England, to go out and gather slips with the willow-flowers or buds at
this time. These seem to have been selected as substitutes for the real
palm, because they are generally the only things which can be easily
obtained at this season. This practice is still observed in the
neighbourhood of London. The young people go _a-palming_; and the sallow
is sold in London streets for the whole week preceding Palm Sunday. In
the north it is called going a-palmsoning or palmsning.--Brand, _Pop.
Antiq._ 1849, vol. i. p. 127.
Stow in his _Survey of London_ (1603, p. 98) says that “in the weeke
before Easter had ye great shewes made for the fetching in of a _twisted
tree or with_, as they termed it, out of the woodes into the kinge’s
house, and the like into every man’s house of honor or worship.”
Probably this was a substitute for the palm.
An instance of the great antiquity of this practice in England is
afforded by the Domesday Survey, under Shropshire, vol. i. p. 252, where
a tenant is stated to have rendered in payment a bundle of box twigs on
Palm Sunday, “Terra dimid. car unus reddit inde _fascem buxi in die
Palmarum_.”
By an Act of Common Council, 1 and 2 Phil. and Mary, for retrenching
expenses, it was ordered, “that from henceforth _there shall be no wyth
fetcht home at the Maior’s or Sheriff’s Houses_. Neither shall they keep
any lord of misrule in any of their houses.”--Strype’s _Stow_, 1720,
book i. p 246.
It was formerly the custom in some of the northern parts of England for
the young men and maids who received the sacrament to walk after dinner
into the corn-fields, and to bless the corn and fruits of the
earth.--Kennett, MS. Brit. Mus.
CORNWALL.
In former days persons resorted to “Our Lady of Nantswell” with a palm
cross in one hand and an offering in the other. The offering fell to the
priest’s share: the cross was thrown into the well, and if it swam was
regarded as an omen that the person who threw it would outlive the year;
if however it sank, a short ensuing death was foreboded.--Carew, _Survey
of Cornwall_, 1811.
DERBYSHIRE.
On Palm Sunday morning, the boys go into the fields and gather branches
of the willow; these are carried about during the day, and in some
churches it is customary to use them for decoration.--_Jour. of Arch.
Assoc._, 1852, vol. vii. p. 204.
HEREFORDSHIRE.
The return of Palm Sunday has, from time immemorial, been observed at
Hentland Church in a peculiar manner. The minister and congregation
receive from the churchwardens a cake or bun, and, in former times, a
cup of beer also. This is consumed within the church, and is supposed to
imply a desire on the part of those who partake of it to forgive and
forget all animosities, and thus prepare themselves for the festival of
Easter.--_N. & Q. 3rd S._ vol. vii. p. 275.
HERTFORDSHIRE.
Hone, in his _Year Book_ (1838, p. 1593), states that at Kempton it has
long been a custom for the inhabitants to eat figs on this day, there
termed _Fig Sunday_, where it is also usual for them to keep wassel, and
make merry with their friends.
LINCOLNSHIRE.
A curious and quaint custom existed for very many years at Caistor
Church, in Lincolnshire, on Palm Sunday, connected with a tenure of
property; and in the particulars of sale, circulated in 1845, is the
following account of it:
“This estate is held subject to the performance, on Palm Sunday in every
year, of the ceremony of cracking a whip in Caistor Church, in the said
county of Lincoln, which has been regularly and duly performed on Palm
Sunday, from time immemorial, in the following manner:
“The whip is taken every Palm Sunday by a man from Broughton to the
parish of Caistor, who, while the minister is reading the first lesson,
cracks it three distinct times in the church porch, then folds it neatly
up, and retires to a seat. At the commencement of the second lesson, he
approaches the minister, and kneeling opposite to him with the whip in
his hand, and the purse at the end of it, held perpendicularly over his
head, waves it thrice, and continues in a steadfast position throughout
the whole of the chapter. The ceremony is then concluded. The whip has a
leathern purse tied at the end of it, which ought to contain thirty
pieces of silver, said to represent, according to Scripture, “the price
of blood.” Four pieces of weechelm[24] tree, of different lengths, are
affixed to the stock, denoting the different Gospels of the holy
Evangelists; the three distinct cracks are typical of St. Peter’s denial
of his Lord and Master three times; and the waving it over the
minister’s head as an intended homage to the Blessed Trinity.”
[24] Properly Wych elm (_Ulmus montana_).
In an article on this subject in the _Archæological Journal_ (1849, vol.
vi. p. 239), the writer says: “I have not been able to trace this custom
to its source. It would appear to have prevailed in very primitive
times, and yet the circumstance of the custom requiring the more
essential part of the ceremony to be performed during the reading of the
_second lesson_ is scarcely reconcilable with this idea; but I am
induced to think that the custom prevailed long before our present
ritual existed, and that it has in this respect been accommodated to the
changes which time has effected in the services of the Church.
Unfortunately, the title-deeds do not contain the slightest reference to
the custom. I have no means of tracing the title beyond 1675. The parish
of Broughton is a very large one, and anterior to 1675 belonged, with
small exceptions, to the Anderson family; but whether Stephen Anderson,
the then owner of the manor, and the 2200 acres of land sold in 1845,
was owner of the other part of Broughton, which has long been in the
possession of Lord Yarborough’s ancestors, I cannot say. A partition of
the property appears to have been made between the co-heiresses, and the
manor and 2200 acres being settled in 1772 by Sir Stephen Anderson, of
Eyeworth, on his niece, Frances Elizabeth Stephens, and her issue; upon
her death it became the property of her son, Ellys Anderson Stephens,
who died in 1844, leaving four daughters and co-heiresses, and who, in
1845, sold the property to a client of mine, Mr. John Coupland, and who
afterwards sold the manor and about 600 acres to Lord Yarborough, 982
acres to myself, and other portions to different purchasers, reserving
to himself about 200 acres. I cannot make out when this partition (above
alluded to) took place. The deed or will by which it was effected would
probably refer to the custom and provide for the performance of it, but
there is no document with the title deeds tending to show whether the
custom was due only in respect of the manor, and 2200 acres, or in
respect of Lord Yarborough’s portion of the parish as well. The fact of
a partition having taken place, rests rather upon tradition than
evidence; but supposing it, as I do, to be a fact, it seems strange that
the title-deeds should be silent as to the obligation imposed upon the
owner of the manor to perform the service by which the whole property
was held. The manor and estate sold in 1845, were of the tenure of
ancient demesne; a tenure which is very rare at this time of day, at
least in this part of the world. Probably a reference to Lord
Yarborough’s title-deeds would clear up the mystery, or Sir Charles
Anderson may have the means of doing so.
“I may also refer to Sir Culling Eardley as possibly in a position to
throw some light on the subject; for it was to him and his ancestors, as
lords of the manor of Hundon, in Caistor, to whom this service was due,
and for whose use the whip was deposited after the service in the pew of
Caistor Church, belonging to the lord of the manor of Hundon. All the
versions that I have seen of the custom favour the opinion that it had
some reference to the subject of the second lesson for Palm Sunday,
which is the 26th chapter of St. Matthew, and if so, it would seem
likely to follow, that the principal part of the ceremony took place at
the reading of that chapter; but in that case it has clearly undergone
some change, because, until the last revision of the Book of Common
Prayer, there was no proper second lesson for the morning of Palm
Sunday; but the 26th chapter of St. Matthew was part of the Gospel for
that day, and had been so from Anglo-Saxon times.
Perhaps the better opinion is, that this custom, recently discontinued,
had been so varied from time to time as to have borne at last little
resemblance to what originally took place. I do not suppose at its
commencement it was regarded as at all irreverent, or was intended to be
otherwise than most decorous, according to the idea of a semi-barbarous
age; what it really was at first it is now impossible to conjecture or
discover. The explanation suggested in the particulars of sale appears
too much in accordance with modern notions to be altogether correct.
Some allege a tradition that it was a self-inflicted penance by a former
owner of the Broughton estate for killing a boy with such a whip.”
In May, 1836, the following petition was presented to the House of Lords
by the lord of the manor against the annual observance of this custom;
but without effect:
“_To the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled._
“The petition of the undersigned Sir Culling Eardley Smith, of Bedwell
Park, in the county of Hertford, sheweth, that your petitioner is lord
of the manor of Hundon, near Caistor, in the county of Lincoln.
“That the lord of the manor of Broughton, near Brigg, in the same
county, yearly, on Palm Sunday, employs a person to perform the
following ceremony in the parish church at Caistor, etc.; that the
performance of this superstitious ceremony is utterly inconsistent with
a place of Christian worship.
“That it is generally supposed that it is a penance for murder, and
that, in the event of the performance being neglected, the lord of the
manor of Broughton would be liable to the penalty to the lord of the
manor of Hundon.
“That your petitioner being extremely anxious for the discontinuance of
this indecent and absurd practice, applied to the lord of the manor of
Broughton for the purpose, who declined entering into any negotiation
until the deed should be produced under which the ceremony was
instituted, which deed (if it has ever existed) your petitioner is
unable to produce.
“That your petitioner subsequently applied to the Bishop of Lincoln to
use his influence to prevent the repetition of the ceremony, and offered
to guarantee the churchwardens against any loss in consequence of their
refusal to permit it.
“That your petitioner believes there are no trustees of a dissenting
chapel who would permit the minister or officers of their chapel to
sanction such a desecration.
“That the ceremony took place, as usual, on Palm Sunday, in this year.
“Your petitioner therefore prays that your Lordships will be pleased to
ascertain from the bishop of the diocese why the ceremony took place;
that, if the existing law enables any ecclesiastical persons to prevent
it, the law may be hereafter enforced; and that, if the present law is
insufficient, a law may be passed enabling the bishop to interfere for
the purpose of saving the national Church from scandal.
“And your petitioner will ever pray.”
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE.
It is the universal custom, with both rich and poor, to eat figs on this
day. On the Saturday previous, the market at Northampton is abundantly
supplied with figs, and there are more purchased at this time than
throughout the rest of the year; even the charity children, in some
places, are regaled with them.
No conjecture is offered as to the origin or purpose of this singular
custom. May it not have some reference to Christ’s desiring to eat figs
the day after his triumphant entrance into Jerusalem?--Baker, _Glossary
of Northamptonshire Words and Phrases_, 1854, i. p. 232.
OXFORDSHIRE.
In some parts of this country figs are eaten on Palm Sunday, which is in
consequence called Fig Sunday.[25]--_N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. i. p. 227.
[25] See Mid-Lent Sunday.
SURREY.
From time immemorial a fair, or wake, has been held in the churchyard of
Crowhurst on Palm Sunday. Formerly, excesses were frequently committed
on the occasion through the sale of liquors; but of late years the fair
has been conducted with great decorum.--Brayley, _Topographical History
of Surrey_, 1841, iv. p. 132.
WILTSHIRE.
On St. Martin’s Hill, near Marlborough, at which there is an ancient
camp more than thirty acres in extent, Palm Sunday is kept; and persons
in great numbers used to assemble there, each carrying a hazel-nut bough
with the catkins hanging from it.--_N. & Q. 2nd S._ v. p. 447.
YORKSHIRE.
In Yorkshire and the northern counties Palm Sunday is a day of great
diversion, young and old amusing themselves with sprigs of willow, or in
manufacturing palm-crosses, which are stuck up or suspended in houses.
In the afternoon and evening a number of impudent girls and young men
sally forth and assault all unprotected females whom they meet out of
doors, seizing their shoes, and compelling them to redeem them with
money. These disgraceful scenes are continued until Monday morning, when
the girls extort money from the men by the same means; these
depredations were formerly prolonged till Tuesday noon.--_Time’s
Telescope_, 1822, p. 68.
At Filey figs are also eaten on this day.--Cole, _History of Filey_,
1826, p. 135.
WALES.
In South Wales Palm Sunday goes by the name of Flowering Sunday, from
the custom of persons assembling in the churchyards, and spreading fresh
flowers upon the graves of friends and relatives.--TIMES, 13th April,
1868, p. 7.
MARCH 16.] LANCASHIRE.
A rural celebration used to be held at Poulton-in-the-Fylds on the
Monday before Good Friday, by young men, under the name of “Jolly Lads,”
who visited such houses as were likely to afford good entertainments,
and excited mirth by their grotesque habits and discordant noises. This
was evidently borrowed from the practice of the _pace_ or _pask eggers_,
of other parts of the county, merely preceding instead of following
Easter.--Baines, _Hist. of Lancashire_, 1836, vol. iv. p. 436.
OXFORDSHIRE.
Aubrey, in MS. Lansd., 231, gives the following: It is the custom for
the boys and girls in country schools in several parts of Oxfordshire,
at their breaking up in the week before Easter, to go in a gang from
house to house, with little clacks of wood, and when they come to any
door, there they fall a-beating their clacks, and singing this song:
“Herrings, herrings, white and red,
Ten a penny, Lent’s dead;
Rise, dame, and give an egg,
Or else a piece of bacon.
One for Peter, two for Paul,
Three for Jack a Lent’s all.
Away, Lent, away!”
They expect from every house some eggs, or a piece of bacon, which they
carry baskets to receive, and feast upon at the week’s end. At first
coming to the door, they all strike up very loud, “Herrings, herrings,”
&c., often repeated. As soon as they receive any largess, they begin the
chorus--
“Here sits a good wife,
Pray God save her life;
Set her upon a hod,
And drive her to God.”
But if they lose their expectation and must goe away empty, then, with a
full cry,--
“Here sits a bad wife,
The devil take her life;
Set her upon a swivell,
And send her to the devil.”
And, in further indignation, they commonly cut the latch of the door, or
stop the key-hole with dirt, or leave some more nasty token of
displeasure.--Thom’s _Anecdotes and Traditions_, 1839, p. 113.
MARCH 17.] ST. PATRICK’S DAY.
In the metropolis, says Stow in his _Sports, Pastimes, and Customs of
London_ (1847, p. 241), this anniversary is generally observed at court
as a high festival, and the nobility crowd and pay their compliments in
honour of the tutelary saint of Ireland. It is usually selected, also,
for soliciting aid to a great national object--the promotion of
education.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
In the _Illustrated London News_ of 22nd March, 1862, p. 285, is the
following paragraph:
“Lord Langford, as the highest Irish nobleman in Eton School, presented,
on St. Patrick’s Day, the beautifully-embroidered badges, in silver, of
St. Patrick, to the head master, the Rev. E. Balston, and the lower
master, the Rev. W. Carter, which were worn by the reverend gentlemen
during the day. About twenty-four of the Irish noblemen and gentlemen in
the school were invited to a grand breakfast with the head master, as is
customary on these occasions.”
IRELAND.
The shamrock is worn in all parts of Ireland on this day. Old women,
with plenteous supplies of trefoil, may be heard in every direction,
crying “Buy my shamrock, green shamrocks;” and children have “Patrick’s
crosses” pinned to their sleeves. This custom is supposed to have taken
its origin from the fact that when St. Patrick was preaching the
doctrine of the Trinity he made use of this plant, bearing three leaves
upon one stem, as a symbol of the great mystery.[26]
[26] Mr. Jones in his _Historical Account of the Welsh Bards_ (1794,
p. 13) says: When St. Patrick landed near Wicklow the inhabitants were
ready to stone him for attempting an innovation in the religion of
their ancestors. He requested to be heard, and explained unto them,
that God is an omnipotent, sacred Spirit, who created heaven and
earth, and that the Trinity is contained in the Unity; but they were
reluctant to give credit to his words. St. Patrick, therefore, plucked
a trefoil from the ground, and expostulated with the Hibernians: “Is
it not as possible for the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as for these
three leaves to grow upon a single stalk?” Then the Irish were
immediately convinced of their error, and were solemnly baptized by
St. Patrick.
In _Contributions towards a Cybele Hibernica_ (D. Moore and A. G. More,
1866, p. 73) is the following note: “_Trifolium repens_, Dutch clover,
Shamrock.--This is the plant still worn as shamrock on St. Patrick’s
Day, though _Medicago lupulina_ is also sold in Dublin as the shamrock.
Edward Lhwyd, the celebrated antiquary, writing in December 1699 to
Tancred Robinson, says, after a recent visit to Ireland: ‘Their shamrug
is our common clover’ (_Phil. Trans._, No. 335). Threkeld, the earliest
writer on the wild plants of Ireland, gives _Seamar-oge_ (young trefoil)
as the Gaelic name for _Trifolium pratense album_, and says expressly
that this is the plant worn by the people in their hats on St. Patrick’s
Day. Wade also gives _Seamrog_ as equivalent to _Trifolium repens_,
while the Gaelic name given for _Oxalis_ by Threkeld is _Sealgan_.”
A correspondent of _N. & Q._ (_4th S._ vol. iii. p. 235) says the
_Trifolium filiforme_ is generally worn in Cork. It grows in thick
clusters on the tops of walls and ditches, and is to be found in
abundance in old limestone quarries in the south of Ireland. The
_Trifolium minus_ is also worn.
The following whimsical song descriptive of St. Patrick is given on
Hone’s authority as one often sung by the Irish:
St. Patrick was a gentleman, and he came from decent people,
In Dublin town he built a church, and on it put a steeple;
His father was a Wollaghan, his mother an O’Grady,
His aunt she was a Kinaghan, and his wife a widow Brady.
Tooralloo, tooralloo, what a glorious man our saint was!
Tooralloo, tooralloo, O whack fal de lal, de lal, etc.
Och! Antrim hills are mighty high, and so’s the hill of Howth too;
But we all do know a mountain that is higher than them both too;
’Twas on the top of that high mount St. Patrick preach’d a sermon.
He drove the frogs into the bogs, and banished all the vermin.
Tooralloo, tooralloo, etc.
No wonder that we Irish lads, then, are so blythe and frisky;
St. Patrick was the very man that taught us to drink whisky;
Och! to be sure he had the knack, and understood distilling,
For his mother kept a sheebeen shop near the town of Enniskillen.
Tooralloo, tooralloo, etc.--
_Every Day Book_, vol. ii. p. 387.
It is customary early in February for wealthy farmers and landowners in
Ireland to brew ale to be kept till the 17th of March, St. Patrick’s
Day; and there is a delicious cake made this day, to be eaten with
pickled salmon.--_N. & Q. 3rd S._ vol. ix. p. 367.
Some years ago this day was welcomed, in the smaller towns or hamlets,
by every possible manifestation of gladness and delight. The inn, if
there was one, was thrown open to all comers, who received a certain
allowance of oaten bread and fish. This was a benevolence from the host,
and to it was added a “Patrick’s pot,” or quantum of beer; but of late
years whisky is the beverage most esteemed. The majority of those who
sought entertainment at the village inn were young men who had no
families, whilst those who had children, and especially whose families
were large, made themselves as snug as possible by the turf fire in
their own cabins. Where the village or hamlet could not boast of an inn,
the largest cabin was sought out, and poles were extended horizontally
from one end of the apartment to the other; on these poles, doors
purposely unhinged, and brought from the surrounding cabins, were
placed, so that a table of considerable dimensions was formed, round
which all seated themselves, each one providing his own oaten bread and
fish. At the conclusion of the repast they sat for the remainder of the
evening over a “Patrick’s pot,” and finally separated quietly.--_Every
Day Book_, vol. ii. p. 386.
The following description of St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland is taken from
the _Time’s Telescope_ (1827, p. 66): Every one is expected, says the
writer, to wear a sprig of shamrock in honour of the saint and his
country, and a few pence will supply a family with plenty of this
commodity. In the morning upon the breakfast table of the “master” and
“the mistress” is placed a plateful of this herb for a memento that it
is Patrick’s Day, and they must “drown the shamrock,” a figurative
expression for what the servants themselves do at night in glasses of
punch, if the heads of the family are so kind as to send down the plate
of shamrock crowned with a bottle of whisky, under which is also
expected to be found a trifle towards a treat. While the lower circles
are, on this blessed of all Irish days, thus enjoying themselves in the
evening, the higher are crowding into that room of the castle entitled
St. Patrick’s Hall, which is only opened two nights in the year--this,
and the birth-night (the 23rd of April); it is a grand ball, to which
none can be admitted who have not been presented and attended the
Viceroy’s drawing-rooms; and of course every one must appear in court
dress, or full uniforms, except that, in charity to the ladies, trains
are for that night dispensed with on account of the dancing. A few
presentations sometimes take place, after which the ball commences,
always with a country dance to the air of “Patrick’s Day,” and after
this quadrilles, etc., take their turn.
MARCH 18.] SHEELAH’S DAY.
IRELAND.
The day after St. Patrick’s Day is “Sheelah’s Day,” or the festival in
honour of Sheelah. Its observers are not so anxious to determine who
“Sheelah” was as they are earnest in her celebration. Some say she was
“Patrick’s wife,” others that she was “Patrick’s mother,” while all
agree that her immortal memory is to be maintained by potations of
whisky. The shamrock worn on St. Patrick’s Day should be worn also on
Sheelah’s Day, and on the latter night be drowned in the last glass. Yet
it frequently happens that the shamrock is flooded in the last glass of
St. Patrick’s Day, and another last glass or two, or more, on the same
night deluges the over-soddened trefoil. This is not “quite correct,”
but it is endeavoured to be remedied the next morning by the display of
a fresh shamrock, which is steeped at night in honour of “Sheelah” with
equal devotedness.--_Every Day Book_, vol. ii. p. 387.
MARCH 19.] MAUNDY, OR CHARE THURSDAY.
The day before Good Friday is termed Maundy Thursday, because, says the
_British Apollo_ (1709, ii. 7), on this day our Saviour washed his
disciples’ feet, to teach them the great duty of being humble; and
therefore he gave them a command to do as he had done, to imitate their
Master in all proper instances of condescension and humility. The
origin, consequently, of this custom is of very great antiquity, and,
unlike many other ceremonies connected with the Church before the
Reformation, remains in existence in a modified form up to the present
day. The original number of poor persons whose feet were washed by the
king or queen was thirteen, but this number was afterwards extended so
as to correspond with the age of the reigning sovereign.