Hone's Year Book

William Hone, The Year Book of Daily Recreation and Information (1832).

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One volume, 1832. Later editions bind it with the Every-Day Book and the Table Book.

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151 to 175 of 175 entries

26 December

27 December, not tied to the day

Folklore from the old calendars

Anne Jefferies and the fairies Lore and belief CornwallMoses Pitt wrote an account of his family's former servant Anne Jefferies, born at St Teath in Cornwall in 1626.
Browny’s stone Lore and belief Outer Hebrides, ShetlandMartin wrote that until lately every family of any substance in Shetland had been haunted by a spirit called Browny, who did all kinds of work and was given offerings in return.
Elf-shot Lore and belief Highlands, IrelandWhen cattle sickened or a heifer lay struck down, it was said that the fairies had shot her with their arrows headed with flint, and the flints themselves, often found in the ground, were called elf-shots.
Fairy rings Lore and belief EnglandThe rings of taller, darker grass found in meadows were said to be the traces of fairies dancing hand in hand by moonlight, and were called fairy rings.
Fairy sickness in Ireland Lore and belief IrelandCamden recorded that when an Irishman fell he sprang up, turned round three times to the right, dug the earth with a sword or knife and took up a turf, believing the ground had given back his shadow or that a spirit was in the earth.
Spitting on the handsel Lore and belief EnglandA Liverpool correspondent told Hone in 1831 that nailing up horseshoes to keep out witches was the same in every county he had known.
The fairies’ saddle Lore and belief Isle of ManWaldron described a stone on the Isle of Man called the fairies' saddle, from its shape, which seemed to lie loose on the edge of a small rock.
The fairy hills of the Highlands Lore and belief Argyll, HighlandsThe minister of Strachur and Stralachlan in Argyll wrote in the Statistical Account of a small conical hill, seen from Inveraray, whose name meant the fairy dwelling of a multitude.
The knockers of the Welsh mines Lore and belief WalesBesides the fairies of the story books there was a kind said to live in the mines, where they were heard copying the work of the miners and were thought willing to help them, and never to harm them unless insulted.

28 December, not tied to the day

Folklore from the old calendars

Charming away the milk Lore and belief Highlands, Inner Hebrides, Outer HebridesMartin found it a received opinion in the Western Isles and the neighbouring mainland that a woman could, by a charm, draw the increase of her neighbour's cow's milk to herself.
Come, butter, come Lore and belief EssexAdy, in his Candle in the Dark of 1655, told of an old Essex woman who came into a house where the maid had churned a long time and could not make the butter come.
Houseleek against lightning Lore and belief EnglandOld writers held that the bay tree was never struck by lightning, and that whoever wore a bay leaf was safe from thunder.
Keeping the fairies from the brew Lore and belief FifeProfessor Playfair wrote to Brand from St Andrews in 1804 about the superstitions of the neighbourhood.
Mary Dore, the witch of Beaulieu Lore and belief HampshireWarner's Topographical Remarks on south west Hampshire, of 1793, told of Mary Dore, the parish witch of Beaulieu, who had died about fifty years before.
Slunk calves and moonwort Lore and belief Devon, SuffolkGrose recorded the belief, commonly acted on in Suffolk, that a slunk or stillborn calf buried in a highway used by cattle would stop cows casting their calves.
The charm crystal Lore and belief Highlands, IrelandVallancey recorded that in the Highlands of Scotland a large oval crystal had been kept by the priests to work charms with.
The goodman’s croft No longer kept ScotlandIn 1594 the elders of the Scottish church tried hard to stamp out a custom among farmers of leaving a piece of their land untilled and uncropped year after year.
The green stone of Arran Lore and belief ButeMartin told of a green stone on Arran, round like a globe and about the size of a goose egg, handed down carefully for generations.
The taman of Tipperary Lore and belief County Durham, Munster, NorthumberlandCunning men, sometimes called white witches, were consulted to cure diseases laid on by witches, to find thieves, recover stolen goods and tell of absent friends.
Wind stones of the Western Isles No longer kept Inner Hebrides, Outer HebridesMartin described a chapel of St Columba on the isle of Fladda-Chuan with a round blue stone on its altar that was always moist.

Hone's Year Book

26 December

27 December, not tied to the day

28 December, not tied to the day

30 December, not tied to the day

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