Chapter XVII: Preface (17)

The festival day of St. Clement was formerly considered as the first day of winter, in which were comprised ninety-one days. From a State proclamation in 1540 it appears that processions of children were frequent on St. Clement’s Day; and, in consequence of a still more ancient custom of perambulating the streets on the night of this festival to beg drink for carousing, a pot was formerly marked against the 23rd of November upon the old runic or clog almanacs; but not upon all.--_Med. Ævi Kalend._ 1841, vol. i. p. 60.; Plot, _History of Staffordshire_, 1686, p. 430; see Gough’s _Camden Brit._ vol. ii. pt. xvi. p. 499.

CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

The bakers of Cambridge hold an annual supper on St. Clement’s Day, which supper is called the “Baker’s Clem.”--_N. & Q. 3rd S._ vol. iv. p. 492.

KENT.

In _Every Day Book_ (1826, vol. i. p. 1501) is the following account of an annual ceremony formerly celebrated on the evening of St. Clement’s Day, by the blacksmiths’ apprentices of the dockyard at Woolwich:--

One of the senior apprentices being chosen to serve as _Old Clem_ (so called by them), is attired in a great coat, having his head covered with an oakum wig, face masked, and a long white beard; thus attired, he seats himself in a large wooden chair, chiefly covered with a sort of stuff called bunting, with a crown and anchor, made of wood, on the top and around it, four transparencies representing the “Blacksmiths’ Arms,” “Anchor Smiths at Work,” “Britannia with her Anchor,” and “Mount Etna.” He has before him a wooden anvil, and in his hands a pair of tongs and wooden hammer. A mate, also masked, attends him with a wooden sledge-hammer; he is also surrounded by a number of other attendants, some of whom carry torches, banners, flags, &c.; others, battle-axes, tomahawks, and other accoutrements of war. This procession, headed by a drum and fife, and six men with Old Clem mounted on their shoulders, proceed round the town, not forgetting to call on the blacksmiths and officers of the dockyard: here the money-box is pretty freely handed, after Old Clem and his mate have recited their speeches, which commence by the mate calling for order with,

“Gentlemen all, attention give,
And wish St. Clem long, long to live.”

Old Clem then recites the following speech:--

“I am the real St. Clement, the first founder of brass, iron, and steel, from the ore. I have been to Mount Etna, where the god Vulcan first built his forge, and forged the armour and thunderbolts for the god Jupiter. I have been through the deserts of Arabia; through Asia, Africa, and America; through the city of Pongrove, through the town of Tipmingo, and all the northern parts of Scotland. I arrived in London on the 23rd of November, and came down to his Majesty’s dockyard at Woolwich to see how all the gentlemen Vulcans came on there. I found them all hard at work, and wish to leave them well on the twenty-fourth.”

The mate then subjoins:

“Come all you Vulcans stout and strong,
Unto St. Clem we do belong;
I know this house is well prepared
With plenty of money and good strong beer;
And we must drink before we part,
All for to cheer each merry heart.
Come all you Vulcans, strong and stout,
Unto St. Clem I pray turn out;
For now St. Clem’s going round the town,
His coach-and-six goes merrily round.
Huzza--a--a.”

After having gone round the town and collected a pretty decent sum, they retire to some public-house, where they enjoy as good a supper as the money collected will allow.

STAFFORDSHIRE.

On the feast of St. Clement, a custom exists in Staffordshire for the children to go round to the various houses in the village to which they belong singing the following doggerel:

“Clemany! Clemany! Clemany mine!
A good red apple and a pint of wine,
Some of your mutton and some of your veal,
If it is good, pray give me a deal;
If it is not, pray give me some salt.
Butler, butler, fill your bowl;
If thou fillst it of the best,
The Lord’ll send your soul to rest;
If thou fillst it of the small,
Down goes butler, bowl and all.
Pray, good mistress, send to me
One for Peter, one for Paul,
One for Him who made us all:
Apple, pear, plum, or cherry,
Any good thing to make us merry;
A bouncing buck and a velvet chair,
Clement comes but once a year;
Off with the pot and on with the pan,
A good red apple and I’ll be gone.”

_N. & Q. 1st. S._ vol. viii. p. 618.

The following rhyme is also sung:

“Clemeny, Clemeny, God be wi’ you,
Christmas comes but once a ye-ar;
When it comes, it will soon be gone,
Give me an apple, and I’ll be gone.”

_Ibid. 3rd. S_. vol. iv. p. 492; See Oliver’s _History of Collegiate
Church of Wolverhampton_, 1836, p. 16.

WALES.

At Tenby, on St. Clement’s Day, it was customary for the owners of fishing-boats to give a supper of roast goose and rice pudding to their crews.--Mason’s _Tales and Traditions of Tenby_, 1858, p. 27.

NOV. 24.] ST. CATHERINE’S EVE.

In Strype’s _Ecclesiastical Memorials_ (1822, vol. iii. pt. ii. p. 507) is the following notice of this festival:

“The 24th (1556) being St. Katharine’s Day (or rather Eve), at six of the clock at night St. Katharine went about the battlements of St. Paul’s Church accompanied with fine singing and great lights; this was St. Katharine’s procession.”

NOV. 25.] ST. CATHERINE’S DAY.

BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.

On Cattern Day the lace makers hold merry-makings, and eat a sort of cakes called “wigs”[85] and drink ale. Tradition says it is in remembrance of Queen Catherine, who, when the trade was dull, burnt all her lace, and ordered new to be made. The ladies of the court could not but follow her example, and the consequence was a great briskness in the manufacture.--_N. & Q. 3rd S._ vol. i. p. 387.

[85] Cakes called “wigs” were very commonly sold in the Midland
counties some years ago, and they are even mentioned as allowable at
the collation in Lent by a Catholic writer nearly two centuries ago.
They were light and spongy, and something like very light gingerbread.
As to the derivation of the name “wig” as applied to them, a
correspondent of _Notes and Queries_ says he never dreamed of seeing
it any where but in the shape of these cakes, which greatly resembled
a wig; being round, and having a thick rim round them, which turned up
like the curls of a wig of the olden times.--See _N. & Q. 3rd. S._
vol. i. p. 436.

CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

A paragraph in the _Cambridge Chronicle_ (December 8th, 1860) alludes to the custom of the carpenters of Chatteris, in the Isle of Ely, observing the feast of their patron Saint, St. Catherine, by dining together, &c.

KENT.

The following extract is taken from _N. & Q._ (_2nd S._ vol. v. p. 47):--On Wednesday (the 25th) night last the towns of Chatham, Rochester, and Brompton exhibited considerable excitement in consequence of a torchlight procession appearing in the streets, headed by a band of fifes and drums. Notwithstanding the late hour (eleven o’clock) a large number of persons of both sexes, accompanied the party. The demonstration was got up by the rope-makers of the dockyard, to celebrate the anniversary of the founder of the ropery (Queen Catherine). The female representing her Majesty (who was borne in a chair of state by six rope-makers) was dressed in white muslin, wore a gilt crown, and carried in her hand a Roman banner.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.

At one time it was customary, at Peterborough, till the introduction of the new poor laws, for the female children belonging to the workhouse, attended by the master, to go in procession round the city on St. Catherine’s Day. They were all attired in white, and decorated with various coloured ribbons, principally scarlet; the tallest girl was selected to represent the Queen, and was adorned with a crown and sceptre. The procession stopped at the houses of the principal inhabitants, and they sang the following rude ballad, begging for money at every house as they passed along:

“Here comes Queen Catherine, as fine as any queen,
With a coach and six horses a coming to be seen.
And a spinning we will go, will go, will go,
And a spinning we will go.

Some say she is alive, and some say she is dead,
And now she does appear with a crown upon her head.
And a spinning we will go, &c.

Old Madam Marshall she takes up her pen,
And then she sits and calls for all her royal men.
And a spinning we will go, &c.

All you that want employment, though spinning is but small,
Come list, and don’t stand still, but go and work for all.
And a spinning we will go, &c.

If we set a spinning, we will either work or play,
But if we set a spinning we can earn a crown a day.
And a spinning we will go, &c.

And if there be some young men, as I suppose there’s some,
We’ll hardly let them stand alone upon the cold stone.
And a spinning we will go, &c.”

St. Catherine being the patron of the spinners, as well as of spinsters, and spinning being formerly the employment of the females at the workhouse, it naturally followed that they should be selected to commemorate the anniversary of this Saint; and that this commemoration is of great antiquity appears from the early entries in the Dean and Chapter’s accounts of payments on St. Catherine’s Day for wheels and reels for the children of the workhouse.--Baker, _Glossary of Northamptonshire Words and Phrases_, 1854, vol. ii. p. 436.

A correspondent of _N. & Q._ (_4th S._ vol. ii. p. 332), alluding to the above custom, says that it was not confined to Peterborough, but was observed throughout the whole of the Northamptonshire lace-making districts, as well as in those of Bedfordshire. According to popular tradition the custom is derived from one of the Queens Catherine in the time of Henry VIII.--probably from Catherine Parr, who was a Northamptonshire woman. By some this day is called “Candle Day,” from its forming the commencement of the season for working at lace-making by candle-light.

ISLE OF THANET.

On St. Catherine’s Day in the Isle of Thanet, the carters place a small figure on a wheel on the front of their cart sheds.--_N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. v. p. 235.

WORCESTERSHIRE.

In this county the children go round to the farmhouses collecting apples and beer for a festival, and sing the following lines:

“Catherine and Clement, be here, be here,
Some of your apples, and some of your beer;
Some for Peter, and some for Paul,
And some for Him that made us all.

Clement was a good man,
For his sake give us some,
Not of the worse, but some of the best,
And God will send your soul to rest.”

The Chapter of Worcester have a practice of preparing a rich bowl of wine and spices, called the “Cathern bowl,” for the inhabitants of the college upon this day.--Halliwell’s _Popular Rhymes_, 1849, p. 238; see _N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. iv. pp. 495, 496.

NOV. 30.] ST. ANDREW’S DAY.

The commencement of the ecclesiastical year is regulated by the feast of St. Andrew, the nearest Sunday to which, whether before or after, constitutes the first Sunday in Advent, or the period of four weeks which heralds the approach of Christmas. St. Andrew’s Day is thus sometimes the first and sometimes the last festival in the Christian Year.--_Book of Days_, vol ii. p. 636.

KENT.

Hasted, in his _History of Kent_ (vol. ii. p. 757), speaking of the parish of Eastling, says that, on St. Andrew’s Day, there is a yearly diversion called squirrel-hunting in this and the neighbouring parishes, when the labourers and lower kind of people, assembling together, form a lawless rabble, and being accoutred with guns, poles, clubs and other such weapons, spend the greater part of the day in parading through the woods and grounds, with loud shoutings, and under pretence of demolishing the squirrels, some few of which they kill, they destroy numbers of hares, pheasants, partridges, and, in short, whatever comes in their way, breaking down the hedges, and doing much other mischief, and, in the evening betaking themselves to the ale-houses, finish their career there as is usual with such sort of gentry.

MIDDLESEX.

Strype, in his _Ecclesiastical Memorials_ (1822, vol. iii. pt. ii. p. 21), says:--“The 30th November [1557] being St. Andrew’s Day, was a procession at Paul’s, and a priest of every parish attending, each in his cope, and a goodly sermon preached, and after that, the procession, with _salve festa dies_.”

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.

Tander and Tandrew are the names given to the festival of St. Andrew, of which they are corruptions.

The anniversary of this saint is, or rather was, kept by the lacemakers as a day of festivity and merry-making; but since the use of pillow-lace has in a great measure given place to that of the loom, this holiday has been less and less observed. The day in former times was one of unbridled licence: village “scholards” barred out their master; the lace schools were deserted; and drinking and feasting prevailed to a riotous extent. Towards evening the villagers used to become suddenly smitten with a violent taste for masquerading. Women might be seen walking about in male attire, while men and boys clothed in female dress visited each other’s cottages, drinking hot “eldern wine,” the staple beverage of the season. Then commenced the mumming.--Sternberg, _Dialect and Folk Lore of Northamptonshire_, 1851, p. 183; A. E. Baker, _Glossary of Northamptonshire Words and Phrases_, 1854, vol. ii. p. 326.

SUSSEX.

A correspondent of the _Athenæum_ (No. 993) says that the custom of squirrel-hunting was at one time kept up in this county, but, in consequence of the inclosure of the coppices and the more strict observance of the game, it has wholly dropped.

SCOTLAND.

In Scotland this day is called Andrys Day, Androiss Mess, and Andermess.

Singed sheep’s heads are borne in the procession before the Scots in London on St. Andrew’s Day.--Brand’s _Pop. Antiq._ 1849, vol. i. p. 415.

STIR UP SUNDAY.

The 25th Sunday after Trinity is called by the schoolboys “Stir Up Sunday,” from the collect used on that day; and they repeat the following lines without considering their irreverent application:

“Stir up, we beseech thee,
The pudding in the pot,
And when we get home,
We’ll eat it all hot.”

Brand’s _Pop. Antiq._ 1859, vol. i. p. 414; See _Times_, November
25th, 1863.

ADVENT.

_Advent Bells._--Advent bells are rung in many parishes throughout various parts of England during the month of December. A correspondent of _N. & Q._ (_1st S._ vol. i. p. 21) says that, in his neighbourhood--on the western borders of Berks--he has heard their merry peals break gladsomely upon the dark stillness of the cold evening from many a steeple round.

ISLE OF MAN.

Train, in his _History of the Isle of Man_ (1845, vol. ii. p. 127), says, that the fiddlers go round from house to house, in the latter part of the night for two or three weeks before Christmas, playing a tune called the _Andisop_. On their way they stop before particular houses, wish the inmates individually “good morning,” call the hour, then report the state of the weather, and after playing an air, move on to the next halting-place.

PICROUS DAY.

CORNWALL.

The Second Thursday before Christmas Day is a festival observed by the tinners of the district of Blackmore, and known as “Picrous Day.” It is said to be the feast of the discovery of tin by a man named Picrous. It is not at present marked by any distinctive ceremonies, but it is the occasion of a merry-making, and the owner of the tin stream contributes a shilling a man towards it. Mr. T. Q. Couch says his first impression was that the day took its name from the circumstance of a _pie_ forming the _pièce de resistance_ of the supper; but this explanation is not allowed by tinners, nor sanctioned by the usages of the feast.--Hunt’s _Romances of the West of England_, 1871, p. 468.

DEC. 5.] ST. NICHOLAS’ EVE.

Strype, in his _Ecclesiastical Memorials_ (1822, vol. iii. part. i. p. 326), says:--“On the 5th December [1554], the which was St. Nicholas’ Eve, at evensong time, came a commandment that St. Nicholas should not go abroad nor about. But, notwithstanding, it seems, so much were the citizens taken with the mock St. Nicholas, that is, a boy-bishop, that there went about three St. Nicholases in divers parishes, as in St. Andrew’s Holborn and St. Nicolas Olave’s in Bread Street. The reason the procession of St. Nicholas was forbid was because the Cardinal had this St. Nicholas’ Day sent for all the convocation, bishops, and inferior clergy, to come to him to Lambeth, there to be absolved from all their prejudices, schisms, and heresies.”

DEC. 6.] ST. NICHOLAS’ DAY.

THE BOY-BISHOP.

St. Nicholas was deemed the patron of children in general, but much more particularly of all schoolboys, amongst whom the 6th of December (the saint’s festival) used to be a very great holiday for more than one reason. In those bygone times all little boys either sang or served about the altar at church; and the first thing they did upon the eve of their patron’s festival was to elect from among themselves, in every parish church, cathedral, and nobleman’s chapel, a bishop and his officials, or, as they were then called, “a Nicholas and his clerks.” This boy-bishop and his ministers afterwards sang the first vespers of their saint, and, in the evening, arrayed in their appropriate vestments, walked all about the parish; all were glad to see them, and those who could afford it asked them into their houses to bestow a gift of money, sweetmeats, or food upon them. In the year 1299 we find Edward I., on his way to Scotland, permitting one of these boy-bishops to say vespers before him in his chapel at Heton, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and making a considerable present to the said bishop and certain other boys that came and sang with him on the occasion, on the 7th of December, the day after St. Nicholas’ Day. What was the custom in the houses of our nobles we may learn from the _Northumberland Household Book_, which tells us that “My lord useth and accustomyth to gyfe yerly, upon Saynt Nicolas-Even, if he kepe chapell for Saynt Nicolas, to the master of his childeren of his chapell, for one of the childeren of his chapell, yerely, vi^{s.} viii^{d.}; and if Saynt Nicolas com owt of the towne wher my lord lyeth, and my lord kepe no chapell, than to have yerely iii^{s.} iiij^{d.}” At Eton College, it was on St. Nicholas’ Day, and not on Childermas, that the boy-bishop officiated, which he did not only at evensong, but at mass, which he began and went on with up to the more solemn part at the offertory: “In festo Sancti Nicholai, in quo, et nullatenus in festo Sanctorum Innocentium, divina officia præter missæ secreta exequi et dici permittimus per episcopum puerorum scholiarium ad hoc de eisdem annis singulis eligendum.”

It was upon this festival that some wealthy man or other of the parish would make an entertainment on the occasion for his own household, and invite his neighbours’ children to come and partake of it; and, of course, Nicholas and his clerks sat in the highest place. The _Golden Legend_ tells how “a man, for the love of his sone that wente to scole for to lerne, halowed every year the feest of Saynt Nycholas moche solemply. On a time it happed that the fader had doo make redy the dyner, and called many clerkes to this dyner.” Individuals sometimes bequeathed money to find a yearly dinner on St. Nicholas’ day for as many as a hundred Childermas’ tide scholars, who were, after meat, to pray for the soul of the founder of the feast. In our large schools and universities the festival was kept with public sports and games. But it was at Holy Innocents, or Childermas’ tide, that Nicholas and his clerks came forth in all their glory. The boy-bishop had a set of pontificals provided for him. St. Paul’s, London, had its “una mitra alba cum flosculis breudatis--ad opus episcopi parvulorum--baculus ad usum episcopi parvulorum;” York Minster, too, its “una capa de tissue pro episcopo puerorum;” Lincoln Cathedral, “a cope of red velvet, ordained for the barn-bishop;” All Souls’ College, Oxford, “j. chem. (ches.?) j. cap et mitra pro episcopo Nicholao;” St. Mary’s Church, Sandwich, “a lytyll chesebyll for Seynt Nicholas bysschop.” For the boy-bishop’s attendants copes were also made, and York had no fewer than “novem capæ pro pueris.”

Towards the end of evensong on St. John’s Day the little Nicholas and his clerks, arrayed in their copes, and having burning tapers in their hands, and singing those words of the Apocalypse (_c._ xiv.) “Centum quadraginta” walked processionally from the choir to the altar of the Blessed Trinity, which the boy-bishop incensed; afterwards they all sang the anthem, and he recited the prayer commemorative of the Holy Innocents. Going back into the choir these boys took possession of upper canons’ stalls, and those dignitaries themselves had to serve in the boys’ place, and carry the candles, the thurible, and the book, like acolytes, thurifers, and lower clerks. Standing on high, wearing his mitre, and holding his pastoral staff in his left hand, the boy-bishop gave a solemn benediction to all present, and, while making the sign of the Cross over the kneeling crowd, said:

“Crucis signo vos consigno; vestra sit tuitio,
Quos nos emit et redemit suæ carnis pretio.”

The next day, the feast itself of Holy Innocents, the boy-bishop preached a sermon, which of course had been written for him; and one from the pen of Erasmus, “Concio de puero Iesu,” spoken by a boy of St. Paul’s School, London, is still extant, and Dean-Colet, the founder of that seminary, in his statutes for it, ordained that “all these children shall, every Childermas Daye, come to Paulis Churche, and hear the childe bishop sermon; and after be at the high masse, and each of them offer a 1^{d.} to the childe bysshop, and with them the maisters and surveyors of the scole.” At evensong bishop Nicholas and his clerks officiated as on the day before, and until Archbishop Peckham’s times, used to take some conspicuous part in the services of the church during the whole octave of Childermas tide. About 1279 A.D. that primate decreed, however, thus:--“Puerilia autem solennia, quæ in festo solent fieri Innocentum post vesperas S. Johannis tantum inchoari permittimus, et in crastino in ipsa die Innocentum totaliter terminentur.” This festival, like St. Nicholas’ Day, had its good things; and then, as now, was marked by a better dinner in nunneries, wherein the little boys who had served at the altars of the nuns’ churches were not forgotten, as we see by the expenses of St Mary de Prees: “Paid for makyng of the dyner to the susters upon Childermas Day, iii^{s.} iiij^{d.} It. Paid for brede and ale for Saint Nicholas, iii^{s.}

If schoolboys had the patron St. Nicholas, little girls had their patroness too, St. Catherine, who by her learning overthrew the cavilings of many heathen philosophers and won some of them to Christianity. On this holy martyr’s festival, therefore, did the girls walk about the towns in their procession. All this was looked upon with a scowl by those who pulled down the Church of God in this land: hence Cranmer, towards the end of Henry VIII.’s reign, forbade these and other like processions:--“Whereas heretofore dyverse and many superstitious (?) and childysshe observations have been used, and yet to this day are observed and kept in many and sondry parties of this realm, as upon Sainte Nicolas, Sainte Catheryne, Sainte Clement, the Holy Innocentes, and such like; children be strangelye decked and apparelid to counterfaite priestes, byshoppes, and women; and so ledde with songes and daunces from house to house, bleassing the people, and gatherynge of monye, and boyes doo singe masse and preache in the pulpitt ... the Kyng’s majestie willith and commaundeth that from henceforth all suche superstitions be loste and clyerlye exstinguished,” &c. Queen Mary restored these rites, and the people were glad to see this, along with other of their old religious usages, given back to them; and an eye-witness tells us that, in A.D. 1556, “the V. day of December was Sant Necolas evyn, and Sant Necolas whentt abrod in most partt in London, syngyng after the old fassyon, and was reseyvyd with mony good pepulle into their howses, and had mych good chere as ever they had, in mony plasses.”

Some have thought that it was owing to his early abstinence that St. Nicholas was chosen patron of schoolboys; a better reason perhaps is given to us by a writer in the _Gent. Mag._ (1777, vol. xlvii. p. 158), who mentions having in his possession an Italian life of St. Nicholas, from which he translates the following story, which explains the occasion of boys addressing themselves to St. Nicholas’ patronage:--

“The fame of St. Nicholas’ virtues was so great that an Asiatic gentleman, on sending his two sons to Athens for education, ordered them to call on the bishop for his benediction; but they, getting to Myra late in the day, thought proper to defer their visit till the morrow, and took up their lodgings at an inn, where the landlord, to secure their baggage and effects to himself, murdered them in their sleep and then cut them into pieces, salting them, and putting them into a pickling tub with some pork, which was there already, meaning to sell the whole as such. The bishop, however, having a vision of this impious transaction, immediately resorted to the inn, and calling the host to him, reproached him for his horrid villany. The man, perceiving that he was discovered, confessed his crime, and entreated the bishop to intercede on his behalf to the Almighty for his pardon, who being moved with compassion at his contrite behaviour, confession, and thorough repentance, besought Almighty God not only to pardon the murderer, but also, for the glory of His name, to restore life to the poor innocents who had been so inhumanly put to death. The saint had hardly finished his prayer when the mangled and detached portions of the youths were, by Divine Power, reunited, and perceiving themselves alive, threw themselves at the feet of the holy man to kiss and embrace them. But the bishop not suffering their humiliation, raised them up, exhorting them to return thanks to Almighty God for this mark of His mercy, and gave them good advice for the future conduct of their lives; and then, giving them the blessing, he sent them with great joy to prosecute their studies at Athens.”--D. Rock, _The Church of our Fathers_, 1853, vol. iii. part. ii. p. 215.

DEC. 8.] CONCEPTION OF VIRGIN MARY.

Strype, in his _Ecclesiastical Memorials_ (1822, vol. iii. part 1. p. 327), says:--“The 8th December (1554), being the day of the Conception of our Blessed Lady, was a goodly procession at the Savoy by the Spaniards, the priest carrying the Sacrament between his hands, and one deacon carrying a censer censing, and another the holy-water stock, and a number of friars and priests singing; and every man and woman, knights also and gentlemen, bearing green tapers burning, and eight trumpets blowing; and when they ceased, then began the sackbuts to play, and when they had done, there was one who carried two drums on his back, and one came after beating them. And so done, they went about the Savoy, now singing, and a while after playing again, and by-and-by came singing into the church, and after that they went to mass.”

DEC. 13.] ST. BARCHAN’S DAY.

SCOTLAND.

His day is still celebrated at Kilbarchan by a fair, held on the 1st of December, Old Style, (13th December, New Style.) This rustic festival is alluded to in the Laird of Beltrees’ poem on the life and death of the famous piper of Kilbarchan, Habbie Simpson:

“Sae kindly to his neighbour’s niest,
At Beltane and St. Barchan’s feast.
He blew and then held up his breist,
As he were wead;
But now we needna him arreist,
For now he’s deid!”

Chambers’s _Pop. Rhymes of Scotland_, 1870, p. 391.

DEC. 14.] ST. TIBBA’S DAY.

This day was formerly celebrated in Rutlandshire by fowlers and falconers, who regarded the saint as their peculiar patroness. Camden mentions the town of Rihall as particularly addicted to this superstitious observance,[86] and the passage, which is strongly expressed, was ordered to be expunged from his _Britannia_ by the _Index Expurgationis_, printed at Madrid in 1612 by Louis Sanchez.--_Med. Ævi Kalend._ vol. i. p. 82.

[86] Rihall, ubi cum majores nostros ita fascinasset superstitio, ut
deorum multitudine Deum verum propemodum sustulisset, Tibba minorum
gentium diva, quasi Diana ab aucupibus utique rei accipitrariæ præses
colebatur.--Britan. 8vo. Lond. edit. 1590, p. 419.

DEC. 17.] SOW DAY.

SCOTLAND.

At Sandwick, in the Orkneys, it is usual for every family to kill a sow, whence this day is called Sow Day. This custom probably has some reference to the heathen worship of the sun, to which, among the northern nations, the male of this animal was sacred.--Sinclair, _Stat. Acc. of Scotland_, 1793, vol. xvi. p. 460; _Med. Ævi Kalend._ vol. i. p. 82.

DEC. 21.] ST. THOMAS’ DAY.

In some parts of the country St. Thomas’ Day is observed by a custom called _Going a Gooding_.[87] The poor people go round the parish and call at the houses of the principal inhabitants, begging money or provisions wherewith to celebrate the approaching festivity of Christmas. In return for the alms bestowed during these “gooding” peregrinations, it was customary for the recipients, in former times, to present to their benefactors a sprig of holly or mistletoe.--_Book of Days_, vol. ii. p. 724; see _Gent. Mag._ 1794, vol. lxiv. p. 292.

[87] Northamptonshire, Kent, Sussex, Herefordshire, Worcestershire,
etc.

Girls, says Halliwell, used to have a method of divination with a “St. Thomas’s Onion,” for the purpose of ascertaining their future partners. They peeled the onion, wrapped it up in a clean handkerchief, and then, placing it under their heads, said the following lines:

“Good St. Thomas, do me right,
And see my true love come to-night,
That I may see him in the face,
And him in my kind arms embrace.”

One of the old cries of London was, “Buy my rope of onions--white St. Thomas’s Onions.”--_Popular Rhymes_, 1849, p. 224.

BEDFORDSHIRE.

An ancient annual payment of 5_l._ out of an estate at Biddenham, formerly belonging to the family of Boteler, and now the property of Lord Viscount Hampden, is regularly paid on St. Thomas’s Day to the overseers of the poor for the purchase of a bull, which is killed, and the flesh thereof given amongst the poor persons of the parish. For many years past the annual fund, being insufficient to purchase a bull, the deficiency has been made good out of other charities belonging to the parish. It was proposed some years ago by the vicar that the 5_l._ a year should be laid out in buying meat, but the poor insisted on the customary purchase of a bull being continued, and the usage is accordingly kept up.--Edwards, _Old English Customs and Charities_, 1842, p. 64.

BERKSHIRE.

The cruel practice of bull-baiting was continued annually on St. Thomas’s Day, in the market place of the town of Wokingham so lately as 1821. In 1822, upon the passing of the Act against cruelty to animals, the corporation resolved on abolishing the custom. The alderman (as the chief magistrate is called there) went with his officers in procession, and solemnly pulled up the bull-ring, which had from time immemorial been fixed in the market-place. The bull-baiting at Wokingham was regarded with no ordinary attachment by the inhabitants; for, besides the love of sport, it was here connected with something more solid, viz., the Christmas dinner. In 1661, George Staverton gave by will, out of his Staines house, after the death of his wife, 4_l._ to buy a bull for the use of the poor of Wokingham parish, to be increased to 6_l._ after the death of his wife and her daughter, the bull to be baited, and then cut up, “one poor’s piece not exceeding another’s in bigness.” Great was the wrath of the populace in 1822 at the loss, not of the beef--for the corporation duly distributed the meat--but of the baiting. They vented their rage for successive years in occasional breaches of the peace. They found out, often informed by the sympathising farmer or butcher, where the devoted animal was domiciled; proceeded at night to liberate him from stall or meadow, and to chase him across the country with all the noisy accompaniments imaginable. So long was this feeling kept alive that, thirteen years afterwards, viz., in 1835, the mob broke into the place where one of the two animals to be divided was abiding and baited him, in defiance of the authorities, in the market-place; one enthusiastic individual, tradition relates, actually lying on the ground and seizing the miserable brute by the nostril with his own teeth. This was not to be endured, and a sentence of imprisonment in Reading Gaol cooled the ardour of the ringleaders, and gave the _coup de grâce_ to the sport. The bequest of Staverton now yields an income of 20_l._, and has for several years been appropriated to the purchase of two bulls. The flesh is divided and distributed annually on St. Thomas’s Day by the alderman, churchwardens, and overseers, to nearly every poor family (between 200 and 300), without regard to their receiving parochial relief. The produce of the offal and hide is laid out in the purchase of shoes and stockings for the poor women and children. The bulls’ tongues are recognised by courtesy as the perquisites of the alderman and town clerk.--_N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. v. p. 35.

CHESHIRE.

The poor people go from farm to farm “a-thomasin,” and generally carry with them a bag and a can, into which meal, flour, and corn, are put. Begging on this day is universal in this and the neighbouring counties.--_Jour. of the Arch. Assoc._ 1850, vol. v. p. 253.

DORSETSHIRE.

At the village of Thornton, near Sherborne, a custom prevails amongst the tenants of the manor, of depositing five shillings in a hole in a certain tombstone in the churchyard, which precludes the lord of the manor from taking the tithe of hay during the year. This must be done before twelve o’clock on St. Thomas’s Day, or the privilege is void.--_Med. Ævi Kalend._ 1842, vol. i. p. 83.

There was a custom very generally practised in some parts of this county, and which may even now be practised. A few days before Christmas the women, children, and old men in a parish would visit by turns the houses of their wealthier neighbours, and in return for, and in recognition of Christmas greetings, and their general demand of “Please give me something to keep up a Christmas,” would receive substantial pieces or “hunks” of bread and cheese, bread and meat, or small sums of money. The old and infirm of either sex were generally represented by their children or grandchildren, those only being refused the dole who did not belong to the parish.--_N. & Q. 4th S._ vol. x. p. 494.

HEREFORDSHIRE.

St. Thomas’s Day is called by the poor inhabitants of this county “Mumping Day;” and the custom of going from house to house asking for contributions, is termed _going a-mumping_.

HERTFORDSHIRE.

Small pyramids, says Fosbroke (_Encyclopædia of Antiquities_, 1840, p. 661), formed of gilt evergreens, apples, and nuts, are carried about at this time in Hertfordshire for presents.

ISLE OF MAN.

Formerly, it was customary for the people to go to the mountains to catch deer and sheep for Christmas, and in the evening always to kindle a large fire on the top of every fingan or cliff. Hence, at the time of casting peats, every one laid aside a large one, saying: “Faaid mooar moayney son oie’l fingan,” that is, “A large turf for Fingan’s Eve.”--Train, _History of Isle of Man_, 1845, vol. ii. p. 124; Cregeen’s _Manks Dictionary_, p. 67.

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.

Samuel Higgs, by his will, bearing date 11th May, 1820 (as appears from the church tablet), gave 50_l._ to the vicar and churchwardens of the parish of Farnsfield, and directed that the interest should be given every year on the 21st of December, in equal proportions, to the poor men and women who could repeat the Lord’s prayer, the creed, and the ten commandments, before the vicar or other such person as he should appoint to hear them. The interest is applied according to the donor’s orders, and the poor persons appointed to partake of the charity continue to receive it during their lives.--Edwards, _Old English Customs and Charities_, 1842, p. 209.

OXFORDSHIRE.

At Tainton, a quarter of barley is provided annually, at the expense of Lord Dynevor, the lord of the manor, and made into loaves called “cobbs.” These were formerly given away in Tainton church to such of the poor children of Burford as attended. A sermon was preached on St. Thomas’s Day, 6_s._ 8_d._ being paid out of Lord Dynevor’s estate to the preacher. The children, however, made so much riot and disturbance in the church, that, about the year 1809, it was thought better to distribute the cobbs in a stable belonging to one of the churchwardens, which course has been pursued ever since.--Edwards, _Old English Customs and Charities_, 1842, p. 25.

STAFFORDSHIRE.

In many parts of this county not only the old women and widows, but representatives from every poor family in the parish, go round for alms. The clergyman is expected to give one shilling to each person, and consequently the celebration of the day is attended with no small expense. Some of the parishioners give alms in money, others in kind. Thus, for example, some of the farmers give corn, which the millers grind gratis. In some places the money collected is given to the clergyman and churchwardens, who, on the Sunday nearest to St. Thomas’s Day, distribute it at the vestry. The fund is called St. Thomas’s Dole, and the day itself Doleing Day.--_N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. iv. pp. 103, 487.

SUSSEX.

A sum of 15_l._ was placed in the Arundel Savings-Bank in the year 1824, the interest of which is distributed on St. Thomas’s Day. It is said that this money was found, many years since, on the person of a beggar, who died by the road-side; and the interest of it has always been appropriated by the parish officers for the use of the poor.--Edwards, _Old English Customs and Charities_, 1842, p. 129.

WARWICKSHIRE.

In this county it is customary for the poor people to visit the farm-houses to beg contributions of corn. This is called _going a-corning_.

WORCESTERSHIRE.

At Harvington the following rhyme is sung:

“Wissal, wassail through the town,
If you’ve got any apples throw them down;
Up with the stocking and down with the shoe
If you’ve got no apples money will do.
The jug is white and the ale is brown,
This is the best house in the town.”

_N. & Q. 1st S._ vol. viii. p. 617.

YORKSHIRE.

Drake, in his _Eboracum_ (1736, p. 217), gives the following account of a custom that once existed at York on St. Thomas’s Day, which he says he obtained from a manuscript that fell into his hands. “William the Conqueror, in the third year of his reign (on St. Thomas’s Day), laid siege to the city of York, but finding himself unable, either by policy or strength, to gain it, raised the siege, which he had no sooner done, but by accident he met with two fryers at a place called Skelton, not far from York, and had been to seek reliefe from their fellows and themselves against Christmas: the one having a wallet full of victualls and a shoulder of mutton in his hand, with two great cakes hanging about his neck; the other having bottles of ale, with provisions, likewise of beife and mutton in his wallett. The king, knowing their poverty and condition, thought they might be serviceable to him towards the attaining York, wherefore (being accompanied with Sir George Fothergill, general of the field, a Norman born), he gave them money, and withall a promise, that if they would lett him and his soldiers into their priory at a time appointed, he would not only rebuild their priory, but indowe it likewise with large revenues and ample privileges. The fryers easily consented and the conqueror as soon sent back his army, which, that night, according to agreement, were let into the priory by the two fryers, by which they immediately made themselves masters of all York; after which Sir Robert Clifford, who was governor thereof, was so far from being blamed by the conqueror for his stout defence made the preceding days, that he was highly esteemed and rewarded for his valour, being created Lord Clifford and there knighted, with the four magistrates then in office, viz., Horongate, Talbot (who after came to be Lord Talbott), Lassells, and Erringham.

“The arms of the city of York at that time was, argent, a cross, gules, viz., St. George’s _cross_. The conqueror charged the cross with five lyons, passant gardant, _or_, in memory of the five worthy captains, magistrates, who governed the city so well, that he afterwards made Sir Robert Clifford governour thereof and the other four to aid him in counsell; and the better to keep the city in obedience he built two castles, and double moated them about; and to shew the confidence and trust that he put in these old, but new made, officers by him he offered them freely to ask whatsoever they would of him before he went, and he would grant their request, wherefore they (abominating the treachery of the two fryers to their eternal infamy), desired that, on St. Thomas’s Day for ever, they might have a fryer of the priory of St. Peter’s to ride through the city on horseback, with his face to the horse’s tayle, and that in his hand, instead of a bridle, he should have a rope, and in the other a shoulder of mutton, with one cake hanging on his back and another on his breast, with his face painted like a _Jew_; and the youth of the city to ride with him, and to cry and shout “Youl, Youl,” with the officers of the city rideing before and making proclamation, that on this day the city was betrayed; and their request was granted them, which custom continued till the dissolution of the said fryery; and afterwards in imitation of the same, the young men and artizans of the city on the aforesaid St. _Thomas’s Day_, used to dress up one of their own companions like a fryer, and called him youl, which custom continued till within this three-score years, there being many now living which can testify the same, but upon what occasion since discontinued I cannot learn: this being done in memory of betraying the city by the said fryers to William the Conqueror.”

WALES.

William Rogers, by will, June 1806, gave to the minister and churchwardens of Nevern, Pembrokeshire, and their successors, 800_l._, Three per Cent. Consols, to be transferred by his executors within six months after his decease; and it was his will that the dividends should be laid out annually, one moiety thereof in good beef, the other moiety thereof in good barley, the same to be distributed on every St. Thomas’s Day in each year, by the minister and churchwardens, to and among the poor of the said parish of Nevern.--Edwards, _Old English Customs and Charities_, p. 24.

DEC. 24.] CHRISTMAS EVE.

CHESHIRE.

In Chester, and its neighbourhood, numerous singers parade the streets and are hospitably entertained with meat and drink at the various houses where they call.--See _Book of Days_, vol. ii. p. 736.

CORNWALL.

On Christmas Eve, in former days, says Hunt (_Romances of the West of England_, 1871, p. 349), the small people, or the spiggans, would meet at the bottom of the deepest mines, and have a midnight mass. In this county the yule log is called “the mock.”

DERBYSHIRE.

In some parts the village choir meet in the church on Christmas Eve, and there wait until midnight, when they proceed from house to house, invariably accompanied by a small keg of ale, singing “Christians awake;” and during the Christmas season they again visit the principal houses in the place, and having played and sung for the evening, and partaken of the Christmas cheer, are presented with a sum of money.--_Jour. of the Arch. Assoc._ 1852, vol. vii. p. 208.

DEVONSHIRE.

The ashton faggot is burned in Devonshire on Christmas Eve. The faggot is composed entirely of ash timber, and the separate sticks or branches are securely bound together with ash bands. The faggot is made as large as can conveniently be burned in the fire-place, or rather upon the floor, grates not being in use. A numerous company is generally assembled to spend the evening in games and amusements, the diversions being heightened when the faggot blazes on the hearth, as a quart of cyder is considered due and is called for and served upon the bursting of every hoop or band round the faggot. The timber being green and elastic, each band generally bursts open with a smart report when the individual stick or hoop has been partially burned through.--_N. &. Q. 1st S._ vol. iv. p. 309.

In one or two localities, it is still customary for the farmer with his family and friends, after partaking together of hot cakes and cider (the cake being dipped in the liquor previous to being eaten), to proceed to the orchard, one of the party bearing hot cake and cider as an offering to the principal apple-tree. The cake is formally deposited on the fork of the tree, and the cider thrown over the latter.[88]--See _Book of Days_, vol. ii. p. 736.

[88] In some places this custom is observed on New Year’s Eve.

A superstitious notion prevails in the western parts of Devonshire that, at twelve o’clock at night on Christmas Eve, the oxen in their stalls are always found on their knees, as in an attitude of devotion, and that since the alteration of the style they continue to do this only on the eve of Old Christmas Day.--Brand, _Pop. Antiq._ 1849, vol. i. p. 473.

It appears, from a statement of charities in an old book, that John Martyn, by will, 28th of November, 1729, gave to the churchwardens and overseers of the poor of the parish of St. Mary Major, Exeter, twenty pounds, to be put out at interest, and the profits thereof to be laid out every Christmas Eve in twenty pieces of beef, to be distributed to twenty poor people of the parish, such as had no relief on that day, for ever.--_Old English Customs and Charities_, 1842, p. 4.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE.

It appears by the benefaction table in the church of Ruardean, that the Rev. Mr. Anthony Sterry, vicar of Lidney, gave by deed, in the fortieth year of Queen Elizabeth, five shillings per annum, payable out of an estate called the Glasp, in this parish, for ringing a peal on Christmas Eve, about midnight, for two hours, in commemoration of the Nativity.--_Old English Customs and Charities_, 1842, p. 6.

HAMPSHIRE.

In the neighbourhood of the New Forest the following lines are sung on the wassailing of the trees:

“Apples and pears with right good corn,
Come in plenty to every one;
Eat and drink good cake and hot ale,
Give earth to drink and she’ll not fail.”

_Christmas in the Olden Time_, London, 1839.

HEREFORDSHIRE.

In the _Gent. Mag._ (vol. xc. pt. i. p. 33) is the following account of a custom that formerly existed at Tretyre on Christmas Eve. The writer says:--They make a cake, poke a stick through it, fasten it upon the horn of an ox, and say certain words, begging a good crop of corn for the master. The men and boys attending the oxen, range themselves around. If the ox throws the cake behind, it belongs to the men, if before, to the boys. They take with them a wooden bottle of cyder and drink it, repeating the charm before mentioned.

KENT.

Hasted (_History of Kent_, vol. iii. p. 380) says there was a singular custom used of long time by the fishermen of Folkestone. They chose eight of their largest and best whitings out of every boat when they came home from the fishery and sold them apart from the rest, and out of the money arising from them they made a feast every Christmas Eve which they called a “Rumbald.” The master of each boat provided this feast for his own company. These whitings, which are of a very large size, and are sold all round the country as far as Canterbury, are called Rumbald whitings. This custom (which is now left off, though many of the inhabitants still meet jovially on Christmas Eve, and call it Rumbald Night) might have been anciently instituted in honour of St. Rumbald, and at first designed as an offering to him for his protection during the fishery.[89]

[89] Cole, in his _History and Antiquities of Filey_ (1828, p. 143),
gives the following account of a custom that existed in his time in
connection with the herring fishery at that place. He says, during the
time the boats are on the herring fishery the junior part of the
inhabitants seize all the unemployed waggons and carts they can find
and drag them down the streets to the cliff tops; then leaving them to
be owned and taken away by their respective proprietors on the
following morning; this is carried into effect about the third
Saturday night after the boats have sailed from Filey, under a
superstitious notion that it drives the herrings into the nets.
Previously to the fishermen setting out upon their expedition they
send a piece of sea-beef on shore from each boat to such of their
friends at the public houses as they wish “weel beea;” this occasions
“a bit of a supper,” at which those who are going away and those who
stay enjoy good cheer, heightened by mutual good-will. The Sunday
preceding their departure is called _Boat Sunday_, when all their
friends from the neighbouring villages attend to bid them farewell.

ISLE OF MAN.

Waldron, in his _Description of the Isle of Man_ (1859, p. 125) says that on Christmas Eve every one leaves off work, and rambles about till the bells begin to ring at midnight. Lord Teignmouth (_Sketches of the Coast of Scotland and the Isle of Man_, vol. ii. p. 264) states that they then all flock to the churches, bearing the largest candle they can procure. The churches are decorated with holly, and the service, in commemoration of the birth of our Saviour is called _Oiel Verry_.--See Train’s _History of the Isle of Man_, 1845, vol. ii. p. 127.

NORFOLK.

In some parts of Norfolk libations of spiced ale used to be sprinkled on orchards and meadows.--_Book of Days_, vol. ii. p. 736.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.

On Christmas Eve, 1815, says Cole (_History of Ecton_, 1825), the musicians of Ecton, accompanied by the vocalists of the church, revived the custom of going round the village at midnight and singing a carol at the principal houses.

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.

At Nottingham, on Christmas Eve, as well as in many other of the villages, it is customary to toast apples on a string until they drop into a bowl of hot spiced ale, which is placed to receive them; this, from the softness of the beverage is called “lamb’s-wool.”

OXFORDSHIRE.

Pointer, in his _Oxoniensis Academia_ (1749, p. 20), says that, at Merton College, Oxford, the fellows meet together in the Hall on Christmas Eve and other solemn times to sing a psalm and drink a grace-cup to one another (called _Poculum Charitatis_), wishing one another help and happiness. These grace-cups they drink to one another every day after dinner and supper, wishing one another peace and good neighbourhood.

SUSSEX.

At Chailey, the following doggerel is sung at the wassailing of the apple trees:

“Stand fast root, bear well top,
Pray the God send us a good howling crop.
Every twig, apples big,
Every bough, apples enow.
Hats full, caps full,
Full quarters, sacks full.”[90]

_N. & Q. 1st S._ vol. v. p. 293.

[90] See Eve of Epiphany, p. 21.

WARWICKSHIRE.