eve every family in Westmeath set up a green bush before its door, strewn over with the yellow flowers that the meadows yielded in plenty.
Hawthorns from Woodstock Park No longer kept OxfordshireEvery May Eve the people of Woodstock went into the park and carried off a number of hawthorn trees to set before their doors.
Cattle in the neighbour’s corn on May Eve Lore and belief IrelandA sixteenth-century manuscript says the Irish drove their cattle into a neighbour's corn on May Eve, most often an English settler's.
Gadding to the woods against May No longer kept EnglandOn the night before May Day young men and maids, and old men and wives with them, went out to the woods, groves, hills and mountains and stayed there all night.
Nettles on May Eve in the south of Ireland No longer kept MunsterOn May Eve schoolboys in the south of Ireland thought themselves free to run wild with bunches of nettles, stinging the faces and hands of their companions and anyone else they dared.
Evil spirits revelling in the churches Lore and belief WalesWithin living memory it was believed in Wales that evil spirits were let loose on May Day Eve, St John's Eve and All Hallows' Eve and held high revelry inside the churches.

Monday 1 May

May Day

Tuesday 2 May

Wednesday 3 May

Folklore from the old calendars

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.
The dismal day of 3 May Lore and belief Highlands, PerthshireA Highlander would begin nothing of consequence on the day of the week on which 3 May fell, a day he called the dismal day.
St Euny’s Well on the Wednesdays of May No longer kept CornwallThe days for visiting St Euny's Well in Cornwall were the first three Wednesdays in May.
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.

Sunday 7 May

Monday 8 May Flower Moon

Thursday 11 May

Friday 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.

Sunday 14 May

Monday 15 May

Thursday 18 May

Friday 19 May

Saturday 20 May

Monday 22 May

Folklore from the old calendars

Reading the gospel at the springs No longer kept Berkshire, CheshireIn the parish processions a gospel was read at the springs to bless them, a custom kept at Sunningwell in Berkshire until 1688.
The Swalwell hopping No longer kept County DurhamA notice circulated in 1758 announced the yearly sports held on 22 May at Swalwell hopping, near Newcastle.
Gang Week in the North No longer kept Northern EnglandOn one of the three days before Holy Thursday the minister, churchwardens and parishioners walked the bounds of the parish, praying for the fruits of the earth and guarding the parish's rights.
The Bezant at Shaftesbury No longer kept DorsetOn Rogation Monday the mayor and aldermen of Shaftesbury went down the hill in procession to Enmore Green to pay for the town's water with a calf's head, a gallon of ale, two penny loaves, gold-laced gloves and the Bezant.
Gang Monday Land at Edgcott No longer kept BuckinghamshireAt Edgcott in Buckinghamshire about an acre of land, called Gang Monday Land, was let for three pounds a year to pay for cakes and beer for those who walked the parish bounds in Rogation week.
Loaf, cheese and ale for the bounds at Clifton Reynes No longer kept BuckinghamshireEveryone living in Clifton Reynes who walked the parish boundaries in Rogation week was given ale from a bequest of land, married people a small loaf, a piece of cheese and a pint, single people half a pint.
The boy in the boundary oven No longer kept BuckinghamshireWhere a Buckinghamshire house had been built with its oven jutting over the parish boundary, a boy was put into the oven during the Rogation perambulation to keep the line unbroken.
Possessioning in Derbyshire No longer kept DerbyshireIn a small Derbyshire village in 1818 the Rogation perambulation had become possessioning, a march of the constable, labourers and boys with an axe, a mattock and an iron crow.
The noble in a bowl at Swinford Ferry No longer kept BerkshireWhen the Cumnor parishioners beat their bounds in Rogation week, they crossed at Swinford Ferry and took hold of the twigs on the far bank to claim the whole breadth of the Thames for the parish.
The seven-yearly bounds money at Husborne Crawley No longer kept BedfordshireOnce every seven years an estate at Husborne Crawley in Bedfordshire had to pay four pounds on Rogation Day towards walking the parish bounds.
Processioning with flower poles at Wolverhampton No longer kept StaffordshireOn the Monday and Tuesday of Rogation Week the clergy and choir of Wolverhampton walked the town behind charity children carrying long poles dressed with every flower in season, chanting the Benedicite.
The Gospel in the Chequer Inn cellar at Standlake No longer kept OxfordshireAt Standlake the minister's Rogation Week procession stopped in the cellar of the Chequer Inn, where he read the Gospel at the head of a barrel.
Youling the orchards at Keston and Wickham No longer kept KentIn Rogation Week the young men about Keston and Wickham in Kent ran shouting into the orchards, circled each tree and chanted a rhyme for a good crop.

Wednesday 24 May New moon

Thursday 25 May

Folklore from the old calendars

Flitting Day No longer kept ScotlandThe 25th of May, the old Whitsunday term, was the day most Scots changed house, since houses were let by the year and tenants decided at Candlemas whether to sit or flit.
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.

Monday 29 May

Oak Apple Day

Tuesday 30 May

Wednesday 31 May

Thursday 1 June

Sunday 4 June

Whitsun

Monday 5 June

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.
Heriot’s Day Still kept MidlothianBy the statutes of George Heriot's Hospital, founded by James VI's jeweller, the first Monday in June was kept as a solemn thanksgiving, with the provost, magistrates and ministers walking with the scholars to Greyfriars church to hear a sermon.
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.
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 6 June

Wednesday 7 June Strawberry Moon

Thursday 8 June

Friday 9 June

Saturday 10 June

Sunday 11 June

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.
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.
Mown grass in Clee church No longer kept LincolnshireOn Trinity Sunday, the feast of dedication, Clee church was strewn with fresh mown grass.
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.
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 12 June

Folklore from the old calendars

Clipping posies No longer kept EnglandSheep-shearing was one of the few set times of the farming year still kept as a holiday.
The Lady of the Lamb at Kidlington No longer kept OxfordshireOn the Monday after Whitsun week the maidens of Kidlington, their thumbs tied behind them, chased a fat lamb, and the girl who caught it with her mouth became Lady of the Lamb.
The ministers’ whitebait dinner No longer kept KentNear the close of each parliamentary session the Cabinet dined together on whitebait at Greenwich, usually soon after Trinity Monday.
Scrambling for biscuits at Trinity House, Deptford No longer kept KentOn Trinity Monday the master and brethren of Trinity House met at their Deptford hospital to elect their officers, and afterwards threw biscuits among the crowd.

Tuesday 13 June

Wednesday 14 June

Thursday 15 June

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.
Rain on St Vitus’s Day Lore and belief EnglandIt was a common belief that rain on St Vitus's Day, like rain on St Swithin's, meant rain for a set number of days after.
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.

Tuesday 20 June

Wednesday 21 June

Thursday 22 June New moon

Friday 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.

Saturday 24 June

Midsummer

Sunday 25 June

Wednesday 28 June

Thursday 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.

Saturday 1 July

Sunday 2 July

Folklore from the old calendars

Rain on Processus and Martinian Lore and belief EnglandThe feast of Saints Processus and Martinian fell on 2 July.
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.
The white lily at the Visitation Lore and belief EnglandThe white lily opened its bells about the feast of the Visitation, one more case of white flowers blooming on the feasts of the Virgin.
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.

Monday 3 July

Tuesday 4 July

Thursday 6 July Buck Moon

Friday 7 July

Saturday 8 July

Sunday 9 July

Monday 10 July

Wednesday 12 July

Thursday 13 July

Saturday 15 July

Monday 17 July

Thursday 20 July

Friday 21 July

Saturday 22 July New moon

Sunday 23 July

Monday 24 July

Tuesday 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.

Wednesday 26 July

Thursday 27 July

Monday 31 July

Tuesday 1 August

Lammas

Folklore from the old calendars

Lammas in the old calendars 10 entriesLammas Towers, The Exeter Lammas Glove, St Wilfrid’s Feast at Ripon, Lammas, the Loaf-Mass, Glove Silver, At Latter Lammas, A live lamb for York Minster, Lammas, called August’s Wheel, The feast round Hitchingstone, Geese with straws on Lammas Day
Doggett’s Coat and Badge Still kept LondonThomas Dogget, a Dublin-born comic actor and a keen supporter of the Hanoverian succession, gave a waterman's coat and silver badge to be rowed for on 1 August 1715, the first anniversary of George I's accession, and at his death left money to keep the prize going for ever.
Burning Fern for Rain Lore and belief Scotland, StaffordshireA letter of 1 August 1636 from the Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery to the high sheriff of Staffordshire said that the king was about to pass through the county.

Friday 4 August

Saturday 5 August Sturgeon Moon

Sunday 6 August

Thursday 10 August

Monday 14 August

Tuesday 15 August

Wednesday 16 August

Thursday 17 August

Friday 18 August

Sunday 20 August New moon

Tuesday 22 August

Thursday 24 August

Folklore from the old calendars

The Croyland Knives No longer kept LincolnshireBecause St Bartholomew was flayed alive, a knife became his emblem.
Strewing Rushes at Dorrington No longer kept LincolnshireOn St Bartholomew's Day at Dorrington, near Sleaford, maidens in their best clothes used to walk in procession to a small chapel in the parish and strew its floor with rushes.
The Scholars’ Disputation on Bartholomew Eve No longer kept London, YorkshireA correspondent from Morley, near Leeds, reminded Hone of a custom little noticed by antiquaries: on the eve of St Bartholomew scholars from different schools met for disputation, to try their proficiency in learning, as Stow and the astrologer Lilly both mention.
Rabbits for the Boys at Bartholomew-tide No longer kept LondonThe German traveller Hentzner, in England in 1598, wrote that every year on St Bartholomew's Day, when the fair was held, the mayor with the twelve principal aldermen walked in a neighbouring field, in his scarlet gown with a gold chain about his neck.
Bartholomew Pig and Fairings No longer kept LondonBy the time of Ben Jonson's comedy of 1614 Bartholomew Fair had lost nearly all its trading character and was given over to eating, drinking and amusement, and it had become an established custom to eat roast pig there.
St Bartholomew’s Dusty Mantle Lore and belief EnglandSt Bartholomew's Day falls forty days after St Swithin's, when the forty days of rain promised by a wet St Swithin's Day should be over.
Shooting at the Standard in Finsbury Fields No longer kept LondonStow wrote that before his time the lord mayor, sheriffs and aldermen of London used to go out at Bartholomew-tide into the fields at Finsbury, where the citizens had gathered, and shoot at the standard with broad and flight arrows for games.
Beggar’s Bush Fair at Rye No longer kept SussexRye held a small pedlars' fair at Beggar's Bush on St Bartholomew's Day, and chose its mayor on the same day.
Lee Fair and its disputations No longer kept YorkshireThe great fair at Lee, in Woodkirk parish near Leeds, ended on St Bartholomew's Day.
The sunflower, a star for Bartholomew Lore and belief EnglandThe sunflower, in full bloom by late August, was given to St Bartholomew as his star.
Butter and cheese at Bartlemytide No longer kept CambridgeshireAt Bartholomewtide, or at Stourbridge Fair near Cambridge, the farmer bought what his house needed for repairs and sold his butter and cheese.
Jack Pudding and gape-seed at Bartholomew Fair No longer kept LondonAt Bartholomew Fair in Smithfield, crowds watched Jack Pudding the clown do his tricks while cutpurses went through their pockets.

Friday 25 August

Saturday 26 August

Wednesday 30 August

Thursday 31 August

Friday 1 September

Saturday 2 September

Sunday 3 September Corn Moon

Monday 4 September

Friday 8 September

Sunday 10 September

Thursday 14 September

Folklore from the old calendars

Nutting on Holy Rood Day No longer kept EnglandHoly Rood Day, the feast of the Holy Cross, was the day for going out to gather nuts in the hazel woods.
The Eton Nutting Holiday No longer kept BuckinghamshireAn old manuscript about Eton recorded that on a certain day in September, most likely Holy Rood Day, the scholars had a holiday to go out and gather nuts.
The Rood of Grace No longer kept KentThe crucifix at Boxley Abbey, the Rood of Grace, drew pilgrims because its figure of Christ moved its eyes, lips and head.
The Holy Rood Buck in Richmond Park No longer kept SurreyOn Holy Rood Day the king's huntsmen hunted their free buck in Richmond New Park with bloodhounds.
Fools Fair at Lincoln No longer kept LincolnshireA cattle fair held in the Broad Gate at Lincoln on 14 September was known as Fools Fair.
The stag at Durham on Holy-rood Day No longer kept County DurhamA stag was once offered at the high altar of Durham Abbey on Holy Rood Day while horns were wound in the church.
Chalk-Back Day at Diss No longer kept NorfolkOn the Thursday before the third Friday in September, the eve of the Diss hiring fair, the town's young people chalked marks on each other's clothes.
The passion flower for Holy Rood Lore and belief EnglandThe passion flower, blooming about Holy Rood Day, was taken to show the signs of the Cross whose feast fell on 14 September.

Friday 15 September

Monday 18 September New moon

Tuesday 19 September

Thursday 21 September

Friday 22 September

Saturday 23 September

Sunday 24 September

Folklore from the old calendars

Harvest Home and the Hock Cart No longer kept EnglandIn the southern counties the reapers chose a lord of the harvest to bargain with the farmer and lead the work, and in Buckinghamshire a lady as well, with fines for anyone who got the order of drinking wrong.
The Corn Baby and the Mell Supper No longer kept Northern EnglandIn the north of England the harvest feast was the mell supper.
Crying the Mare No longer kept Hertfordshire, ShropshireIn Hertfordshire and Shropshire the reapers left the last few stalks standing and tied them up as the mare, then threw their sickles at it until one cut it down.
The Cripple Goat No longer kept Inner HebridesOn Skye the farmer who finished his harvest first sent the last handful he had cut to the next farmer still at work, calling it the cripple goat.
Crying the Neck Still kept Devon, West CountryIn Devon the last handful of standing corn was called the nack or neck.
The Kirn No longer kept ScotlandIn Scotland the words harvest home were unknown, and the feast at the end of harvest was the kirn or kirn supper, thought to be named from the churn of cream served at it.
Crying Largess No longer kept East Anglia, Essex, HertfordshireIn Suffolk the harvest lord would leave the field to ask any passer-by for a largess, then stand his reapers in a ring and call from a gate post while they answered with a groan and then three great shouts.
The Harvest Catch in Norfolk No longer kept Essex, NorfolkThe last thing before parting at a Norfolk harvest supper was a health-drinking catch sung first to the mistress and then to the master.
Burning the Witch No longer kept YorkshireIn the East Riding, on the evening the last of a farmer's corn was cut, the reapers heaped eight or ten small piles of dried peas together in the field and set them alight.
The Norfolk Horkey No longer kept NorfolkIn Norfolk the harvest home was the horkey.
The Harvest Goose No longer kept EnglandTusser advised the farmer that when harvest was in he should give his ploughman a harvest home goose.
Crack-Nut Sunday at Kingston No longer kept SurreyOn the Sunday before Michaelmas Eve, people of all ages at Kingston upon Thames cracked nuts in church, loudly enough to disturb the service.

Monday 25 September

Wednesday 27 September

Thursday 28 September

Friday 29 September

Michaelmas

Saturday 30 September

Sunday 1 October

Folklore from the old calendars

The Lawless Court No longer kept EssexOn the Wednesday after Michaelmas, tenants of the manors around Rochford had to attend a court held on King's Hill at first cock-crow, in the dark.
Brother Salter No longer kept LondonUnder the will of Sir John Salter, who died in 1605, the beadles and servants of the Salters' Company had to go to St Magnus church by London Bridge in the first week of October.
Rushes for Dedication Day No longer kept LondonAn Act of Convocation of 1536 ordered that the feast of the dedication of every church should be kept everywhere on the same day, the first Sunday in October, and the churches' own saints' days laid aside.
Proclaiming Peterborough Bridge Fair Still kept Huntingdonshire, NorthamptonshirePeterborough proclaimed its Bridge Fair at noon, with the town council, the mayor's sergeant and javelin men marching to the bridge over the county boundary.
Garlanding the new mayor’s street at Abingdon No longer kept BerkshireOn the first Sunday the new mayor of Abingdon went to church after his election, the people of his street decked their houses with boughs and garlands and strewed the path with rushes.

Saturday 9 October

Sunday 10 October

Monday 11 October

Wednesday 13 October

Thursday 14 October

Friday 15 October🌕 Hunter’s Moon

Saturday 16 October

Sunday 17 October

Monday 18 October

Wednesday 20 October

Thursday 21 October

Friday 22 October

Saturday 23 October

Sunday 24 October

Monday 25 October

Wednesday 27 October

Thursday 28 October

Friday 29 October🌑 New moon

Saturday 30 October

Sunday 31 October

Monday 1 November

Tuesday 2 November

Wednesday 3 November

Thursday 4 November

Friday 5 November

Saturday 6 November

Sunday 7 November

Tuesday 9 November

Thursday 11 November

Friday 12 November

Saturday 13 November

Sunday 14 November🌕 Beaver Moon

Monday 15 November

Tuesday 16 November

Wednesday 17 November

Saturday 20 November

Sunday 21 November

Monday 22 November

Tuesday 23 November

Thursday 25 November

Saturday 27 November

Sunday 28 November🌑 New moon

Tuesday 30 November

Sunday 5 December

Monday 6 December

Monday 13 December🌕 Cold Moon

Thursday 16 December

Friday 17 December

Sunday 19 December

Monday 20 December

Tuesday 21 December

Friday 24 December

Saturday 25 December

Sunday 26 December

Monday 27 December🌑 New moon

Tuesday 28 December

Wednesday 29 December

Friday 31 December

Saturday 1 January

Monday 3 January

Wednesday 5 January

Thursday 6 January

Friday 7 January

Monday 10 January

Tuesday 11 January

Wednesday 12 January🌕 Wolf Moon

Thursday 13 January

Friday 14 January

Monday 17 January

Thursday 20 January

Friday 21 January

Saturday 22 January

Sunday 23 January

Monday 24 January

Tuesday 25 January

Wednesday 26 January🌑 New moon

Saturday 29 January

Sunday 30 January

Monday 31 January

Tuesday 1 February

Friday 15 October Hunter’s Moon

Friday 29 October New moon

Sunday 14 November Beaver Moon

Sunday 28 November New moon

Monday 13 December Cold Moon

Monday 27 December New moon

Wednesday 12 January Wolf Moon

Wednesday 26 January New moon

Thursday 10 February Snow Moon

Friday 25 February New moon

Saturday 11 March Worm Moon

Sunday 26 March New moon

Sunday 9 April Pink Moon