Calendar of unusual Customs and Traditions in England, Scotland and Wales MAY

May A long time ago the year was marked out with special days which marked the passing year. These were days of celebrations where people would do things, eat things or make things which they would not normally do. See also folk, facts and sayings about May May Day May Day is a time of many traditional and colourful customs. Click here to read about our customs and traditions surrounding this day. May is a traditional time for Maypole dancing May Day Holiday (First Weekend in May) ( Spring Bank Holiday ) Sweeps Festival, Rochester, Kent. (First weekend in May) This occurs in the first weekend in May. It is a throwback to pagan traditions and coincides with the tradition of Chimney Sweeps welcoming the summer so that they could clean the dirty chimneys. Dancers and Musicians converge on the street to provide a wonderfully colourful spectacle. See the photographs May is a traditional time for Morris Dancing Spalding Flower Festival Lincolnshire This is not an unusual event but it is a pretty one!. Thousands of tulips adorn floats in this annual event. A float made from tulips The parade was started by local growers using the flowers from tulips grown for bulb production. www.flowerparade.org Well-Dressing Derbyshire Well dressing is one of Derbyshire's and the Peak District's best known, most popular and colourful customs. It dates back hundreds of years, and though there have been religious associations, the true origins remain unknown. Click here to find out more Beating the Bounds A custom dating from the 5th century when parishioners asked for God's blessing to protect their crops. During the Reformation walking the parish boundary became a more important part of the ceremony as it provided the community with a mental map which could be drawn on in disputes over boundaries. It is celebrated with Ganging Beer and Rammalation biscuits. Early May Bank Holiday Monday Stilton Cheese Rolling, Stilton, Peterborough 10am-3pm A cheese-rolling championship and May Day celebrations. Participants compete in rolling large rounded blocks of wood along the high street for a prize of stilton cheese and bottles of port. www.stilton.org/about_rolling.html Near 8 May Furry Dance, Helston, Cornwall The Floral Dance always takes place on the 8th of May, except when that falls on a Sunday or Monday, when the Dance is held on the previous Saturday. The Helston Floral Dance is one of the oldest surviving customs in the Country, and is a festival to celebrate the coming of spring and the Click Click here to find out more The Minehead Hobby Horse Click here to find out more The Padstow Obby Oss The oldest May Day celebration still taking place to day, is the Padstow 'Obby 'Oss celebration in Cornwall. Its roots date back to the 14th century. Every May Day thousands of people come to see the two famous Hobby Horses, the Old Oss and the Blue Ribbon Oss. Celebrations in Padstow officially start the night before at midnight, when a groups of 'mayers' meet outside the Golden Lion Inn to serenade the owner with their Night Song: Rise up, Mr. Rickard, and joy to you betide, For summer is a-come in today; And bright is your bride, that lays down by your side In the merry morning of May. The whole town is ablaze with bluebells, forget-me-nots, cowslips, and sycamore twigs. Dancing and other celebrations take place all day. Find out more Blessing the Sea, Hastings, Sussex The local fishing season begins at the end of May and the custom of blessing the sea goes back to medieval times. 29 May Oak Apple Day Many people used to wear oak-apple leaves in their lapels or hats and decorate their front doors on Oak Apple Day. At one time, if you didn't, you would risk being stung with nettles or kicked and pinched for being a Roundhead. This is still celebrated by some children in Sussex as 'Pinch-Bum-Day'. Read more about this special day Whit Sunday Evening Bread and Cheese Throwing, St Briavels, Gloucestershire Following evensong on Whit Monday, basketfuls of bread and cheese are thrown from a wall near the old castle, to be scrambled for in a lane below. Find out more Spring Bank Holiday Monday Cheese Rolling, Cooper's Hill, Brookworth in Goucestershire. Forty thousand spectators congregate at Coopers Hill in the Gloucester village of Brockworth to watch the traditional 7lb Double Gloucester cheese hurtle down a steep slope, pursued by dozens of running, rolling competitors, the fastest of whom wins the cheese. The video below shows competitors chasing the cheese down the hill   www.cheese-rolling.co.uk Wool Sack Race, Tetbury Regulars of the Crown and Royal Oak pubs compete in the annual Wool Sack race. They run up Gumstool Hill with a 60lb sack of wool on their backs. Jack in the Green Festival, Hastings East Sussex The Jack is the symbol of the summer. First Friday after the last Monday in May Cotswold Olimpick Games, Dover’s Hill, above Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire An annual highlight of The Cotswold Olimpick Games is the Shin Kicking Championship. As the sun began to set on Dover’s Hill, a band of white-coat-clad competitors began stuffing straw down their trousers ready for the British Shin Kicking Championship. Competitors grasp each other by the shoulders and attempt to land well-timed blows to their opponent's shins (between the knee and ankle). Only then - in mid-kick - can a player attempt to bring his opposite number to the ground. The sport has been practised on Dover's Hill, near Chipping Campden, since the early 17th Century.

TRADITION IN CZECH REPUBLIC - First May

On May 1, couples gather around the statue of Karel Hynek Mácha, the Czech Romantic "poet of love", in Prague's Petřín Hill where they lay flowers and spend a few moments. The park is a particularly romantic place in May when its cherry trees are in bloom. Since May 1st is a public holiday in the Czech Republic, lots of people come to Petřín for a romantic stroll.

 

TRRADITION IN CZECH REPUBLIC - The Burning of the Witches

On the evening of April 30th many Czechs gather to build a bonfire and prepare an effigy of the witch that kept winter around so long. Czechs used to believe that the power of witches would weaken as the weather got warmer. So they thought that if they made something that looked like a witch and burned it, they could finally get rid of the cold weather. First, they tie two large sticks together to form a cross. Then they stuff old shirts, pants and socks with straw and place a pointed hat on the top of the stack. The witch is tied to a broomstick and set aside until darkness falls. When the fire is roaring, people roast sausages on sticks, strum guitars, sing their favourite songs and drink beer. Everyone looks forward to nightfall, when they will face the spirits of the witches. As soon as it's dark, the effigy of the witch is brought out and held up for all to see. Then, with a heave of the arm, it is thrown on top of the bonfire. As the witch burns, so does the last of winter's chill.
This tradition is mostly celebrated in the smaller towns and villages rather than in Prague. In Prague probably the best place to head to is the Petřín Hill.

Easter in Czech Republic

During mass on Easter Sunday, the priest blesses food that has been brought (lamb, rabbit, Easter cake, eggs, bread, and wine). This consecrated food is taken home again by housewives and ceremonially eaten by the family during a festive lunch. It was believed that anyone who got lost would find their way home when they remembered whom they had eaten Easter lamb with. In East Bohemia, part of the consecrated food was taken to the fields, the garden and the well in order to ensure a good harvest and an adequate supply of good water.

From the point of view of the Bohemian people, Easter Monday was the most important day of the Easter cycle even though it was not connected with any significant liturgical acts. This was the day of Easter feasting and of the Monday whipping. This custom itself is probably of very ancient origin, just like the decorating of eggs (Easter eggs) which is the most recognisable symbol of Czech Easter. There are many Easter egg decorating techniques, and the more elaborate ones require a certain level of skill. Different materials can be used, such as beeswax, straw, watercolours, onion peels, and picture stickers. There are no limitations to creating pretty, colourful eggs. Originally, it probably concerned a magic ritual in which only adults participated. It only became a pleasurable diversion over the course of time. Young lads went from house to house looking for girls (later mostly children) with Easter sticks of wicker adorned with ribbons. They flogged the girls and the women in the house with these. They gave congratulations and received painted eggs.

This basic pattern of Easter flogging had a number of local variants. In many places, it was the custom that the girl would return the compliment and go around with an Easter stick (pussy willow, or in Czech pomlázka) on the Tuesday. In some places, instead of the stick, they poured water on the boys so that they would be invigorated. In many villages, it was an age-old custom to lie in ambush for girls early on Monday morning and to whip them so that they would be healthy for the entire year as well as cheerful, and above all hardworking. The memoirs of the Prague preacher Konrad Waldhauser, who lived in the 14th century, bear witness to the age-old nature of the Easter whippings and the unaltered form they have enjoyed for centuries. He attests that on Easter Monday and Tuesday spouses and lovers whipped each other with rods and also flogged each other by hand. Those who were sleepy or slothful were supposedly thrown into water early in the morning or at least had water poured over them.

Pussy willow
Young, live pussy willow twigs are thought to bring health and youth to anyone who is whipped with them. An Easter pomlázka (originating from pomladit or "make younger") is a braided whip made from pussy willow twigs. It has been used for centuries by boys who go carolling on Easter Monday and symbolically whip girls on the legs. In the past, pomlázka was also used by the farmer's wife to whip the livestock and everyone in the household, including men and children. Boys used to make their own pussy willow in the past (the more twigs, the more difficult it was to braid one), but this tradition and skill is long gone and pussy willow can be bought in stores and street stands.

Easter traditions in the Czech Republic
are still largely upheld, especially in villages and small towns, although they may have lost their symbolism and romance, now being performed mainly for fun. Some boys and men seem to have forgotten that the whipping is supposed to be only symbolic and girls don't always like that. The reward has also changed - money and shots of plum brandy are often given instead of or in addition to painted eggs and candy. So by early afternoon, groups of happy men can be seen staggering along the roads. But despite all of that, Easter remains one of the most joyful holidays on the Christian's Czech calendar.

Easter Celebrations in the UK

Easter in the UK

In the UK Easter is one of the major Christian festivals of the year. It is full of customs, folklore and traditional food. However, Easter in Britain has its beginnings long before the arrival of Christianity. Many theologians believe Easter itself is named after the Anglo-Saxon goddess of the dawn and spring - Eostre.
In Britain Easter occurs at a different time each year. It is observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. This means that the festival can occur on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. Not only is Easter the end of the winter it is also the end of Lent, traditionally a time of fasting in the Christian calendar. It is therefore often a time of fun and celebration.
The Friday before Easter Sunday and the Monday after are a bank holiday in the UK. Over Easter schools in the UK close for two weeks, just enough time to digest all the chocolate.

Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter. Christians remember it as the day of the Last Supper, when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and established the ceremony known as the Eucharist. The word Maundy" comes from the French word, "Mande," meaning "command" or "mandate” and is taken from the command given by Christ at the Last Supper, "love one another as I have loved you.”
In Britain, the Queen takes part in the Ceremony of the Royal Maundy, which dates back to Edward 1. This involves the distribution of Maundy Money to deserving senior citizens (one man and one woman for each year of the sovereign's age), usually chosen for having done service to their community. They receive ceremonial red and white purses which contain coins made especially for the occasion. The white purse contains one coin for each year of the monarch's reign. The red purse contains money in place of other gifts that used to be given to the poor.
In the 17th century, and earlier, the King or Queen would wash the feet of the selected poor people as a gesture of humility, and in remembrance of Jesus's washing the feet of the disciples. Suffice to say that doesn't happen any more, in fact the last monarch to do this was James 2.
This is how the Royal Mint explains Maundy history:

"...The Royal Maundy is an ancient ceremony which has its origin in the commandment Christ gave after washing the feet of his disciples on the day before Good Friday. The commandment, or mandatum, 'that ye love one another' (John XIII 34) is still recalled regularly by Christian churches throughout the world and the ceremony of washing the feet of the poor which was accompanied by gifts of food and clothing, can be traced back to the fourth century. It seems to have been the custom as early as the thirteenth century for members of the royal family to take part in Maundy ceremonies, to distribute money and gifts, and to recall Christ's simple act of humility by washing the feet of the poor. Henry IV began the practice of relating the number of recipients of gifts to the sovereign's age, and as it became the custom of the sovereign to perform the ceremony, the event became known as the Royal Maundy. In the eighteenth century the act of washing the feet of the poor was discontinued and in the nineteenth century money allowances were substituted for the various gifts of food and clothing. Maundy money as such started in the reign of Charles II with an undated issue of hammered coins in 1662. The coins were a fourpenny [groat], threepenny, twopenny and one penny piece but it was not until 1670 that a dated set of all four coins appeared. Prior to this, ordinary coinage was used for Maundy gifts, silver pennies alone being used by the Tudors and Stuarts for the ceremony. Today's recipients of Royal Maundy, as many elderly men and women as there are years in the sovereign's age, are chosen because of the Christian service they have given to the Church and community. At the ceremony which takes place annually on Maundy Thursday, the sovereign hands to each recipient two small leather string purses. One, a red purse, contains - in ordinary coinage - money in lieu of food and clothing; the other, a white purse, contains silver Maundy coins consisting of the same number of pence as the years of the sovereign's age. Maundy money has remained in much the same form since 1670, and the coins used for the Maundy ceremony have traditionally been struck in sterling silver save for the brief interruptions of Henry's Vlll's debasement of the coinage and the general change to 50% silver coins in 1920. The sterling silver standard (92.5%) was resumed following the Coinage Act of 1946 and in 1971, when decimalisation took place, the face values of the coins were increased from old to new pence. The effigy of The Queen on ordinary circulating coinage has undergone three changes, but Maundy coins still bear the same portrait of Her Majesty prepared by Mary Gillick for the first coins issued in the year of her coronation in 1953..."
© Royal Mint, 2007.
In 2013, there was a break with traditions as the Queen handed out the Mandy money in York. The pope washed the feet of 12 prisoners in a youth detention centre near Rome, another break with tradition from the usual the foot-washing ceremony, normally performed on lay people in one of Rome's basilicas.

Good Friday

On the Friday before Easter, Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It is a day of mourning in church and special Good Friday services are held where Christians meditate on Jesus's suffering and death on the cross, and what this means for their faith.
It's traditional to eat fish, or at least avoid meat, on this day.
Calling it 'Good Friday' may seem a bit bizarre, but some people think that it was once called God's Friday or Holy Friday.

Symbols of Easter

Many of the symbols and traditions of Easter are connected with renewal, birth, good luck and fertility.

The Cross

Of course as it is a Christian festival one of the main symbols is a cross, often on a hill. When Jesus was crucified, the cross became a symbol of suffering. Then with the resurrection, Christians saw it as a symbol of victory over death. In A.D. 325, Constantine issued a decree at the Council of Nicaea, that the Cross would be the official symbol of Christianity.

Palms

The week of Easter begins on Palm Sunday. Why Palm Sunday? Well, in Roman times it was customary to welcome royalty by waving palm branches, a bit like a ticker-tape parade. So, when Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on what is now known as Palm Sunday, people welcomed him with palm branches carpeting the streets and waving them. Today, on Palm Sunday, Christians carry palm branches in parades, and make them into crosses and garlands to decorate the Church.

Easter Eggs

Easter eggs are a very old tradition going to a time before Christianity. Eggs after all are a symbol of spring and new life.
Exchanging and eating Easter eggs is a popular custom in many countries. In the UK before they were replaced by chocolate Easter eggs real eggs were used, in most cases, chicken eggs. The eggs were hard-boiled and dyed in various colors and patterns. The traditionally bright colours represented spring and light. Sadly, nowadays if you gave a child in Britain a hard-boiled egg on Easter Sunday, you would probably end up wearing it!
An older more traditional game is one in which real eggs are rolled against one another or down a hill. The owner of the egg that stayed uncracked the longest won. Even today in the north of England, for example as at Preston in Lancashire, they still carry out the custom of egg rolling. Hard boiled eggs are rolled down slopes to see whose egg goes furthest. In other places another game is played. You hold an egg in the palm of the hand and bang against your opponent's egg. The loser is the one whose egg breaks first.
Nowadays people give each other Easter eggs made of chocolate, usually hollow and filled with sweets. On TV you will see adverts for Cadbury's Creme Eggs, a very sweet confectionery. The catchphrase for the adverts is "How do you eat yours?"
In Britain Easter egg hunts are very popular, and children hunt for (chocolate) Easter eggs hidden about the home or garden by the Easter bunny.

The Easter Bunny

Rabbits, due to their fecund nature, have always been a symbol of fertility.The Easter bunny (rabbit) however may actually be an Easter hare. The hare was allegedly a companion of the ancient Moon goddess and of Eostre.
Strangely the bunny as an Easter symbol seems to have it's origins in Germany, where it was first mentioned in German writings in the 16th Century. The first edible Easter bunnies appeared in Germany during the early 1800s, they were made of pastry and sugar.
In the UK children believe that if they are good, the "Easter Bunny " will leave (chocolate) eggs for them. Ufortunately many of them also believe Easter is to celebrate the Easter Bunny's birthday. Bless.
Sadly hare hunting (hare coursing) used to be a common pastime at Easter. But this might please some of the more fundamentalist Christians, who consider the fluffy fellow to be unchristian.

Morris Dancing

Morris dancing is a traditional English form of folk dance which is also performed in other English-speaking countries such as the USA and Australia. The roots of morris dancing seem to be very old, probably dating back to the Middle Ages.
In the dance men dress up in costumes with hats and ribbons and bells around their ankles. They dance through the streets and one man often carries an inflated pigs bladder on the end of a stick. He will run up to young women in the street and hit them over the head with the pigs bladder, this is supposed to be lucky (men)!

Dressing Up For Easter

Easter was once a traditional day for getting married, that may be why people often dress up for Easter. Women would make and wear special Easter bonnets - decorated with flowers and ribbons. Even today in Battersea in London there is a special Easter Parade, where hand-made bonnets are shown off.

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns, now eaten throughout the Easter season, were first baked in England to be served on Good Friday. These small, lightly sweet yeast buns contain raisins or currants and sometimes chopped candied fruit. Before baking, a cross is slashed in the top of the bun. After baking, a confectioners' sugar icing is used to fill the cross.
An old rhyme was often sung by children awaiting their sugary treat:

"Hot cross buns,
hot cross buns,
one a penny, two a penny,
hot cross buns.

If you do not like them,
give them to your sons,
one a penny, two a penny,
hot cross buns."

Calendar of unusual Customs and Traditions in England, Scotland and Wales APRIL/EASTER

April A long time ago the year was marked out with special days which marked the passing year. These were days of celebrations where people would do things, eat things or make things which they would not normally do. Folk, Fact and Sayings about April Walpurgis Night, Beltane Eve Celtic Fire Festival celebrating the coming of summer. Easter (See also our Easter Pages ) Palm Sunday Pax Cakes In 1570, to encourage good neighbourliness among parisherners, Lady Scudamore arrange for five shillingsworth of cake and ninepenn'orth of ale to be provided every Palm Sunday in four Herefordshire churches. Nowadays small biscuits stamped with the image of the Pascal Lamb and the words ' God and Good Neighbourhood' are distibuted at the church doors after the service. Good Friday (See also our Good Friday page) Hot-Cross Buns Service St Bartholomew-the-Great, Smithfield. Starts 11.30 In a ceremony that dates back hundreds of years, 21 widows are given money and hot-cross buns after the church service Hot cross buns Easter Bun Ceremony A London pub in Bromley-by-Bow, holds an annual Easter Bun ceremony on Good Friday. Each year a sailor adds a hot cross bun to the many that hang already in commemoration of a poor widow who baked a bun for her only son that never returned from sea. Midgely Pace Egg Play - Calder Valley, West Yorkshire Easter Saturday (Visit our Holy Saturday Page) Nutters Dance - Bacup, Lancashire The Bacup Nutters Dance traditionally takes place on Easter Saturday in the small Pennine town of Bacup. Each year a team of folk-dancers with blackened faces dance through the town from boundary to boundary. Visit our Easter Saturday page for more information Easter Sunday (See also our Easter Sunday Page) Egg Jarping and Egg Rolling - See our Easter Day page Easter Monday (See also our Easter Monday Page) London Harness Horse Parade- Easter Monday South of England showground, Ardingly, West Sussex. The first parade occurred in 1885 to encourage drivers to take a humane view of their horses. Today a huge variety of vehicles can be seen in action from rarely used horse drawn fire engines to the Harrods delivery ‘unicorn’ which is used every day. Hare Pie Scramble and Bottle Kicking At Hallaton in Leicestershire, the Hare Pie Scramble and Bottle Kicking, an unruly rugby game between the village of Hallaton and Medbourne, takes place every Easter Monday. Click here to find out more on our Easter Monday page World Coal Carrying Championship - Nr. Wakefield in Yorkshire On Easter Monday, The World Coal Carrying Championship takes place in the village of Gawthorpe, in Yorkshire. Contestants run for one mile, carrying a 50kg bag of coal. History behind the custom The contest dates from an incident at the Beehive Inn in 1963, when Lewis Hartley said to Reggie Sedgewick: "Ba gum, lad, tha' looks buggered!" to which an affronted Mr Sedgewick riposted: "Let's 'ave a coil race from Barracks t' Maypole." And they did. Easter Tuesday Tuppenny Starvers Thanks to a bequest made in 1739, children attending morning service at St Michael's Church, Bristol, on Easter Tuesday are given enormous spicey buns to eat. At the time of the bequest, tuppenny buns, intended for the choir boys, were a special treat compared with the more usual penny ones. Second Tuesday after Easter (Hock Day) This day used to be held as a festival in England and observed until the 16th century. According to custom, on Hock Monday, the women of the village seized and bound men, demanding a small payment for their release. On the Tuesday of Hocktide the men similarly waylaid the women. The takings were paid to the churchwarden for parish work. Hocktide Festival - Hungerford, Berkshire Hocktide covers the Monday and Tuesday after Low Sunday which is the Sundy after Easter. It was once a time for sports and games, and for the collection for the church and parish. Hocktide Tutti-men The second Tuesday after Easter Hungerford is now the only place in the country still to maintain the annual Hocktide festival. The festival dates from the 14th century when Prince John of Gaunt gave the rights of free grazing and fishing to local 'commoners'. It has celebrated the granting of commoners’ rights for over 600 years. Hungerford has no Mayor; the senior citizen of the town is the Constable, and he s elected on the second Tuesday after Easter at a special Hocktide Court, as are also the Portreeve, Bailiff and the Court of Feoffes. The day begins with the Town Crier blowing his horn, calling together the Hocktide Court in the town hall. The court elects the Constable and other officers, and two "Tutti-Men". Each "Tutti-Man" carries a tall pole with a bunch of spring flowers (a tutti) tied to it with rbbons. There is an orange on the top. While the court continues, the "Tutti-Men" with their florally decorated poles are led through the streets by the "Orange-Man" to collect kisses from all the ladies resident in the High Street. The ladies receive an orange in return.

Dove of Peace For KIDS

Doves are a universal symbol of peace and make for a great reminder of peace and unity during Black History Month. Your child can craft a paper dove of peace, or an even an entire flock of them to hang around your home this February. This arts and crafts activity is a wonderful way to celebrate the spirit of Dr. King's fight for equality and the sacrifices made by countless many while striving for peaceful relations.

What You Need:

• White and black paper
• Craft sticks
• White fuzzy craft ball
• Googly eyes
• Glue
• Compass (optional)

What You Do:

1. On white paper, have your child draw a large circle. The circle should have a diameter the size of the craft stick or slightly larger. If necessary, you can use a compass to help draw the circle. Cut out the circle.
2. Glue the craft stick on the circle so that it divides the circle in half equally. Set it aside to dry.
3. Once the circle has dried, have your child fold the halves of the circle together (imagine that the circle is a hot dog bun and the craft stick is the hot dog). This is the body of the dove.
4. Glue the tops of the halves together so that the craft stick rests on the inside of the folded circle, the stick will be the dove's back.
5. On a separate piece of white paper, trace your child’s hands on the white paper and cut them out. These are the wings of your dove. You should have two hands cut out for the two wings of the dove.
6. Turn the half circle so that the round part is facing down and the flat part is on top, creating the dove's back. Glue the wings to the body of the dove near the center on top of the flat part where the craft stick is located. Make sure you only glue near the wrist part of the hand so that the rest of the wing is free to move.
7. Glue the fuzzy craft ball to one end of the craft stick for the head and glue a triangle of white paper to the other end of the craft stick for a tail. The triangle should be about 3/4 the length of a craft stick. Set aside your dove to dry.
8. Glue googly eyes to the dove's head.
9. Cut a small triangle from the black paper for a beak and glue it beneath the eyes. Let dry.
10. On the ends of the wings and tail, help your child use scissors to cut small slits and fray the paper to give it a more feather-like feel.

You can attach a piece of string to your dove and can hang it above a commonly used doorway or on a doorknob where it will be a quiet reminder of the significance of the month and of the important events that have impacted the lives of African Americans throughout history.