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BRITISH POPULAR CUSTOMS
PRESENT AND PAST
GEORGE BELL AND SONS, LTD.
LONDON: PORTUGAL ST., KINGSWAY
CAMBRIDGE: DEIGHTON, BELL AND CO.
NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN CO.
BOMBAY: A. H. WHEELER AND CO.
BRITISH
POPULAR CUSTOMS
PRESENT AND PAST
ILLUSTRATING THE SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC
MANNERS OF THE PEOPLE
ARRANGED
ACCORDING TO THE CALENDAR OF THE YEAR
BY THE REV.
T. F. THISELTON DYER, M.A.
PEMBROKE COLLEGE, OXON.
[Illustration]
LONDON
G. BELL AND SONS, LIMITED
1911
[_Reprinted from Stereotype plates._]
PREFACE.
In presenting the following pages to the Public I do not lay claim to
any originality, my object simply having been to collect together, into
a readable and condensed form, from various sources within my reach,
accounts of Customs which, if not already obsolete, are quickly becoming
so.
With regard to the general plan of the book, it speaks for itself. It
should, however, be stated that the movable feasts are placed under the
earliest days on which they can fall.
In conclusion, I would only add that I am much indebted to Mr. James
Britten, of the British Museum, for the valuable help and suggestions
which he has given me whilst passing the proof-sheets through the Press.
T. F. THISELTON DYER.
_September 15th, 1875._
POPULAR CUSTOMS.
JAN. 1.] NEW YEAR’S DAY.
New Year’s Day has always been a time of general rejoicing and
festivity, its observance being characterised by many a curious custom
and superstitious practice. History tells us how on this day the Druids
were accustomed, with much pomp and ceremony, to distribute branches of
the sacred mistletoe amongst the people; those precious gifts having the
night before been cut from the oak-tree in a forest dedicated to the
gods. Among the Saxons of the northern nations the new year was ushered
in by friendly gifts, and celebrated with such extraordinary festivity
that people actually used to reckon their age by the numbers of annual
merry-makings in which they had participated. Fosbroke, in his
_Encyclopædia of Antiquities_, notices the continuation of the Roman
practice of interchanging gifts during the middle and later ages; a
custom which prevailed especially amongst our kings, queens, and the
nobility. According to Matthew Paris, Henry III., following the
discreditable example of some of the Roman emperors, even extorted them
from his subjects.
In Rymer’s _Fœdera_ (vol. x. p. 387) a list is given of the gifts
received by Henry VI. between Christmas Day and February 4th, 1428,
consisting of sums of 40_s._, 20_s._, 13_s._ 4_d._, 10_s._, 6_s._ 8_d._,
and 3_s._ 4_d._
In the reign of Henry VII. the reception of the New Year’s gifts
presented by the king and queen to each other and by their household
and courtiers, was reduced to a solemn formula.
Agnes Strickland, in her _Lives of the Queens of England_ (1864, vol.
ii. p. 83), quotes the following extract from a MS. of Henry VII.’s
Norroy herald, in possession of Peter Le Neve, Esq.: “On the day of the
New Year, when the king came to his foot-sheet, his usher of his
chamber-door said to him, ‘Sire, here is a New Year’s gift coming from
the queen;’ then the king replied, ‘Let it come in.’ Then the king’s
usher let the queen’s messenger come within the _yate_” (meaning the
gate of the railing which surrounded the royal bed, instances of which
are familiar to the public in the state bedrooms at Hampton Court to
this day, and it is probable that the scene was very similar), “Henry
VII. sitting at the foot of the bed in his dressing-gown, the officers
of his bed-chamber having turned the top sheet smoothly down to the foot
of the bed when the royal personage rose. The queen,[1] in like manner,
sat at her foot-sheet, and received the king’s New Year’s gift within
the gate of her bed-railing. When this formal exchange of presents had
taken place between the king and his consort, they received, seated in
the same manner, the New Year’s gifts of their nobles. ‘And,’ adds the
herald, assuming the first person, ‘I shall report to the queen’s grace
and them that be about her, what rewards are to be given to them that
bring her grace New Year’s gifts, for I trow they are not so good as
those of the king.’”
[1] Elizabeth of York.
There is in the possession of the Marquis of Bath, Longleat, a
manuscript, which contains a list of moneys given to King Henry VIII. in
the twenty-fourth year of his reign, as New Year’s gifts. They are from
archbishops, bishops, noblemen, doctors, gentlemen, &c. The amount which
the king’s grace complacently pocketed on this occasion was 792_l._
10_s._ 10_d._--_N. &. Q. 4th S._ vol. xi. p. 8.
Honest old Latimer, however, says Hone (_Every Day Book_, 1836, vol. i.
p. 7), instead of presenting Henry VIII. with a purse of gold, put into
the king’s hand a New Testament, with a leaf conspicuously doubled down
at Hebrews xiii. 4, which, on reference, will be found to have been
worthy of all _acceptation_, though not, perhaps, well accepted.
A manuscript roll of the public revenue of the fifth year of Edward VI.
has an entry of rewards given on New Year’s Day to the king, officers,
and servants, amounting to 155_l._ 5_s._, and also of sums given to the
servants of those who presented New Year’s gifts to the king.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, the custom of presenting New Year’s
gifts to the sovereign was carried to an extravagant height. Indeed, Dr.
Drake is of opinion that the wardrobe and jewelry of Queen Elizabeth
were principally supported by these annual contributions on New Year’s
Day. He cites lists of New Year’s gifts presented to her from the
original rolls published in her “progresses” by Mr. Nichols; and from
these it appears that the presents were made by the great officers of
state, peers and peeresses, bishops, knights and their ladies, gentlemen
and gentlewomen, physicians and apothecaries, and others of lower grade,
down to her Majesty’s dustman. The presents consisted of sums of money,
costly articles of ornament for the queen’s person or apartments,
caskets studded with precious stones, valuable necklaces, bracelets,
gowns, embroidered mantles, smocks, petticoats, looking-glasses, fans,
silk stockings, and a great variety of other articles. The largest sum
given by any of the temporal lords was 20_l._; but the Archbishop of
Canterbury gave 40_l._, the Archbishop of York 30_l._, and the other
spiritual lords, 20_l._ and 10_l._ Dr. Drake says, that although
Elizabeth made returns to the New Year’s gifts, in plate and other
articles, yet she nevertheless took sufficient care that the balance
should be in her own favour.
In the reign of James I. the money gifts seem to have been continued for
some time, but the ornamental articles presented seem to have been few
and of small value. No rolls, nor, indeed, any notices of New Year’s
gifts presented to Charles I. seem to have been preserved, though
probably there were such. The custom, no doubt, ceased entirely during
the Commonwealth, and was never afterwards revived, at least, to any
extent worthy of notice. Mr. Nichols mentions that the last remains of
the custom at court consisted in placing a crown-piece under the plate
of each of the chaplains in waiting on New Year’s Day, and that this
custom had ceased early in the nineteenth century.
The New Year’s gifts, says Chambers (_Book of Days_, vol. i. p. 31),
presented by individuals to each other were suited to sex, rank,
situation, and circumstances. From Bishop Hall’s _Satires_ (1598), it
appears that the usual gift of tenantry in the country to their
landlords was a capon; and Cowley, addressing the same class of society
says:
“Ye used in the former days to fall
Prostrate to your landlord in his hall,
When with low legs, and in an humble guise,
Ye offer’d up a capon sacrifice
Unto his worship, at a New Year’s tide.”
Ben Jonson, in his _Christmas Masque_, among other characters introduces
“New Year’s gift in a blue coat, serving-man like, with an orange, and a
sprig of rosemary on his head, his hat full of brooches, with a collar
of gingerbread, his torch-bearer carrying a marchpane, with a bottle of
wine on either arm.” An orange stuck with cloves was a common present,
and is explained by Lupton, who says that the flavour of the wine is
improved, and the wine itself preserved from mouldiness, by an orange or
lemon stuck with cloves being hung within the vessel, so as not to touch
the liquor.
When pins were first invented, and brought into use about the beginning
of the sixteenth century, they were a New Year’s gift very acceptable to
ladies, instead of the wooden skewers which they had hitherto used.
Sometimes, however, in lieu of pins, they received a composition in
money, called _pin money_, an expression which has been extended to a
sum of money secured by a husband on his marriage for the private
expenses of his wife.
Gloves, too, were customary New Year’s gifts. They were far more
expensive than nowadays, and occasionally a sum of money was given
instead, which was called _glove money_.
A hundred years ago, the Poet Laureate not only wrote a New Year’s ode,
by way of salutation to the sovereign and royal family, but those
illustrious personages sat in state at St. James’s, and heard it, as it
was sung by celebrated vocalists, for whom it had been composed by some
expert in music. Now that the Laureate’s song would be worth the
listening to, we have none written especially for the New Year. This
musical festival has ceased to be.--_N. & Q. 4th S._ vol. xi. p. 8.
Latterly, New Year’s Day has been celebrated with but little public
festivity, the only open joyous demonstration being the sound of merry
peals from the church bells, as they ring out the Old and ring in the
New Year.
Many persons make a point of wearing new clothes on this day, and
consider any omission of the kind unlucky. At court it is one of the
twelve _Offering Days_.--_Med. Ævi Kalend._ Hampson, 1841, vol. i. p 33.
In the North of England it is considered unlucky for any inmate to go
out of the house until some one from without has entered it; and the
first foot across the threshold is watched with great anxiety, the good
or bad luck of the house during the year, depending on the first comer
being a man or a woman.--_N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. xi. p. 244.
Opening the Bible on this day is a superstitious practice observed in
some parts of the country, and much credit is attached to it. It is
usually set about with some little ceremony on the morning, before
breakfast, as it must be performed fasting. The Bible is laid on the
table unopened, and the parties who wish to consult it are then to open
it in succession. They are not at liberty to choose any particular part
of the book, but must open it at random. Wherever this may happen to be,
the inquirer is to place his finger on any chapter contained in the two
open pages, but without any previous perusal or examination. It is
believed that the good or ill fortune, the happiness or the misery, of
the consulting party, during the ensuing year, will be in some way or
other described and foreshown by the contents of the chapter. The custom
is called _dipping_.--_Pop. Antiq._ Brand, 1849, vol. i. p. 20; _N. & Q.
2nd S._ vol. xii. p. 303.
It is customary in some places for persons to carry about decorated
apples, and present them to their friends. The apples have three skewers
of wood stuck into them, so as to form a tripod foundation; and their
sides are ornamented with oat grains, while various evergreens and
berries adorn the top. A raisin is occasionally fastened on each oat
grain, but this is probably an innovation.--_N. & Q. 1st S._ vol. i. p.
214.
In some parts of the county of Nottingham, on the first day of the New
Year, troops of little children might be seen a few years ago, each
bearing an orange, an apple, or a nutmeg, sometimes gilded, and stuck
with cloves or rosemary, which they were carrying to their friends to
ask their blessing; the present thus given was generally carefully
reserved.--_Jour. of the Archæological Association_, 1853, vol. viii. p.
231.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
It appears from a MS. in the British Museum (_Status Scholæ Etonensis_,
A.D. 1560, MS. Brit. Mus. Donat. 4843, fol. 423), that the boys of Eton
School used, on the day of the Circumcision, to play for little New
Year’s gifts before and after supper; and that boys had a custom on that
day, for good luck’s sake, of making verses, and sending them to the
provost, masters, &c., as also of presenting them to each other.
CUMBERLAND AND WESTMORELAND.
Early in the morning the common people assemble together, carrying
stangs and baskets. Any inhabitant, stranger, or whoever joins not this
ruffian tribe in sacrificing to their favourite saint-day, if
unfortunate enough to be met by any of the band, is immediately mounted
across the stang (if a woman, she is basketed), and carried shoulder
high to the nearest public house, where the payment of sixpence
immediately liberates the prisoner. None, though ever so industriously
inclined, are permitted to follow their respective avocations on that
day.--_Gent. Mag._ 1791, vol. lxi. p. 1169.
ESSEX.
Formerly the bailiffs of Maldon sent on the first day of the year, to
the king’s vice-admiral of Essex a present of oysters and wild fowl. Sir
John Bramston notices the arrival of the gift on New Year’s Day (March
26), 1688, in his _Autobiography_, printed for the Camden Society in
1845.
HEREFORDSHIRE.
At Bromyard and its neighbourhood, as twelve o’clock on the 31st of
December draws near, and the last of the Christmas carols are heard
without doors, and a pleasurable excitement is playing on the faces of
the family around the last Christmas log within, a rush is made to the
nearest spring of water, and whoever is fortunate enough to first bring
in the “cream of the well,” as it is termed, and those who first taste
of it, have “prospect of good luck through the forthcoming year.” Also,
in the early hours of the New Year, after a funeral service has been
said over “Old Tom” as the old year is called, at the public-houses and
ale and cider stores, the streets are filled with boys and men, singing
in the loudest tones possible:
“I wish you a merry Christmas
And a happy New Year,
A pocket full of money,
And a cellar full of beer,
And a good fat pig
To serve you all the year.
Ladies and gentlemen
Sat (_sic_) by the fire,
Pity we poor boys
Out in the mire.”
_The Antiquary_, 1873, vol. iii. p. 7.
In the neighbourhood of Ross, it is deemed most unfortunate for a woman
to enter the house first, and therefore an inquiry is generally made
whether a male has previously been there. It is customary for the
peasantry to send about on this day a small pyramid, made of leaves,
apples, nuts, &c.--Fosbroke, _Sketches of Ross_, 1822, p. 58.
LANCASHIRE.
Should a female, or a light-haired male, be the first to enter a house
on the morning of New Year’s Day, it is supposed to bring bad luck for
the whole of the year then commencing. Various precautions are taken to
prevent this misfortune: hence many male persons with black or dark
hair are in the habit of going from house to house, on that day, to take
the New Year in; for which they are treated with liquor, and presented
with a small gratuity. So far is the apprehension carried, that some
families will not open the door to any one until satisfied by the voice
that he is likely to bring the house a year’s good luck by entering it.
The most kindly and charitable woman in a neighbourhood will strongly
refuse to give any one a light on the morning of New Year’s Day, as most
unlucky to the one who gives it away.--Harland and Wilkinson’s
_Lancashire Folk-Lore_, 1867, p. 214.
ISLE OF MAN.
On this day an old custom, says Train in his _History of the Isle of
Man_ (1845, vol. ii. p. 115), is observed called the _quaaltagh_. In
almost every parish throughout the island, a party of young men go from
house to house singing the following rhyme:
“Again we assemble, a merry New Year
To wish to each one of the family here,
Whether man, woman, or girl, or boy,
That long life, and happiness, all may enjoy,
May they of potatoes and herrings have plenty,
With butter and cheese, and each other dainty;
And may their sleep never, by night or day,
Disturbed be by even the tooth of a flea;
Until at the Quaaltagh again we appear,
To wish you, as now, all a happy New Year.”
When these lines are repeated at the door, the whole party are invited
into the house to partake of the best the family can afford. On these
occasions a person of dark complexion always enters first, as a
light-haired male or female is deemed unlucky to be the first-foot or
_quaaltagh_ on New Year’s morning. The actors of the _quaaltagh_ do not
assume fantastic habiliments like the mummers of England, or the
guisards of Scotland, nor do they, like these rude performers of the
Ancient Mysteries, appear ever to have been attended by minstrels
playing on different kinds of musical instruments.
NORTHUMBERLAND.
The following extract, relating to Newcastle-on-Tyne, is taken from the
_North of England Advertiser_ of January 4th, 1873:
The children on New Year’s morn are busy begging their New Year’s gifts,
saying, “Old Year out, New Year in; please give us my New Year’s gift;”
or “A merry Christmas and a happy New Year;” followed by the usual
appeal for a present. The first-foot is an important personage. If he
should be a dark man, it is a sign of good luck; if a light one not so
lucky; but alas! if a woman, the worst luck will befall the household.
Similar to the first hearing of the cuckoo, it is of the greatest
importance whether or not you have money in your pocket and your
cupboard full on New Year’s Day.
NOTTINGHAMSHIRE.
In this county it is considered unlucky to remove anything from a house
until something has been brought in, and therefore, early in the
morning, each member of the family carries some trifling thing in. In
the neighbourhood of Newark, this rhyme is sung:
“Take out, and take in,
Bad luck is sure to begin;
But take in and take out.
Good luck will come about.”
_Jour. of Arch. Assoc._ 1853, vol. viii. p. 231.
Brand, in his _Pop. Antiq._ (1849, vol. i. p. 15), alludes to this
custom as existing in Lincoln and its neighbourhood. The rhyme he quotes
is slightly different from the above:
“Take out, then take in,
Bad luck will begin;
Take in, then take out,
Good luck comes in.”
OXFORDSHIRE.
Pointer, in his _Oxoniensis Academia_ (1749, p. 71), alludes to a
custom, observed at Brasenose College, Oxford, of the Bachelors of Arts
and Undergraduates belonging to the college going in a body on New
Year’s Day to their Principal, and each presenting him with an epistle
by way of a New Year’s gift, wishing him a happy New Year.
We learn from the same writer, that it was formerly the practice at
Queen’s College to give a needle and thread to the Fellows, being a
rebus on their founder’s name, Eglesfield, _aiguille_ in French
signifying a needle, and _fil_ a thread (p. 38).
STAFFORDSHIRE.
A grotesque manorial custom is described as being kept up in the reign
of Charles II., in connection with Hilton. There existed in that house a
hollow brass image, about a foot high, representing a man kneeling in an
indecorous position. It was known all over the country as Jack of
Hilton. There were two apertures; one very small at the mouth, another
about two-thirds of an inch in diameter at the back, and the interior
would hold rather more than four pints of water, which, says Plot
(_History of Staffordshire_, 1686, p. 433), ‘when set to a strong fire,
evaporates in the same manner as in an Æolopile, and vents itself at the
mouth in a constant blast, blowing the fire so strongly that it is very
audible, and makes a sensible impression in that part of the fire where
the blast lights.’
The custom was this. An obligation lay upon the lord of the adjacent
manor of Essington, every New Year’s Day, to bring a goose to Hilton,
and drive it three times round the hall-fire, which Jack of Hilton was
all the time blowing by the discharge of his steam. He was then to carry
the bird into the kitchen and deliver it to the cook; and when it was
dressed he was to carry it in a dish to the table of his lord paramount,
the lord of Hilton, receiving in return a dish of meat for his own mess.
An annual payment, called Moseley’s Dole, was formerly made by the
corporation, consisting of a penny a piece to all the inhabitants of
Walsall, and of the adjoining parish of Rushall, which is supposed to
have anciently formed part of that of Walsall.
Three persons were employed to make the distribution, who began on New
Year’s Day, and went through the parishes, giving a penny to each inmate
of every house, whether permanently or accidentally abiding there.
It is stated by Plot (_History of Staffordshire_), that the earliest
mention of this dole is in the 36th Henry VIII., when 7_l._ 10_s._ 9_d._
discharged it. The first trace of it, however, that is found in the
documents of the corporation is in 1632, when its amount was 14_l._
9_s._ 4_d._ The amount increased gradually till 1799, when it was
60_l._, and until the time of its cessation in 1825, it remained yearly
about the same.
There are many traditions respecting the origin of this dole, but they
all concur in attributing it to one Thomas Moseley, from whom an estate
at Bascott in Warwickshire was derived. The donor, in granting this
estate to the Corporation, charged it with the annual payment of nine
marks to the Abbot of Hales Owen, “who should keep one mark for his
labours in distributing the remaining eight marks, at the _obit_ of the
said Thomas Moseley at Walsall, for the souls of the said Thomas and
Margary his wife, and others; and this by the oversight of the Vicar of
Walsall, and of all the chaplains of the Guild of St. John the Baptist,
of the church of Walsall.”
The eight marks above named were no doubt the origin of the dole, and
would, before the Reformation, be amply sufficient to supply a penny a
piece to all the parishioners, or at least to all who repaired to the
church on the obit day, to pray for the donor and his wife--a
superstitious custom which caused the estate to be seized by Henry
VIII., when he suppressed the monasteries.--_History of Staffordshire_,
White, 1857, p. 645; _Old English Customs and Charities_, 1842, p. 55.
SUSSEX.
At Hastings, apples, nuts, oranges, &c., as well as money, are thrown
out of the windows to be scrambled for by the fisher-boys and men. The
custom is not kept up with the spirit of former days.
WARWICKSHIRE.
In the city of Coventry a sort of cake known by the name of _God-cakes_
is sent. They are used by all classes, and vary in price from a
halfpenny to one pound. They are invariably made in a triangular shape,
an inch thick, and filled with a kind of mincemeat. So general is the
use of them on the first day of the New Year, that the cheaper sorts are
hawked about the streets as hot cross buns are on Good Friday in London.
This custom seems peculiar to Coventry.--_N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. ii. p.
229.
WORCESTERSHIRE.
A belief exists in this county, that if the carol singer who first comes
to the door on New Year’s morning be admitted at the front door,
conducted through the house, and let out at the back the inmates will
have good luck during the year.--_N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. iii. p. 313.
YORKSHIRE.
The following quaint account of a whimsical custom formerly observed on
New Year’s Day is taken from Blount’s _Fragmenta Antiquitatis_, 1815, p.
555:
Near Hutton Conyers there is a large common, called Hutton Conyers Moor,
whereof William Aislabie, Esq., of Studley Royal (lord of the Manor of
Hutton Conyers), is lord of the soil, and on which there is a large
coney-warren belonging to the lord. The occupiers of messuages and
cottages within the several towns of Hutton Conyers, Baldersby, Rainton,
Dishforth, and Hewick, have right of estray for their sheep to certain
limited boundaries on the common, and each township has a shepherd.
The lord’s shepherd has a pre-eminence of tending his sheep on every
part of the common; and wherever he herds the lord’s sheep, the several
other shepherds are to give way to him, and give up their
_hoofing-place_ so long as he pleases to depasture the lord’s sheep
thereon. The lord holds his court the first day in the year, to entitle
those several townships to such right of estray; the shepherd of each
township attends the court, and does fealty, by bringing to the court a
large apple-pie, and a twopenny sweetcake (except the shepherd of
Hewick, who compounds by paying sixteen-pence for all, which is drunk as
after mentioned,) and a wooden spoon; each pie is cut in two, and
divided by the bailiff, one half between the steward, bailiff, and the
tenant of the coney-warren before mentioned, and the other half into six
parts, and divided amongst the six shepherds of the above mentioned six
townships. In the pie brought by the shepherd of Rainton an inner one is
made, filled with prunes. The cakes are divided in the same manner. The
bailiff of the manor provides furmenty and mustard, and delivers to each
shepherd a slice of cheese and a penny roll. The furmenty, well mixed
with mustard, is put into an earthen pot, and placed in a hole in the
ground, in a garth belonging to the bailiff’s house; to which place the
steward of the court, with the bailiff, tenant of the warren, and six
shepherds, adjourn with their respective wooden spoons. The bailiff
provides spoons for the stewards, the tenant of the warren, and himself.
The steward first pays respect to the furmenty, by taking a large
spoonful; the bailiff has the next honour, the tenant of the warren
next, then the shepherd of Hutton Conyers, and afterwards the other
shepherds by regular turns; then each person is served with a glass of
ale (paid for by the sixteen-pence brought by the Hewick shepherd), and
the health of the lord of the manor is drank; then they adjourn back to
the bailiff’s house, and the further business of the court is proceeded
with.
Each pie contains about a peck of flour, is about sixteen or eighteen
inches diameter, and as large as will go into the mouth of an ordinary
oven. The bailiff of the manor measures them with a rule, and takes the
diameter; and if they are not of a sufficient capacity, he threatens to
return them, and fine the town. If they are large enough, he divides
them with a rule and compasses into four equal parts; of which the
steward claims one, the warrener another, and the remainder is divided
amongst the shepherds. In respect to the furmenty, the top of the dish
in which it is put is placed level with the surface of the ground; all
persons present are entitled to eat of it, and those who do not, are not
deemed loyal to the lord. Every shepherd is obliged to eat of it, and
for that purpose is to take a spoon in his pocket to the court; for if
any of them neglect to carry a spoon with him he is to lay him down upon
his belly, and sup the furmenty, with his face to the pot or dish; at
which time it is usual, by way of sport, for some of the bystanders to
dip his face into the furmenty; and sometimes a shepherd, for the sake
of diversion, will purposely leave his spoon at home.
In the North Riding of Yorkshire, those who have not the common
materials for making a fire, generally sit without one on New Year’s
Day; for none of their neighbours, although hospitable at other times,
will suffer them to light a candle at their fires. If they do, it is
believed that one of the family will die within the year.--_Gent. Mag._
1811, vol. lxxxi. p. 424.
Subjoined is all that appears to have survived of the Yorkshire _Hagmena
song_:[2]
“To-night it is the New Year’s night, to-morrow is the day,
And we are come for our right and for our ray,
As we used to do in old King Henry’s day
Sing fellows, sing, hag man, ha!
If you go to the bacon-flick, cut me a good bit;
Cut, cut, and low, beware of your maw;
Cut, cut, and round, beware of your thumb,
That me and my merry men may have some.
Sing fellows, sing, hag-man, ha!
If you go to the black ark, bring me ten marks;
Ten marks, ten pound, throw it down upon the ground,
That me and my merry men may have some.
Sing fellows, sing, hag-man, ha!”
Brand’s _Pop. Antiq._ 1870, vol. i. p. 11.
[2] See ‘New Year’s Eve.’
SCOTLAND.
In the Memoirs of Lord Langdale by Sir T. D. Hardy, 1852, vol. i. p. 55,
occurs the following:
“Being in Scotland, I ought to tell you of Scotch customs; and really
they have a charming one on this occasion (i.e. New Year’s Day). Whether
it is meant as a farewell ceremony to the old one, or an introduction
to the New Year, I can’t tell; but on the 31st of December, almost
everybody has a party, either to dine or sup. The company, almost
entirely consisting of young people, wait together till twelve o’clock
strikes, at which time every one begins to move, and they all fall to
work. At what? why, kissing. Each male is successively locked in pure
Platonic embrace with each female; and after this grand ceremony, which
of course creates infinite fun, they separate and go home. This matter
is not at all confined to these, but wherever man meets woman it is the
particular privilege of this hour. The common people think it necessary
to drink what they call _hot-pint_, which consists of strong beer,
whisky, eggs, &c.; a most horrid composition; as bad, or worse than that
infamous mixture called _fig-one_,[3] which the English people drink on
Good Friday.”
[3] Doubtless a misprint for _fig-sue_. See under Good Friday.
The letter from which this is an extract is signed Henry Beckersteth,
and dated Edinburgh, January 1st, 1802.
Till very few years ago, in Scotland (says a correspondent of Chambers’
_Book of Days_, vol. i. p. 28), the custom of _first-footing_ was
practised on New Year’s morning.
On the approach of twelve o’clock of the last night of the old year, a
_hot-pint_[4] was prepared--that is, a kettle or flagon full of warm,
spiced, and sweetened ale, with an infusion of spirits. When the clock
had struck the knell of the departed year, each member of the family
drank of this mixture, “and good health, and a happy New Year, and many
of them, to all the rest,” with a general hand-shaking, and perhaps a
dance round the table, with the addition of a song to the tune of Hey
tuttie taitie:
“Weel may we a’ be,
Ill may we never see.
Here’s to the king
And the gude companie!” &c.
[4] Called also a _het-pint_. _Time’s Telescope_, 1824, p. 3.
The elders of the family would then most probably sally out with the hot
kettle, and bearing also a competent provision of buns and short-bread,
or bread-and-cheese, with the design of visiting their neighbours, and
interchanging with them the same cordial greetings. If they met by the
way another party similarly bent whom they knew, they would stop, and
give and take sips from their respective kettles. Reaching the friend’s
house, they would enter with vociferous good wishes, and soon send the
kettle circulating. If they were the first to enter the house since
twelve o’clock they were deemed as the _first-foot_; and as such it was
most important for luck to the family in the coming year, that they
should make this entry not empty-handed, but with their hands full of
cakes, and bread-and-cheese; of which, on the other hand, civility
demanded that each individual in the house should partake.
To such an extent did this custom prevail in Edinburgh, in the
recollection of persons still living, that according to their account,
the principal streets were more thronged between twelve and one in the
morning than they usually were at mid-day. Much innocent mirth
prevailed, and mutual good feelings were largely promoted. An unlucky
circumstance which took place on the 1st January, 1812, proved the means
of nearly extinguishing the custom. A small party of reckless boys
formed the design of turning the innocent festivities of _first-footing_
to account for purposes of plunder. They kept their counsel well. No
sooner had the people come abroad on the principal thoroughfares of the
Old Town than these youths sallied out in small bands, and commenced the
business which they had undertaken. Their previous agreement was _to
look out for the white neckcloths_, such being the best mark by which
they could distinguish in the dark individuals likely to carry any
property worthy of being taken. A great number of gentlemen were thus
spoiled of their watches and other valuables. The least resistance was
resented by the most brutal maltreatment. A policeman and a young man of
the rank of a clerk in Leith died of the injuries they had received. An
affair so singular, so uncharacteristic of the people among whom it
happened, produced a widespread and lasting feeling of surprise. The
outrage was expiated by the execution of three of the youthful rioters
on the chief scene of their wickedness; but from that time it was
observed that the old custom of going about with the _hot pint_--the
ancient wassail--fell off.
There was in Scotland also a _first-footing_ independent of the
_hot-pint_. It was a time for some youthful friend of the family to
steal to the door, in the hope of meeting there the young maiden of his
fancy, and obtaining the privilege of a kiss as her _first-foot_. Great
was the disappointment on his part, and great the joking among the
family, if, through accident or plan, some half-withered aunt or ancient
grand-dame came to receive him instead of the blooming Jenny.--_Book of
Days_, vol. i. p. 29.
In the south of Scotland, as soon as the clock has struck the midnight
hour, one of a family goes to the well as quickly as possible, and
carefully skims it; this they call getting the scum or ream (cream) of
the well:
“Twall struck--twa neebour hizzies raise,
An’ liltin gaed a sad gate;
The flower o’ the well to our house gaes
An’ I’ll the bonniest lad get.”
The _flower of the well_ signifies the first pail of water, and the girl
who is so fortunate as to obtain the prize is supposed to have more than
a double chance of obtaining the most accomplished young man in the
parish.--_Med. Ævi Kalend._ vol. i. p. 129.
As soon as the last night of the year sets in, it is the signal with the
Strathdown Highlander for the suspension of his usual employment, and he
directs his attention to more agreeable callings. The men form into
bands, with tethers and axes, and shaping their course to the juniper
bushes, they return home laden with mighty loads, which are arranged
round the fire to dry until morning. A certain discreet person is
despatched to the _dead and living ford_ to draw a pitcher of water in
profound silence, without the vessel touching the ground, lest its
virtue should be destroyed, and on his return all retire to rest. Early
on New Year’s morning the _usque-cashrichd_, or water from the _dead and
living ford_, is drunk, as a potent charm until next New Year’s Day,
against the spells of witchcraft, the malignity of evil eyes, and the
activity of all infernal agency. The qualified Highlander then takes a
large brush, with which he profusely asperses the occupants of all beds;
from whom it is not unusual for him to receive ungrateful remonstrances
against ablution. This ended, and the doors and windows being thoroughly
closed, and all crevices stopped, he kindles piles of the collected
juniper in the different apartments, till the vapour from the burning
branches condenses into opaque clouds, and coughing, sneezing, wheezing,
gasping, and other demonstrations of suffocation ensue. The operator,
aware that the more intense the “smuchdan” the more propitious the
solemnity, disregards these indications, and continues, with streaming
eyes and averted head, to increase the fumigation, until in his own
defence he admits the air to recover the exhausted household and
himself. He then treats the horses, cattle, and other bestial stock in
the town with the same smothering, to keep them from harm throughout the
year. When the gude wife gets up, and having ceased from coughing, has
gained sufficient strength to reach the bottle _dhu_, she administers
its comfort to the relief of the sufferers; laughter takes the place of
complaint, all the family get up, wash their faces, and receive the
visits of their neighbours, who arrive full of congratulations peculiar
to the day. _Mu nase choil orst_, “My Candlemas bond upon you,” is the
customary salutation, and means, in plain words, “You owe me a New
Year’s gift.” A point of great emulation is, who shall salute the other
first, because the one who does so is entitled to a gift from the person
saluted. Breakfast, consisting of all procurable luxuries, is then
served, the neighbours not engaged are invited to partake, and the day
ends in festivity.--_Popular Superstitions of the Highlanders of
Scotland_, Stewart, 1851.
Pennant, in his _Tour in Scotland_ (1790, vol. i. p. 206), says that on
New Year’s Day the Highlanders burn juniper before their cattle.
FORFARSHIRE.
At the commencement of the New Year[5] the opulent burghers of Montrose
begin to feast with their friends, and to go a round of visits, which
takes up the space of many weeks. Upon such occasions, the gravest is
expected to be merry, and to join in a cheerful song.--_Stat. Acc. of
Scotland_, Sinclair, 1793, vol. v. p. 48.
[5] Also at Christmas.
ORKNEY ISLES.
At Lady, companies of men go to the houses of the rich, and awake the
family by singing the New Year’s song, in full chorus. When the song is
concluded, the family entertain the musicians with ale and bread, and
give them a smoked goose or a piece of beef.--_Stat. Acc. of Scotland_,
1845, vol. xv. p. 142.
At the parishes of Cross, Burness, &c., New Year’s gifts, under the
title of “Christmas presents,” are given to maid-servants by their
masters.--_Stat. Account of Scotland_, Sinclair, 1793, vol. vii. p. 488.
HANDSEL MONDAY.
SCOTLAND.
The first Monday of the year is a great holiday among the peasantry of
Scotland and children generally, as being the day peculiarly devoted in
that country to the giving and receiving of presents. It is on this
account called _Handsel Monday_, handsel being in Scotland the
equivalent of a Christmas-box, but more especially implying a gift at
the commencement of a season or the induing of some new garment. The
young people visit their seniors in expectation of _tips_ (the _word_,
but not the _action_, unknown in the north). Postmen, scavengers, and
deliverers of newspapers look for their little annual guerdons. Among
the rural population, _Auld Handsel Monday_, i.e. Handsel Monday old
style, or the first Monday after the twelfth of the month, is the day
usually held. The farmers used to treat the whole of their servants on
that morning to a liberal breakfast of roast and boiled, with ale,
whisky, and cake, to their utmost contentment, after which the guests
went about seeing their friends for the remainder of the day. It was
also the day on which any disposed for change gave up their places, and
when new servants were engaged. Even now, when most old fashions are
much decayed, _Auld Handsel Monday_ continues to be the holiday of the
year to the class of farm-labourers in Scotland.--_Book of Days_, vol.
i. p. 52.
CO. OF EDINBURGH.
At Currie the annual fair and Old Handsel Monday are the only periodical
holidays for the working classes; on which latter occasion the servants
enjoy the pleasure of returning to the bosom of their families, and
spending the close of the day with their friends. The early part is
generally observed in the less innocent amusement of raffles, and
shooting with fire-arms, which, being often old and rusty, as well as
wielded by inexperienced hands, have occasioned some disagreeable
accidents.--_Stat. Acc. of Scotland_ 1845, vol. i. p. 550.
JAN. 5.] EVE OF THE EPIPHANY.
Formerly itinerant minstrels used to bear a bowl of spiced wine to the
houses of the gentry and others, from whom they expected a hospitable
reception, and calling their bowl a wassail-bowl, they drank wassail to
their entertainers.
In ancient kalendars is an observation on the 5th day of January, the
Vigil of the Epiphany, “Kings created by beans,” and the sixth day is
called “Festival of Kings,” with another remark, that “the ceremony of
electing kings was continued with feasting for many days.”--_Med. Ævi
Kalend._ vol. i. p. 134.
DEVONSHIRE.
At Kingsbridge and Salcombe it was formerly customary for the ciderist,
attended by his workmen with a large can or pitcher of cider, guns
charged with powder, &c., to repair to the orchard, and there at the
foot of one of the best-bearing apple-trees, drink the following toast
three times repeated, discharging the fire-arms in conclusion:
“Here’s to thee, old apple tree,
Whence thou may’st bud,
And whence thou may’st blow!
And whence thou may’st bear apples enow!
Hats full! caps full!
Bushel--bushel-sacks full!
And my pockets full too! Huzza!”
The pitcher being emptied, they returned to the house, the doors of
which they were certain to find bolted by the females; who, however bad
the weather might be, were inexorable to all entreaties to open them,
till some one had divined what was on the spit. This was generally not
easily thought of, and if edible was the reward of him who first named
it. The party were then admitted.--_Kingsbridge and Salcombe
Historically Depicted_, 1819, p. 71. Vide _Gent. Mag._ 1791, vol. lxi.
p. 403.
Brand, on the authority of a Cornishman, relates it also as a custom
with the Devonshire people to go after supper into the orchard with a
large milk-pan full of cider, having roasted apples pressed into it. Out
of this each person in company takes what is called a _clome_--i.e.
earthenware--cup, full of liquor, and standing under each of the more
fruitful apple-trees, passing by those that are not good bearers, he
addresses them in the following words:
“Health to thee, good apple tree,
Well to bear pocket-fulls, hat-fulls,
Peck-fulls, bushel bag-fulls;”
and then drinking up part of the contents, he throws the rest, with the
fragments of the roasted apples, at the tree. At each cup, the company
set up a shout.--_Pop. Antiq._ 1849, vol. i. p. 29.
Herrick thus alludes to this custom and the superstition attached to it:
“Wassail the trees, that they may bear
You many a plum and many a pear;
For more or less fruit they will bring,
As you do give them wassailing.”
GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
In the parish of Pauntley, and the surrounding neighbourhood, the
servants of each farmer formerly assembled together in one of the fields
that had been sown with wheat. At the end of twelve lands, they made
twelve fires in a row with straw, around one of which, much larger than
the rest, they drank a cheerful glass of cider to their master’s health,
and success to the future harvest; then, returning home, they feasted on
cakes soaked in cider, which they claimed as a reward for their past
labours in sowing the grain.--Fosbrooke, _Hist. of Gloucestershire_,
1807, vol. ii. p. 232.
HEREFORDSHIRE.
At the approach of the evening, the farmers with their friends and
servants meet together, and about six o’clock walk out to a field where
wheat is growing. In the highest part of the ground, twelve small fires
and one large one, are lighted up.[6] The attendants, headed by the
master of the family, pledge the company in old cider, which circulates
freely on these occasions. A circle is formed round the large fire, when
a general shout and hallooing takes place, which you hear answered from
all the adjacent villages and fields. Sometimes fifty or sixty of these
fires may be seen all at once. This being finished, the company return
home, where the good housewife and her maids are preparing a good
supper. A large cake is always provided, with a hole in the middle.
After supper, the company all attend the bailiff (or head of the oxen)
to the wain-house, where the following particulars are observed: The
master, at the head of his friends, fills the cup (generally with strong
ale), and stands opposite the first or finest of the oxen. He then
pledges him in a curious toast, the company follow his example with all
the other oxen, addressing each by his name. This being finished, the
large cake is produced, and, with much ceremony put on the horn of the
first ox, through the hole above mentioned.
[6] These fires represented our Lord and the twelve Apostles.
The ox is then tickled, to make him toss his head; if he throw the cake
behind, it is the mistress’s perquisite; if before (in what is termed
the boosy) the bailiff himself claims the prize. The company then return
to the house, the doors of which they find locked, nor will they be
opened until some joyous songs are sung. On their gaining admittance a
scene of mirth ensues, which lasts the greater part of the
night.--_Gent. Mag._ 1791, vol. lxi. p. 116.
STAFFORDSHIRE.
According to Blount the inhabitants of this county at one time made a
fire on the eve of the Epiphany, in memory of the blazing star that
conducted the three Magi to the manger at Bethlehem.
YORKSHIRE.
In the neighbourhood of Leeds, families formerly invited their
relations, friends, and neighbours to their houses, for the purpose of
playing at cards, and partaking of a supper of which mince pies were an
indispensable ingredient. After supper was over the wassail-cup or
wassail-bowl was brought in, of which every one partook, by taking with
a spoon out of the ale a roasted apple and eating it, and then drinking
the healths of the company out of the bowl, wishing them a merry
Christmas, and a happy New Year. The festival of Christmas used in this
part of the country to be held for twenty days, and some persons
extended it even to Candlemas.
The ingredients put into the bowl, viz., ale, sugar, nutmeg, and roasted
apples, were usually called _lambs’ wool_, and the night on which it was
drunk was commonly called _Wassail Eve_.--_Gent. Mag._ 1784, vol. liv.
p. 98.
IRELAND.
In Ireland “on Twelve Eve in Christmas, they use to set up as high as
they can a sieve of oats, and in it a dozen of candles set round, and in
the centre one larger, all lighted. This in memory of our Saviour and
his Apostles, light of the world.”--Sir Henry Piers’ _Description of the
County of Westmeath_, 1682, in Vallancey’s _Collectanea de Rebus
Hibernicis_, vol. i. No. 1, p. 124.
JAN. 6.] TWELFTH DAY.
_THE EPIPHANY._
In its character as a popular festival, Twelfth Day stands only inferior
to Christmas. The leading object held in view is to do honour to “the
three wise men,” or, as they are more generally denominated, “the three
kings.” It is a Christian custom, ancient past memory, and probably
suggested by a paean custom, to indulge in a pleasantry called the
_Election of kings by beans_. Some, however, maintain it to have been
derived from the custom observed by the Roman children, who, at the end
of their saturnalia, drew lots with beans, to see who would be king.
In England in later times, a large cake was made, with a bean or silver
penny inserted, and this was called _Twelfth-cake_. The family and
friends being assembled, the cake was divided by lot, and whoever got
the piece containing the bean was accepted as the king for the day, and
called King of the Bean. It appears also that there was always a queen
as well as a king on Twelfth-Night. A writer, speaking of the
celebration in the South of England in 1774, says: “After tea a cake is
produced with two bowls containing the fortunate chances for the
different sexes. The host fills up the tickets, and the whole company,
except the king and queen, are to be ministers of state, maids of
honour, or ladies of the bed-chamber. Often the host and hostess, more
by design than accident, become king and queen. According to Twelfth Day
law, each party is to support his character till midnight.”