Food and Drink

Customs with their own fare: pancakes, simnel cake, soul cakes, frumenty and the wassail bowl.

The year ahead

Wednesday 23 December

Wed 23 Dec All day
Custom

Tom Bawcock’s Eve

The Ship Inn, Mousehole, Cornwall

Sunday 3 January

Sun 3 Jan from 12:00
Custom

Bankside Twelfth Night

Shakespeare’s Globe, London, Greater London

Saturday 9 January

Sat 9 Jan 17:30 21:00
Custom

Much Marcle Wassail at Westons

Westons Cider Visitor Centre, Much Marcle, Herefordshire

Saturday 16 January

Sat 16 Jan from 18:30
Custom

Carhampton Wassail

Butchers Arms, Carhampton, Somerset

Monday 29 March

Mon 29 Mar from 13:45
Custom

Hallaton Hare Pie Scramble and Bottle Kicking

St Michael and All Angels Church, Hallaton, Leicestershire

Saturday 28 August

Sat 28 Aug All day
Custom, day 1 of 4

Ould Lammas Fair

Sets off from The Diamond, Ballycastle, County Antrim

Sunday 29 August

Sun 29 Aug Ould Lammas Fair day 2 of 4 · All day

Monday 30 August

Mon 30 Aug Ould Lammas Fair day 3 of 4 · All day

Tuesday 31 August New moon

Tue 31 Aug Ould Lammas Fair day 4 of 4 · All day

Folklore from the old calendars

Tuesday 29 September 2026

Folklore from the old calendars

The Old Mayor’s Geese at Nottingham No longer kept NottinghamshireNottingham chose its mayor on Michaelmas Day, and Deering's History of Nottingham records that the outgoing mayor used to give hot roast geese at his house that morning, before the election of his successor.
St Michael’s Sheep in Ireland No longer kept IrelandMacaulay, quoted by Hone, says that in Ireland every family that could afford it killed a sheep on Michaelmas Day, and part of it had by law to go to the poor.
St Michael’s Bannock No longer kept Inner Hebrides, Outer HebridesMartin's account of the Western Isles, quoted by Hone, says the islanders kept St Michael's Day with a cavalcade in each parish, and at Kilbar with a turn round the church.
Goose on Michaelmas Day Lore and belief EnglandRoast goose was the Michaelmas dinner, when stubble geese were at their best, and it was said that whoever ate goose that day would never want money all year.

Tuesday 6 October 2026

Monday 26 October 2026

Wednesday 28 October 2026

Saturday 31 October 2026

Folklore from the old calendars

Cake Night at Ripon No longer kept YorkshireAt Ripon on the eve of All Saints the good wives made a cake for everyone in the family, so the evening was generally called Cake Night.
Lamb’s-wool on Holy Eve No longer kept IrelandA writer in the Gentleman's Magazine said that no merry-making on Holy Eve in Ireland was without lamb's-wool, made by bruising roasted apples into ale or sometimes milk; in better houses white wine had once been used instead.
The St Kilda Hallowe’en Cake No longer kept Outer HebridesMartin's account of the Western Isles, quoted by Hone, recorded that the people of St Kilda baked a special cake on Hallowe'en.
Sowens for the Hallowe’en Supper No longer kept ScotlandSowens was a thin dish made by steeping oat husks and meal in water until it soured, and in many parts of Scotland it was the proper supper for Hallowe'en.
Ale for Shony No longer kept Outer HebridesAt Hallowtide the people of Lewis met at the church of St Mulvay, each family bringing malt that was brewed into ale.
Nutcrack Night Still kept Northern EnglandIn the north of England Hallowe'en was called Nutcrack Night, from the nuts cracked, eaten and thrown on the fire.

Sunday 1 November 2026

Monday 2 November 2026

Monday 9 November 2026

Wednesday 11 November 2026

Sunday 22 November 2026

Monday 23 November 2026

Wednesday 25 November 2026

Monday 30 November 2026

Thursday 24 December 2026

Folklore from the old calendars

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Friday 25 December 2026

Folklore from the old calendars

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.
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.
Christmas Day in the Highlands No longer kept HighlandsGrant's Popular Superstitions of the Highlands described a Highland Christmas.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

Saturday 26 December 2026

Friday 1 January 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

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.
Coventry God-cakes No longer kept WarwickshireAt Coventry it was the custom to eat God-cakes on New Year's Day.
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.
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.
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.

Tuesday 5 January 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Wassil Eve near Leeds No longer kept YorkshireMr Beckwith remembered in the Gentleman's Magazine of 1784 that near Leeds, when he was a boy, many families asked their relations, friends and neighbours in on the twelfth eve of Christmas for cards and a supper at which mince pies were essential.
Twelve Fires and the Ox’s Cake No longer kept Gloucestershire, HerefordshireOn Twelfth Night eve Herefordshire farmers and their servants lit twelve small fires and one large one on the highest part of a wheat field, drank old cider and hallooed, and fifty or sixty other fires might be seen at once across the country.
Wassailing the Apple Trees Still kept DevonOn Twelfth Night eve the Devon farmer took his men into the orchard with a pitcher of cider, and they circled one of the best-bearing trees and drank to it three times with a rhyme wishing it hats full, caps full and sacks full of apples.

Wednesday 6 January 2027

Monday 11 January 2027

Saturday 30 January 2027

Sunday 31 January 2027

Tuesday 9 February 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

The freshmen’s caudle at Merton No longer kept OxfordshireAnthony a Wood described how the freshmen of Merton College were put through their paces on Shrove Tuesday in 1647.
Dough-nut Day at Baldock No longer kept HertfordshireAt Baldock in Hertfordshire the children looked forward to Shrove Tuesday long beforehand and called it Dough-nut Day.
Sauty Bannocks and Dreaming Bannocks No longer kept HighlandsIn the Highlands the Fastern's E'en supper ended with sauty bannocks, made of eggs and meal with plenty of salt and toasted on the gridiron.
The Ring in the Crowdie No longer kept ScotlandEden wrote that crowdie was the never-failing dinner of all ranks in Scotland on Shrove Tuesday, as pancakes were in England.
The Hoddesdon Curfew and the Pancakes No longer kept HertfordshireA correspondent told Hone that the old curfew bell at Hoddesdon, once rung for putting out all fire and candle light, was still rung at four in the morning on Shrove Tuesday, as it had been time out of mind.
The First Pancake No longer kept EnglandBy custom the first pancake off the pan was given to the laziest member of the household or the last one out of bed, though since nobody would own to it, it usually went to the dog.
The Pancake Bell Still kept EnglandOn Shrove Tuesday the church bells were set ringing in the morning, and one bell in particular, the Pancake Bell, told every household that it was time to start frying.
The Pancake Greaze Still kept LondonAt eleven on Shrove Tuesday a verger of Westminster Abbey with a silver baton led the school cook, in white apron, jacket and cap, into the schoolroom carrying a pancake.

Monday 1 March 2027

Sunday 7 March 2027

Wednesday 17 March 2027

Thursday 18 March 2027

Sunday 21 March 2027

Friday 26 March 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

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 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.
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.
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.

Saturday 27 March 2027

Sunday 28 March 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Dancing for the cake in Westmeath No longer kept LeinsterSir Henry Piers wrote in 1682 that in most parishes of Westmeath, on the patron day and at Easter and Whitsuntide, the country people met in the afternoon on a convenient spot near the alehouse to dance for the cake, with a piper always in attendance.
Little Devil Doubt and the pace-eggers Still kept Northern EnglandIn the north of England groups of lads went pace-egging at Easter, singing at doors for eggs and strong beer and promising not to come again until the next year.
Tansies at Easter No longer kept EnglandA tansy was a pudding or cake of eggs, cream and sugar flavoured with the young leaves of the herb tansy, and it was the dish of Easter.
Eggs and green sauce at Gray’s Inn No longer kept LondonDugdale records that the gentlemen of Gray's Inn who came to breakfast on Easter Day, after the service and communion, were given eggs and green sauce.
The red herring on horseback No longer kept OxfordshireIt was said that at Queen's College, Oxford, the first dish brought to table on Easter Day was a red herring riding away on horseback.
Sugar-cupping at Dropping Tor No longer kept DerbyshireNear Tideswell in the Peak, children and young people used to go on Easter Sunday to the Dropping Tor, a spring that dripped from the rock.
The Twickenham Easter cakes No longer kept MiddlesexTwickenham once divided two great cakes among its young people in church on Easter Day.
Pace eggs Still kept Cheshire, Lancashire, ScotlandThe pace or pasch egg, once given at Easter all over Christendom, was still handed out by children and country people in Lancashire in Chambers's day.

Monday 29 March 2027

Saturday 24 April 2027

Saturday 1 May 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

Stir-about for the first day of summer No longer kept LeinsterSir Henry Piers wrote in 1682 that the Irish of Westmeath counted May Day the first day of summer and always had one formal dish at their meal that day, stir-about or hasty pudding, flour and milk boiled thick.
Pennant’s Beltein in the Highlands No longer kept HighlandsPennant found that on the first of May the herdsmen of every Highland village held their Beltein.
Fishing for the ring in the May syllabub No longer kept NorthumberlandHutchinson's History of Northumberland describes a syllabub made for the May feast from milk warm from the cow, sweet cakes and wine.
Cheese rolling at Randwick Still kept GloucestershireC.
Mrs Montagu’s dinner for the sweeps No longer kept LondonEvery May Day Elizabeth Montagu, the bluestocking hostess, gave a dinner for the chimney sweeps of London at her house in Portman Square.

Sunday 2 May 2027

Thursday 6 May 2027

Wednesday 12 May 2027

Sunday 16 May 2027

Monday 17 May 2027

Wednesday 23 June 2027

Sunday 25 July 2027

Saturday 31 July 2027

Sunday 1 August 2027

Tuesday 24 August 2027

Wednesday 25 August 2027

Friday 10 September 2027

Friday 24 September 2027

Folklore from the old calendars

The Harvest Goose No longer kept EnglandTusser advised the farmer that when harvest was in he should give his ploughman a harvest home goose.
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.
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.
The Corn Baby and the Mell Supper No longer kept Northern EnglandIn the north of England the harvest feast was the mell supper.
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.

Not tied to a day

Food and Drink not tied to a day of the year.

Folklore from the old calendars

In a merry pin No longer kept SomersetA carved oak peg tankard said to have come from Glastonbury Abbey held two quarts and was once fitted inside with eight pegs, marking off half a pint each.
John Barleycorn Still kept England, ScotlandFor 21 October, after a harvest with a good barley crop, Hone printed Burns's version of the old ballad of John Barleycorn.
Sops and Ale No longer kept SussexAt Eastbourne the senior bachelor was elected steward of Sops and Ale and kept a set of wooden bowls, trenchers, knives and cups for it.
Sugared Toast No longer kept West CountryA newcomer to Westbury, in the west of England, described a custom that followed a birth in a well-to-do household.
The cuckoo ale No longer kept ShropshireIn Shropshire, until shortly before Chambers wrote, labourers who heard the first cuckoo of the year left their work, made holiday of the rest of the day and drank what they called the cuckoo ale.
The Feast Week No longer kept MidlandsA correspondent described for Hone the feast week kept in many villages of the Midlands and other counties, the yearly holiday that followed the dedication day of the parish church.
The loving cup Still kept EnglandKing Edward was murdered at Corfe on 18 March 978, stabbed on his stepmother's orders while he drank from a cup she had handed him.
The St Giles Bowl No longer kept LondonWriting of St Ouen, whose shrine at Rouen could win the pardon of one condemned criminal each year, Hone notes how the pains of the condemned were softened in many places, as with the wine and myrrh of the Jews and the dainties given to the condemned in Italian cities.
The Wychnor flitch No longer kept StaffordshireBeside the Dunmow flitch, Hone set out the similar custom of Wychnor in the Honour of Tutbury, from Dr Plot.

Wednesday 23 December

Tom Bawcock’s Eve

Sunday 3 January

Bankside Twelfth Night

Saturday 9 January

Much Marcle Wassail at Westons

Saturday 16 January

Carhampton Wassail

Monday 29 March

Hallaton Hare Pie Scramble and Bottle Kicking

Saturday 28 August

Ould Lammas Fair

Sunday 29 August

Monday 30 August

Tuesday 31 August🌑 New moon

Folklore from the old calendars

Tuesday 29 September 2026

Tuesday 6 October 2026

Monday 26 October 2026

Wednesday 28 October 2026

Saturday 31 October 2026

Sunday 1 November 2026

Monday 2 November 2026

Monday 9 November 2026

Wednesday 11 November 2026

Sunday 22 November 2026

Monday 23 November 2026

Wednesday 25 November 2026

Monday 30 November 2026

Thursday 24 December 2026

Friday 25 December 2026

Saturday 26 December 2026

Friday 1 January 2027

Tuesday 5 January 2027

Wednesday 6 January 2027

Monday 11 January 2027

Saturday 30 January 2027

Sunday 31 January 2027

Tuesday 9 February 2027

Monday 1 March 2027

Sunday 7 March 2027

Wednesday 17 March 2027

Thursday 18 March 2027

Sunday 21 March 2027

Friday 26 March 2027

Saturday 27 March 2027

Sunday 28 March 2027

Monday 29 March 2027

Saturday 24 April 2027

Saturday 1 May 2027

Sunday 2 May 2027

Thursday 6 May 2027

Wednesday 12 May 2027

Sunday 16 May 2027

Monday 17 May 2027

Wednesday 23 June 2027

Sunday 25 July 2027

Saturday 31 July 2027

Sunday 1 August 2027

Tuesday 24 August 2027

Wednesday 25 August 2027

Friday 10 September 2027

Friday 24 September 2027

Not tied to a day

Image credits

Tuesday 31 August New moon