Burying Old Tom

31 December · Herefordshire

No longer kept

Herefordshire labourers had an extra drink or two on New Year’s Eve and called it burying Old Tom. They stayed in the tavern parlour until the landlord turned them out, then sang a begging song for money, beer and a fat pig on the way home. Hazlitt gave the verses as T. H. Pattison sent them to Current Notes in January 1856.

The labourers in Herefordshire usually indulge in an extra glass or two on New Year's Eve, and call this burying Old Tom.

From Hazlitt's Faiths and Folklore, vol. 1, p. 83. Read the original

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Folklore from the old calendars

A cake against the door on New Year’s Eve Lore and belief IrelandOn the last night of the year the head of each family in the south of Ireland threw a cake against the outside door.
The lucky glass Lore and belief Northern EnglandThe last glass drained from the last bottle on New Year's Eve or Day was called the lucky glass and brought good fortune to whoever got it.
The fire kept in on New Year’s Eve Lore and belief Berwickshire, Dumfriesshire, Roxburghshire, SelkirkshireOn the Borders it was thought very unlucky to let the house fire go out on New Year's Eve, as on Hallowe'en, Midsummer Eve and Christmas Eve.
The wind on New Year’s Eve night Lore and belief Northern EnglandThe wind on New Year's Eve night foretold the coming year.
The Richmond pinder’s Hagman song No longer kept YorkshireOn New Year's Eve old Master Craven, the pinder of the borough of Richmond, sang the last surviving verses of the Hagmena song.
New Year’s gifts on the eve at Kirkby Stephen No longer kept WestmorlandAt Kirkby Stephen the children went round begging their New Year's gifts on New Year's Eve rather than on the day itself.
A coffin or a ring in the ashes Lore and belief EnglandOn New Year's Eve the ashes on the hearth were sifted or smoothed and left untouched overnight.
The ivy leaf in water Lore and belief EnglandLupton's book of Notable Things of 1660 gave a charm for the health of the coming year.
The track in the ashes Lore and belief Isle of ManTrain's history of the Isle of Man recorded that on New Year's Eve, in many of the upland cottages, the housewife raked the fire for the night and then, just before bed, spread the ashes smooth over the floor with the tongs.
Letting in the New Year Still kept Northern England, ScotlandOne of the most general customs of the last night of the year was to sit up until twelve o'clock, and then, when the hour had struck, go to the house door and unbar it with great formality, to let the old year out and the new year in.
Burying the old year in Guernsey No longer kept GuernseyIn Guernsey the children used to dress up a figure of a man on the last day of the year, parade it through the parish and then bury it on the seashore or in some quiet spot.
Hagman Heigh No longer kept YorkshireClarkson's History of Richmond, quoted in the Table Book, described the Hagman Heigh, kept in Yorkshire on New Year's Eve.
New Year’s Eve at Deerness No longer kept OrkneyIn the parish of Deerness in Orkney, early in the nineteenth century, old and young gathered in a great band on the last evening of the year and went round every house in the district.
The guisers and Bessie No longer kept ScotlandIn Lowland Scotland the guisers went out at the New Year, faces hidden behind a sheet of paper with holes for the eyes, nose and mouth.
Hogmanay Still kept ScotlandWhile the English went back to work after Christmas, the Scots kept the Daft Days around the New Year, and the last day of the year was Hogmanay.

Burying Old Tom

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