Henderson's Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties

William Henderson, Notes on the Folk-Lore of the Northern Counties of England and the Borders (1866; new edition for the Folk-Lore Society, 1879).

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First published in 1866; the enlarged edition of 1879 for the Folk-Lore Society is the fuller one. Facsimile reprints are easy to find.

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Friday 1 January

Folklore from the old calendars

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.
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.
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.
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.