Brand's Popular Antiquities

John Brand, Observations on Popular Antiquities (1777), arranged, revised and enlarged by Sir Henry Ellis (3 vols, 1848-1849).

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First published in 1777 and enlarged by Henry Ellis; the three-volume Bohn edition of 1848 to 1849 is the one most often reprinted.

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Friday 1 January

Folklore from the old calendars

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.