Some holidays

[Septembrine]

1. January: A Dark New Beginning

An English January has always been a cold, dark and cheerless month. It is the first cycle of twelve months - although different groups of England's ancient multi-ethnic society once held turn-of-the-year celebrations at other times. For instance, Pagans welcomed in the New Year at the end of what is now October; Anglo-Saxons at the back-end of what is now September and Vikings at the winter solstice. These days, Christmas officially ends on the 6th of January, the Twelfth Night, but to all intent and purposes it is over in people's minds as they prepare to bring in the New Year on 1st January.

The English have long believed that January is a good month for predicting the weather. Some say the first three days of the year reflect the climate of each of the next three months, while others maintain that fine weather means the year will be miserable.

On the first day of the month, one week after the Nativity, New Year's Day or the Circumcision takes place, marking the ritual admission of Jesus into the Temple of Israel. Old Father time, who is depicted carrying his scythe, is symbolically replaced by a new born baby, and church bells 'ring in' the new year. It is now time to make New Year resolutions, exchange gifts and visit friends and relatives.

In Haxey, on the Isle of Axholme, a lively game of Haxey Hood is played on 6th January, to commemorate the day when 13th century villagers chased and returned the black silk hood of Lady de Mowbray, which had blown off in a gust of wind. Indeed, January has always been a popular month for playing vigorous outdoor games, sword dancing and gathering around the fire telling stories. In Maldon, Essex, a mud race takes place on New Year's Day, when participants race across the mud of the river Blackwater. While on 17th January, or Old Twelfth Night, apple wassailing was, and still is, popular in parts of Herefordshire. Cider is poured on to tree roots and the trees are cheered and begged to produce a good crop in the coming year.

The first Monday after Twelfth Night is Plough Monday, a day when ploughmen traditionally blackened their faces and wore white shirts. They would decorate their ploughs and go around collecting money, accompanied by someone acting the Fool. This character would dress in skins and a tail, and carry a pig's bladder on the end of a stick. Ploughmen would also perform leaping dances in village festivals - the higher they leaped, the taller the following season's crop would grow. Shepherds and farm-hands would also embroider smocks with patterns denoting their trades, and Plough Monday plays were popular in parts of Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and the East Midlands.

At Whittlesey, in Cambridgeshire, on the week following Plough Monday - which is the first Monday after the 6th January - the Whittlesey Straw Bear is paraded through the town. The Straw Bear is actually a man in costume, who is led through the streets accompanied by a musician. The custom disappeared in the early 20th century but was revived in the early 1980s by the Whittlesey Society. The event was transformed into a small folk festival, with Morris dancers coming from far and wide to give displays and take part in a parade.

Some of the more unusual events include the cast at London's Drury Lane Theatre consuming cake and wine on the 6th January, as instructed in the will of Baddeley, a comedian who died in 1795. On the 8th January, or the first Sunday after, the Chaplain of Clowns preaches a sermon and recites a prayer over the grave of Joseph Grimaldi (the clown), before laying a wreath near the former St. James Church, Pentonville.

Finally, on the 30th January, the English mark the Anniversary of Execution of Charles I, in memory the day he was beheaded by Puritans in 1649. Memorial services are held in a number of London churches and a wreath is laid at Banqueting House, Whitehall.



2. Hunting the Mallard

The strange ceremony of "hunting the mallard" takes place just once every 100 years (most recently January 2001), in memory of a huge 15th century duck flying from a drain during building works.

Archbishop Henry Chichele, the man who instituted Oxford's All Souls College in 1438, is said to have had a premonition about the duck in a dream. Ever since, a noisy and highly secretive midnight procession has taken place, led by an elected Lord Mallard (who is held up on a sedan chair). A wooden mallard duck is carried at the head of the procession on a pole, although the duck used in past ceremonies was often a live bird. The dead duck would be tied to a pole for the procession and its blood was mixed with red wine and drunk by the revellers.



3. St. Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day in old England was traditionally a combination of the commemoration of the martyrdom of St. Valentine (14th February, AD 273), with the pagan celebration of Lupercalia (15th February). In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno, the Goddess of women and marriage. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry. Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that Roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius cancelled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was seized and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off.

Despite the unromantic reputation of the British, on this day every year аbout 7 million pounds worth of flowers are delivered, an extra 40 million chocolates are sold and greeting-card manufacturers collect 25 million pounds. It is now customary for the English to send anonymous cards and presents to a person they love or admire. In fact, Valentine cards made of parchment were sent as long ago as the 15th century. At one time, it was believed that a girl should place a bay leaf or yarrow under her pillow at night in order to see her future lover in her dreams. Boys would also present their desired ones with a pair of gloves - a symbol of both love and authority.

In some parts of England, children would go from door to door early in the morning, singing "Good morrow, Valentine", expecting to be given cakes, fruit or money, and in Norwich, people laid anonymous packages on doorsteps, banged the knocker and hurried away. For a period, it was also common to send one’s valentine a jokey gift or worthless item beautifully wrapped. Throughout England, St. Valentine's Day is still celebrated and many towns and villages organise fairs and fun-days.

Every St. Valentine's Day thousands of people travel to a tiny village on Scotland's border with England. The village is Gretna Green. Its romantic reputation began in 1754. In England in that year, marriage for people under the age of twenty-one without permission from parents was banned. In Scotland, however, this permission was not required, and Gretna Green was the first stop across the border. The laws that brought fame to Gretna Green no longer apply. But its reputation is secure. In this small place, at least one couple gets married, on average, every day of the year. Weddings tor St. Valentine's Day have to be booked three months in advance.



4. Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day

In the Christian calendar, the three days before Lent were known as Shrovetide. It is a cheerful celebration because it means that winter is nearly over and warmer days are just around the corner. It is a time when Christians seek absolution and confess their sins before Lent - although the merrymaking has its origins in the Roman feast of Bacchus.

Shrovetide comprises four days: Shrove Saturday, Shrove Sunday (or Quinquagesima), Collop Monday and Shrove Tuesday; and occurs annually between 2nd February and 9th March, depending on the date of Easter. Shrove derives from the Old English word 'shrive', meaning to confess all sins. However, coming before a forty-day period of austerity, it was second only to Christmas in its dedication to fun and frivolity during the Middle Ages.

Shrove Tuesday long ago acquired the character of a carnival or festival in England and other European countries, and a great many customs have developed in connection with this day. In the old days, people confessed in response to the curfew bell (pancake bell), rung in every parish and a great feast would take place. At the sound of the shriving bell, shops would close and school children would lock their teachers out of the classroom until promised an extra day's holiday - in a ceremony known as 'barring-out'. In many parts of the country, children would also go Shroving - a visiting custom whereby they sang or recited a poem in the hope of receiving food or money.

Church clipping was also popular in Somerset and Wiltshire on this day, where parishioners would clasp hands and surround their local church. At the same time Threading the Needle would be played, when couples danced in winding lines, taking it in turns to form an arch for the others to dance through.

Nowadays, Shrovetide is mainly observed by practising Christians, but Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, is still celebrated by millions of English people. Pancake tossing and pancake races are popular, during which a pancake must be tossed a certain number of times. One of the most famous competitions, which takes place in Olney, Buckinghamshire, is said to date from 1445. It is a women-only race, for those who have lived in the parish for at least three months. An apron and head covering are necessary. The course is 415 yards (379 metres) long and the pancake must be tossed at least three times during the race. The winner receives a kiss from the ringer of the Pancake Bell and a prayer book from the vicar.

In parts of England Shrove Tuesday Eve was once known as Mischief Night. Boys would blacken their faces before entering houses and throw broken crocks on the floor, then leave unnoticed. If confronted, they would demand money or pancakes before departing.

In the past, strict Christian Lenten rules barred the eating of all dairy products - so shrewd housewives would make pancakes to use up their supplies of eggs, milk, butter and fats. Early English recipes included wheaten flour, eggs, butter or lard, a liquid (water, milk, ale or wine) and flavourings such as white or brown sugar, spices and liqueurs. The pancakes were fried in butter or fat and served flat or rolled and sprinkled with powdered sugar, topped with preserves or drenched with alcohol.

The Shrovetide football is a traditional English game dating back to the 12th century. A whole village is often used as a pitch, local features become goal posts and streams turn into obstacles. Brute force is an essential element in scoring goals, and the ball is usually kicked, carried or thrown. There are hardly any rules and no limit on the number of players or goals. It is believed by some that the game is pagan in origin, played to welcome the spring, while others maintain that it's a medieval precursor to modern English football. Either way, it's a rough, tough, dirty game, in which anyone can compete.



5. Mothering Sunday

Laetare, or Mid-Lent Sunday, is a day when Christians can relax from self-imposed penitence and celebrate motherhood. For the non-religious, it provides the perfect excuse to shower their 'mums' with gifts, flowers and greetings cards.

Mothering Sunday falls on the fourth Sunday in Lent. It is traditionally a time for children to give gifts, flowers and cards to their mothers and for the whole family to spend time together. In the old days, servants would be given time-off and worshippers would present offerings to their Mother Church. It was an especially important day in the calendars of apprentices, farm labourers and girls in service, because it meant that they could return home and share a meal with their parents.

Another popular ceremony on this day was church-clipping, when people would express their love for their house of worship by forming a circle and walking round the building holding hands. It has been suggested that this custom was pagan in origin but it seems more likely it was a symbolic act of friendship and love.

In a revival of a ceremony dating from Tudor times, young people still receive flowers and Simnel cakes at a service in the Chapel Royal at the Tower of London. These cakes were once baked by daughters throughout England - the name coming from the Latin simila, meaning 'fine flour' - who would also decorate their mother's homes with violets, primroses, daffodils and other spring flowers. They would often prepare egg custard, comfits, lambs' tails, white sugar sweets, fig pies and wafers, and give their mothers a bunch of wild flowers that had been blessed in church.

During the latter part of the 20th century, England was much influenced by the American Mother's Day. Following the Second World War this ceremony became an annual event, although it continued to be celebrated on Mid-Lent Sunday.



6. April Fool's Day

Funnily enough, April Fool's Day is linked with the whole marvellous business of spring, the Vernal Equinox and the return of the sun and warmth. In Scotland an old name for April Fool is April-gowk or -cuckoo. For some reason the cuckoo is a symbol for foolishness. The return of the cuckoo and the arrival of spring is con­nected with all this fooling. In Cheshire some little time ago the first half of the day until noon was April Fool's time. Then at 12 o'clock started "legging-over lime". Whatever the origin was it certainly gave the slower ones the chance to get their own back on the quickwitted ones who had "fooled" them earlier on.

In the newspapers of 1860, there can be found the classical story of an April 1 trick involving a vast number of people. A few days before April Fools' Day they received through the post a card having every appearance of an official communi­cation, bearing the following insсriрtion: "Tower of London — Admit Bearer and Friend to view the Annual Ceremony of Washing the White Lions, on Sunday, April 1, 1860. Admittance only at the White Gate. It is particularly requested that no gratuities be given to the Warders or their Assistants."

Some time ago a well-known TV commentator, whose smooth voice accompanied all important events, introduced a brief documentary film about spaghetti. He gave a vivid desсriрtion of the harvest in the spaghetti fields in Italy, with statistics of the previous year's crop, and there, before their very eyes, the viewing public saw Italian farm workers picking long strands of spaghetti off trees. Many of the viewers were completely taken in.



7. Oak Apple or Royal Oak Day

Cromwell (1599-1658), the leader of the Parliamentary side from 1654-58, raised a highly successful cavalry force and declared Britain a republic in 1649. He was also part of a special commission that tried King Charles I and condemned him to death that same year. The king's son (also Charles) escaped in September 1651 when he hid in an oak tree following the Battle of Worcester. He spent nine years wandering through Europe after his escape, but then issued a Declaration that promised a general amnesty and freedom of conscience. Parliament accepted and he was proclaimed king.

The wearing of a sprig of oak on the anniversary of Charles' crowning showed that a person was loyal to the restored king. Those who refused to wear an oak-sprig were often set upon, and children would challenge others to show their sprig or have their bottoms pinched. Consequently, this day became known as Pinch-Bum-Day. In parts of England where oak-apples are known as shick-shacks, the day is also known as Shick-Shack Day. It is also likely that the royal association conceals a pagan tradition of tree worship.

These days it is traditional to decorate the house with oak branches on 29th May. In All Saints Church in Northampton, a garland of oak-apples is laid at Charles II's statue. Whereas, in Grovely Forest, Salisbury, a procession takes place at first light, accompanied by the sound of horns. It is also traditional to drink beer and eat plum pudding - especially at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, which was founded by Charles II on this very day.

On or near this date, a curious figure called the Garland King rides through the streets of Castleton, Derbyshire, at the head of a procession. His head and the upper part of his body are completely hidden by a 'garland' - a heavy wooden construction, shaped like a beehive and covered with flowers and greenery. On top of the garland is a small bouquet of flowers, which is called the 'queen'. Behind the king rides his woman (at one time played by a man in woman's clothes), accompanied by a band and children dressed in white. After pausing to dance at various points along the way, the procession arrives at the church and the garland is pulled up to the top of the church tower and fixed to a pinnacle. The 'queen' bouquet is then placed on the town war memorial.



8. England's Midsummer Celebrations

Technically speaking, the Summer Solstice falls on June 21st, when the sun climbs highest in the sky and shines for longest. It is also the night when modern-day Druids perform 'ancient rites' at Stonehenge, Wiltshire, as the dawn breaks - indeed, it isn't unknown for some 30,000 visitors to gather behind the ancient stone circle in order to experience the rising sun shining through the great megaliths and take part in the Stonehenge Free Festival.

In spite of this, Midsummer Day is normally celebrated on June 24th and many pagan customs that have their origin in sun worship are still practised on this day. For instance, bonfires are lit in memory of the Druid Baal fires, when children join hands and jump through the embers in an ancient celebration of plentiful crops. At one time farmers would also have driven their livestock through the dying flames, believing it would protect their animals from disease.

Several druidic fertility rites are still enacted during the Midsummer Eve or St. John's Eve celebrations, such as dropping melted lead into water, throwing a newly cut oak handle into a fire and planting hempseed in the local church grounds at midnight. Surprisingly, there are still a handful of rural English folk who will hang a black velvet cushion full of pins in the right foot of a stocking in expectation of glimpsing their future spouse. The ancestors of these people associated this night with fairies, ghosts and spirits of the past and would pick a garland of St. John's Wort at dawn and nail it to the front-door to protect their homes.

Midsummer Eve is also the time when the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies light bonfires across their county (one of England's most ancient), and children leap over the flames, in what is a very old purification rite. Sadly, the unusual custom of Rolling the Cartwheel down Mel Tor, by locals in the village of Leusdon, Devon, ceased sometime during the 1960s.

Midsummer Day has always been a day of great revelry. In the past, Cornish tin miners were given the day off and the people of Dartmoor, in Devon, would build platforms in trees in order to dance on them. There is also an old superstition that the devil will appear at midnight if a person runs backwards seven times around Chanctonbury Ring in Sussex. However, one of the most popular traditions - still maintained in parts of Derbyshire - is the art of well-dressing, whereby villagers spend many hours attractively decorating their local water wells.



9. England's Harvest Festival

The English have given thanks for successful harvests since pagan times. Local communities honour this day by singing, dancing and decorating their churches and villages with flowers, baskets of fruit and branches, in a celebration known as 'Harvest Festival'.

At one time, both the beginning and end of the harvest was accompanied by lively ceremonies and rituals - and it was also traditional for each day of the harvest to be welcomed by the tolling of church bells. In many neighbourhoods the cailleac, or last bundle of corn, which represents the spirit of the field, was made into a doll and drenched with water as a rain charm or burned as a symbol of the death of the grain spirit. The corn dolly often had a place of honour at the banquet table, and was kept until the following spring. The actions surrounding the cutting of the last bundle were known as Crying the Neck - the 'Neck' being a columnar-shaped strand of straws, representing the pole to which sacrificial victims in 8th century B.C. Phrygia were tied before being beheaded and having their blood offered to the soil.

There was always much ceremony and fooling around as the last cartload of corn was brought home. The horse would be decorated with garlands of flowers and colourful ribbons, and the revellers would arrive at the farmer's house to play games and indulge in a magnificent Harvest-Home feast. Once the fun was over, a team of female gleaners moved in to clear the fields of corn stalks - the work being overseen by a Gleaning Queen, who was hand-picked for the occasion. The corn was then transported to the local mill for grinding and the miller would be permitted either to make a charge or keep a share as his fee. Then the middlemen would buy the produce at market and sell it on for a profit.

A great many ancient customs are still observed to this day. For instance, the mayor of Richmond, who is also Clerk of the Market, presents a bottle of wine to the first local farmer who brings a 'respectable sample of the new season's wheat', or the First Fruits of the Harvest. The wine is used to drink the mayor's health and the farmer is given a second bottle to take home. Then in the first week in September, the people of Faversham celebrate 'The English Hop Festival', in memory of Kent's hop-picking past, with a procession through the town centre and traditional folk activities taking place.



10. The origins of Hallowe'en in England

Few holidays tell us as much of the past as Halloween. Its origins date back hundreds of years to the Druid festival of Samhain, Lord of the Dead and Prince of Darkness, who, according to Celtic belief, gathered up the souls of all those who had died during the year to present them to Druid Heaven on October 31. The Sun god shared the holiday and received thanks for the year's harvest.

The Druid New Year began on November 1, marking the beginning of winter and the reign of the Lord of Death. The Druids called upon supernatural forces to calm the evil spirit and it is from that tradition that modern Halloween gets the belongings of ghosts, goblins, witches, skeletons, cats', masks and bonfires.

The custom of telling ghost stories on Halloween also comes from the Druids. To honor the Sun god and to frighten away evil spirits, they would light huge bonfires atop high hills and as they sat grouped around watching the bright flames, they would relate eerie happenings they had experienced.

As Christianity replaced the pagan religions, the church set aside November 1st to honor all saints (all-hallows) and called it All Hallows' Day. The evening before October 31st, became All Hallows' Even — later shortened to Halloween. The inclusion of witches, goblins and fairies into the rituals arose from the pagan belief that on All Hallow's Eve there was a great number of spirits of the dead who carried on an organised opposition to the church rites and саше to mock the All Saints celebration with revels of their own.

Halloween customs today, although gay and playful rather than sombre, follow many of these ancient practices. When children wear ghost costumes, false faces, or witches's hats, bob for apples, eat corn candy, or carry jack-o-lanterns they continue ancient traditions whose significance has long since disappeared.

The jack-o-lantern, most typical of Halloween symbols, began with the Irish. According to legend a man named Jack, who was kept out of Heaven because he was stingy and expelled from Hell for playing tricks on the Devil, was condemned to walk the earth forever carrying a lantern to light his way. In Ireland the jack-o-lanlerns were made by hollowing out large potatoes or turnips, with flickering candle for a light.

Hallowe'en was also a time for rituals and foretelling, when nuts were roasted by young women and apple pips scattered on hot coals - the behaviour of the pips indicating the temperament of their future spouses. Girls combed their hair three times before a mirror in the hope of seeing their future husbands.

Hallowe'en was once a time for making mischief - many parts of England still recognise this date as Mischief Night - when people would disguise themselves as witches, ghosts and kelpies, in order to obtain food and money from nervous householders. Usually children dressed in white sheets knock on doors and ask if you would like a 'trick' or a 'treat'. If you give them something nice, a 'treat', they go away. However, if you don't, they play a 'trick' on you, such as making a lot of noise or spilling flour on your front doorstep, hiding garden ornaments, whitewashing walls and ringing doorbells in the dead of night.

Hallowe'en, like many other ancient festivals, has always provided an excellent excuse for eating and drinking! At one time, Mash o' Nine Sorts, with a ring hidden within, would be served to unmarried guests - whoever found it would next be married. Then of course, Toffee Apples are still extremely popular and Hallowe'en Cakes are sometimes still baked in the North of England on what is known there as Cake Day.



11. Guy Fawkes Day

In 1605 King James I was on the throne. As a Protestant, he was very unpopular with Roman Catholics. A small group of Catholics, under the leadership of Robert Catesby and Thomas Percy, decided to stage a truly dramatic protest by blowing up the king at the state opening of Parliament in 1605. The men were able to deposit several barrels of gunpowder in the cellars beneath the House of Lords, under the supervision of their co-conspirator, Guido, or Guy Fawkes, who had previously served with the Spanish army in the Netherlands and knew a great deal about mining and explosives.

The king had already postponed the opening of Parliament from 31st October in order to go hunting. But as the moment drew nearer, one of the accomplices started to worry about his Catholic acquaintances, who would inevitably die alongside the 'guilty' lords. He sent a letter to Lord Mounteagle on 26th October, warning him not to attend Parliament on the chosen day. But the Lord remained loyal to the king and immediately passed the message on to Robert Cecil, the Earl of Salisbury, who was also Secretary of State. Consequently, on the night of 4th November, Privy Council organised a search of cellars beneath Westminster Palace, which led to the discovery of Guy Fawkes standing guard over thirty-six barrels. Fawkes was tortured most dreadfully, until he revealed the identities of his accomplices. All the men involved were tried, then dragged to execution on 31st January 1606, to be hung, drawn and quartered. King James I declared 5th November a public holiday and from that day on, 'gunpowder, treason and plot' was commemorated in England. Not only in the fireworks and bonfires of 5th November, but also in the ritual search of the cellars before the opening of Parliament.

A Guy (effigy), fireworks and torch-lit processions are popular on this night, and children traditionally collect money ("a penny for the Guy") for fireworks by making a scarecrow-like model in the image of Guy Fawkes. There are also many rhymes associated with the Gunpowder Plot and children in some areas blacken their faces and play lucky stones.

There are a great variety of regional celebrations. For instance, in Bridgwater, Somerset, a Guy Fawkes Carnival has taken place since the seventeenth century. It is said that when news of the failure of the plot reached this town in 1605, local residents lit fires and formed a procession. To this day the carnival takes place on the nearest Thursday to 5th November. The normally peaceful Lewes, in East Sussex, quite literally explodes on Guy Fawkes' Night with fireworks, elaborate fancy-dress processions, lighted flames, local bands and enormous bonfires. The five Bonfire Societies parade via different routes and meet at the War Memorial to lay wreaths, read bishops' sermons, salute the Protestant Martyrs and race tar barrels - tossing them in the river. They then join ranks and march through the High Street before splitting off to enjoy their individual bonfires and firework displays. However, as the final rockets fall, crowds of revellers remain singing Sussex by the Sea' outside the White Hart Inn.

Other bonfire Societies up and down the country also celebrate this night with lively enthusiasm - particularly in the county of Kent, where anti-Catholic feeling was once especially strong. It is also customary for people to bake jacket potatoes, roast chestnuts, indulge in Bonfire Toffee and make a cake (known as Lancashire Parkin) for the spirits of the dead returning home.