Folklore of England

14 February

Folklore from the old calendars

Paying the valentine in Hereford No longer kept HerefordshireMrs Joyce Jefferies of Hereford took care each Valentine's Day to give money to the first man of her acquaintance she met, who counted as her valentine.
Pope Valentine’s lottery of patrons Lore and belief EnglandDrawing valentines was said to have begun as a lottery among poor clergy for patrons for the coming year.
Rings, gloves and ribbons for valentines No longer kept EnglandValentines greeted each other with presents of rings, gloves and ribbons, and sealed the match with kisses.
Sweeping the girls No longer kept DerbyshireIn Derbyshire a girl who had not been kissed by Valentine's morning was said to be dusty, and had to be swept with a broom.
The crocus at the shrine of St Valentine Lore and belief EnglandThe yellow spring crocus was the flower of St Valentine, coming into bloom about his feast.
The first two single people to meet on Valentine’s morning Lore and belief EnglandOn the eve of St Valentine's Day, ordinary people believed that the first two unmarried people to meet on the morning of the feast might well become a pair.
The Valentine Letter-shower Still kept EnglandBy the 1860s the drawing of valentines had given way to sending anonymous letters.
Valentine buns at Peterborough No longer kept NorthamptonshireIn Peterborough and the villages of north Northamptonshire, sweet plum buns called Valentine buns were baked for St Valentine's Day.
Valentine pence in Oxfordshire No longer kept OxfordshireIn Oxfordshire the children went about on Valentine's Day collecting pence and singing a short rhyme asking each householder for a valentine.
Valentines on hat and sleeve No longer kept EnglandPaired valentines wore each other's names or favours, he on her hat and she on her sleeve.
When the Birds Choose Their Mates Lore and belief EnglandAmong the common people it was believed that St Valentine's Day was the day on which the birds chose their mates, and that something of the same influence lay on young men and women, so that a partner chosen by lot or chance that day was in some degree binding.

50 days before Easter

15 February, not tied to the day

48 days before Easter

Shrove Tuesday

Folklore from the old calendars

Barring Out the Master No longer kept CumberlandAt Fasten's Even the scholars of the free school at Bromfield claimed an old right to shut their master out for three days.
Cock broth for Shrovetide husbands No longer kept EnglandOn Shrove Tuesday the boys threw at cocks and killed them, and the birds went into the pot.
Cock-throwing given up at Newcastle No longer kept NorthumberlandBy 1777 the Shrove Tuesday sport of throwing at cocks had been given up at Newcastle upon Tyne.
Cocks for the Poor Rate at Pinner No longer kept MiddlesexIn the hamlet of Pinner, by Harrow on the Hill, throwing at cocks on Shrove Tuesday was a parish occasion, and the money it raised went towards the poor rate: the accounts record twelve shillings received for cocks at Shrovetide in 1622.
Crying to Bacchus at Eton No longer kept BuckinghamshireOn Shrove Tuesday, as soon as the clock struck nine, every boy in Eton school yelled a Greek cry to Bacchus as loud as he could.
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.
Fitz-Stephen’s Shrovetide No longer kept LondonThe earliest account of Shrovetide sport in England comes from William Fitz-Stephen, who died in 1191.
Flowers, flowers, high-do No longer kept EnglandEllis noted that in some places at Shrovetide, if flowers could be found so early in the year, the younger children carried a small garland about to collect a few pence.

14 February

50 days before Easter

15 February, not tied to the day

48 days before Easter

Shrove Tuesday

Image credits