of misrule “a grand captaine of mischiefe,” and has preserved a minute
description of all his wild doings in the country, of which the
following is a summary. He says that the lord of misrule on being
selected, takes twenty to sixty others, “lyke hymself,” to act as his
guard, who are decorated with ribbands and scarfs and bells on their
legs. Thus, all things set in order, they have their hobby-horses, their
dragons, and other antiques, together with the gaudie pipers and
thunderyng drummers, and strike up the devill’s dance withal. So they
march to the church, invading it, even though service be performing,
with such a confused noyse that no man can hear his own voice. Then they
adjourn to the churchyard, where booths are set up, and the rest of the
day spent in dancing and drinking. The followers of “My Lord” go about
to collect money for this, giving in return “badges and cognizances” to
wear in the hat: and do not scruple to insult, or even duck, such as
will not contribute. But, adds Stubbes, another sort of fantasticall
fooles are well pleased to bring all sorts of food and drink to furnish
out the feast.--See Disraeli, _Curiosities of Literature_, 1858, vol.
ii. p. 262; and Strutt’s _Sports and Pastimes of the People of England_,
p. 254.
_Mummers._--These were amusements derived from the Saturnalia, and so
called from the Danish _Mumme_, or Dutch _Momme_, disguise in a mask.
Christmas was the grand scene of mumming, and some mummers were
disguised like bears, others like unicorns, bringing presents. Those who
could not procure masks rubbed their faces with soot, or painted them.
In the Christmas mummeries the chief aim was to surprise by the oddity
of the masques and singularity and splendour of the dresses. Everything
was out of nature and propriety. They were often attended with an
exhibition of gorgeous machinery.--Fosbroke’s _Encylopædia of
Antiquities_, 1840, p. 669; see Strutt’s _Sports and Pastimes_, 1801,
pp. 124, 189, 190; also _N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. x. pp. 464, 465, vol. xi.
p. 271, vol. xii. p. 407; _3rd S._ vol. i. p. 66, vol. iv. p. 486.
_Pantomime._--The Christmas pantomime or harlequinade is, in its present
shape, essentially a British entertainment, and was first introduced
into this country by a dancing master of Shrewsbury named Weaver in
1702. One of his pantomimes, entitled _The Loves of Mars and Venus_,
met with great success. The arrival, in the year 1717, in London of a
troupe of French pantomimists with performing dogs, gave an impetus to
this kind of drama, which was further developed in 1758 by the arrival
of the Grimaldi family, the head of which was a posture-master and
dentist. Under the auspices of this family the art of producing
pantomimes was greatly cultivated, and the entertainment much relished.
Joseph Grimaldi, the son of the dentist, was clever at inventing tricks
and devising machinery, and _Mother Goose_, and others of his
harlequinades, had an extended run. At that time the wit of the clown
was the great feature, but, by-and-by, as good clowns became scarce,
other adjuncts were supplied, such as panoramas or dioramic views; and
now the chief reliance of the manager is on scenic effects, large sums
of money being lavished on the _mise en scène_. This is particularly the
case as regards the transformation scene--i.e., the scene where the
characters are changed into clown, harlequin, &c., as much as 1000_l._
being frequently spent on this one effort. In London alone a sum of
40,000_l._ is annually expended at Christmas time on pantomimes. The
_King of the Peacocks_, a pantomime produced at the London Lyceum
Theatre during the management of Madame Vestris, cost upwards of £3000.
Even provincial theatres, such as those of Manchester or Edinburgh,
consider it right to go to considerable expense in the production of
their Christmas pantomime.--Chambers’ _Encyclopædia_, 1874, vol. vii. p.
237; see Disraeli’s _Curiosities of Literature_, 1858, pp. 116-130; _N.
& Q. 4th S._ vol. v. pp. 193-95.
_Plum-Porridge._--This, says Misson, was a “sort of soup with plumbs,
which is not at all inferior to the pye.” Dr. Rimbault says, was not
this the same as _plum-pudding_? Pudding was formerly used in the sense
of stuffing or force-meat, as we now say black-puddings. Porridge, on
the other hand, was used in the sense of our pudding. Thus Shakspeare
talks of “porridge after meat,” meaning _pudding_ after meat.--_N. & Q.
2nd S._ vol. xii. p. 489.
_Snapdragon._--A very favourite pastime at this season. Although so
prevalent in England, it is almost unknown in Scotland.--See _Book of
Days_, vol. ii. p. 738.
A writer in the _Pantalogia_ (1813, vol. x.) thus describes this
sport:--It is a kind of play, in which brandy is set on fire, and
raisins thrown into it, which those who are unused to the sport are
afraid to take out, but which may be safely snatched by a quick motion
and put blazing into the mouth, which being closed, the fire is at once
extinguished. A correspondent of _N. & Q._ (_2nd S._ vol. vii. p. 277)
suggests as a derivation the German _schnapps_, spirit, and _drache_,
dragon, and that it is equivalent to spirit-fire. The game has also been
called _flap-_ and _slap-dragon_ at different times. Shakspeare, for
example, in the second part of _Henry IV._ act ii. sc. 4, makes Falstaff
answer:
“And drinks off candles’ ends for _flap-dragons_.”
And in _Love’s Labours Lost_, act v. sc. 1:
“Thou art easier swallowed than a _flap-dragon_.”
See also the _Tatler_, No. 85.
_Christmas Sports._--Among the various games and sports of an olden
Christmas, says Dr. Rimbault, were card-playing, chess, and draughts,
jack-pudding in the hall; fiddlers and musicians, who were regaled with
a black-jack of beer and a Christmas pie; also singing the wassail,
scrambling for nuts, cakes, and apples; dancing round standards
decorated with evergreens in the streets; the famous old hobby-horse,
hunting owls and squirrels, the fool plough, hot cockles, and the game
of hoodman-blind.--_N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. xii. p. 489.
_Christmas Tree._--Various suggestions have been made as to the origin
of the Christmas tree. Mr. Timbs, in his _Something for Everybody_
(1861, p. 127), suggests its being traceable to the ancient Egyptians
and their palm-tree, which produces a branch every month, and therefore
held to be emblematical of the year. The Germans may be said to claim it
as peculiar to themselves, as being indicative of their attachment to
Christianity; they identify it with the apostolic labours of St.
Maternus, one of the earliest, if not the very first, of the preachers
of the Gospel among them. They have a legend of his sleeping under a
fir-tree, and of a miracle that occurred on that occasion. Mr. MacCabe
(_N. & Q. 3rd S._ vol. viii. p. 489), however, thinks the Christmas tree
is traceable to the Roman Saturnalia, and was not improbably first
imported into Germany with the conquering legions of Drusus. The
Christmas tree, such as we now see it, with its pendent toys and
mannikins, is distinctly portrayed in a single line of Virgil (Georg.
ii. 389):
“Oscilla ex alta suspendunt mollia pinu.”
Consult Smith’s _Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities_ (1849, 2nd
ed. p. 846, in verb. “oscillum”), where there is given an engraving
“from an ancient gem (Maffei, Gem. Ant. iii. 64) representing a tree
with four oscilla hung upon its branches.” Any one looking into that
valuable work will see at once that it is an exact picture of a
Christmas tree.
A correspondent of _Book of Days_ (vol. ii. p. 787) says, within the
last twenty years, and apparently since the marriage of Queen Victoria
with Prince Albert, previous to which time it was almost unknown in this
country, the Christmas tree has been introduced into England with the
greatest success.
_The Vessel-Cup._--There is a very pretty custom, now nearly obsolete,
of bearing the “vessel,” or, more properly the wassail-cup, at
Christmas. This consists of a box containing two dolls, dressed up to
represent the Virgin and the Infant Christ, decorated with ribbons and
surrounded by flowers and apples; the box has usually a glass lid, is
covered over by a white napkin, and carried from door to door on the
arms of a woman; on the top, or in the box, a china bason is placed, and
the bearer on reaching a house, uncovered the box and sung the carol
known as the “Seven Joys of the Virgin.”
The carrying of the “vessel-cup” is a fortuitous speculation, as it is
considered so unlucky to send any one away unrequited, that few can be
found whose temerity is so great as to deter them from giving some
halfpence to the singer.
In Yorkshire, formerly, only one image used to be carried about--that of
the Saviour, which was placed in a box surrounded by evergreens, and
such flowers as could be procured at the season. The party to whose
house the figure was carried were at liberty to take from the
decorations of the image a leaf or a flower, which was carefully
preserved and regarded as a sovereign remedy for the toothache.--_Jour.
of Arch. Assoc._ 1853, vol. viii. p. 38; _Book of Days_, 1864, vol. ii.
p. 725; Brand, _Pop. Antiq._ vol. i. p. 454.
_Turkey._--The turkey has graced the Christmas table from the date of
its introduction into England, about the year 1524. Tusser mentions the
bird as forming part of the Christmas fare in 1587:
“Beefe, mutton, and porke, shred pies of the best;
Pig, veale, goose, and capon, and turkie well drest.”
_Waits._--Musicians who play by night for two or three weeks before
Christmas, terminating their performances generally on Christmas Eve. It
is uncertain, says a correspondent of _Book of Days_ (vol ii. p. 742),
whether the term _Waits_ denoted originally musical instruments, a
particular kind of music, or the persons who played under certain
special circumstances. There is evidence in support of all these views.
At one time the name of waits was given to minstrels attached to the
king’s court, whose duty it was to guard the streets at night and
proclaim the hour, something in the same manner as the watchmen were
wont to do in London before the establishment of the metropolitan
police. Down to the year 1820, perhaps later, says the same writer (p.
743), the waits had a certain degree of official recognition in the
cities of London and Westminster. In London, the post was purchased; in
Westminster, it was an appointment under the control of the high
constable and the court of burgesses. A police inquiry about Christmas
time in that year brought the matter in a singular way under public
notice. Mr. Clay had been the official leader of the waits for
Westminster, and, on his death, Mr. Monro obtained the post. Having
employed a number of persons in different parts of the city and
liberties of Westminster to serenade the inhabitants, trusting to their
liberality at Christmas as a remuneration, he was surprised to find that
other persons were, unauthorized, assuming the right of playing at
night, and making applications to the inhabitants for Christmas boxes.
Sir R. Baker, the police magistrate, promised to aid Mr. Munro in the
assertion of his claims, and the result, in several cases, showed that
there really was this “vested right” to charm the ears of the citizens
with nocturnal music. At present, however, there is nothing to prevent
any number of such itinerant minstrels from plying their midnight
calling. See two interesting articles on the subject by Mr. Chappell in
_N. & Q. 3rd S._ vol. vi. pp. 489, 509.
_Yule-clog or Yule-log._--This was generally lighted on Christmas Eve,
and was, says Soane, as large as the hearth would admit of, or the means
of the rejoicers could supply; and, in some of the northern counties of
England, so long as the log lasted, the servants were entitled to ale at
their meals. At one time custom prescribed that it should be lighted
with a brand of the last year’s block, which had been carefully put by
and preserved for that purpose, as we find it recorded by Herrick:
“Come bring with a noise,
My merrie, merrie boys,
The Christmas log to the firing;
While my good dame, she
Bids ye all be free,
And drink to your heart’s desiring.
With the last year’s brand
Light the new block, and
For good success in his spending,
On your psalteries play
That sweet luck may
Come while the log is a tiending.”[91]
[91] To _Teend_ is to kindle, or to _burn_, from the Anglo-Saxon
_Tendan_ to set on fire.
It is also requisite that the maidens who blow a fire, should come to
the task with clean hands:
“Wash your hands, or else the fire
Will not tiend to your desire;
Unwash’d hands, ye maidens, know,
Dead the fire though ye blow.”
BERKSHIRE.
At Cumnor the parishioners, who paid vicarial tithes, claimed a custom
of being entertained at the vicarage, on the afternoon of Christmas Day,
with four bushels of malt brewed into ale and beer, two bushels of wheat
made into bread, and half a hundred weight of cheese. The remainder was
given to the poor the next morning after divine service.--Lysons’ _Magna
Britannia_, 1813, vol. i. pt. ii. p. 271.
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE.
By the will of John Popple, dated the 12th of March, 1830, 4_l._ yearly
is to be paid unto the vicar, churchwardens, and overseers of the poor
of the parish of Burnham, to provide for the poor people who should be
residing in the poorhouse, a dinner, with a proper quantity of good ale
and likewise with tobacco and snuff.--_Old English Customs and
Charities_, 1842, p. 4.
Up to about 1813, a bull and boar, a sack of wheat, and a sack of malt
were given away to the poor by the lord of the manor of Prince’s
Risborough about six o’clock every Christmas morning. This practice was
then discontinued, and for about five or six years after the
discontinuance, beef and mutton were distributed to the poor about
Christmas in lieu of the above articles.--_Ibid._ p. 66.
The following extract is taken from the _Gent. Mag._ (1753, vol. xxiii.
p. 49):--At Quainton, above two thousand people went, with lanterns and
candles, to view a blackthorn in that neighbourhood, and which was
remembered to be a slip from the famous Glastonbury thorn, and that it
always budded on the 24th, was full blown the next day, and went all off
at night. The people finding no appearance of a bud, it was agreed by
all that December 25th (New Style) could not be the right Christmas Day,
and accordingly refused going to church, and treating their friends on
that day as usual. At length the affair became so serious, that the
ministers of the neighbouring villages, in order to appease them,
thought it prudent to give notice that the _Old_ Christmas Day should be
kept holy as before.
This famous hawthorn was supposed to be sprung from the staff of Joseph
of Arimathea, who having fixed it in the ground with his own hand on
Christmas Day, it took root immediately, put forth leaves, and the next
day was covered with milk-white blossoms.[92]--See Hearne’s _History and
Antiquities of Glastonbury_, 1722.
[92] Collinson, in his _History of Somersetshire_ (1791), alludes to
the miraculous walnut-tree, which grew in the Abbey churchyard of
Glastonbury, and never budded forth before the feast of St. Barnabas,
viz., 11th June, and on that very day shot forth leaves, and
flourished.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE.
At Clare Hall, in Cambridge, a collar of brawn is always provided for
the Fellows’ table on Christmas Day, which comes up every day during the
twelve days and then makes another and last appearance on Candlemas Day.
A sprig of ivy with berries is stuck in the centre of the top; the
berries are first dipped in flour, probably to represent the hoar
frost.--_Time’s Telescope_, 1863, p. 338.
CORNWALL.
Hitchins, in his _History of Cornwall_ (1824, vol. i. p. 718), gives the
following account of the Christmas plays, which at one time were
performed in this county at Christmas. He says, the lads who engage in
these theatrical representations appear fantastically dressed, decorated
with ribbons and painted paper, with wooden swords, and all the equipage
necessary to support the several characters they assume. To entertain
their auditors, they learn to repeat a barbarous jargon, in the form of
a drama, which has been handed down from distant generations. War and
love are the general topics, and St. George and the Dragon are always
the most prominent characters. Interludes, expostulations, debate,
battle, and death, are sure to find a place among the mimicry; but a
physician who is always at hand immediately restores the dead to life.
It is generally understood that these Christmas plays derived their
origin from the ancient crusades, and hence the feats of chivalry and
the romantic extravagance of knight-errantry that are still preserved in
all the varied pretensions and exploits.--See _Every Day Book_, 1827,
vol. ii. p. 122.
It was customary at one time in Cornwall on the last Thursday that was
one clear week before Christmas Day, which was anciently called
_jeu-nhydn_, or White Thursday, for the tinners to claim a holiday,
because, according to tradition, on this day black tin or ore was first
melted or turned into white tin or metal in these parts.--Hitchins,
_History of Cornwall_, 1824, vol. i. p. 725.
CUMBERLAND.
In this county, and in all the great towns in the North of England,
about a week before Christmas, what are called _Honey-Fairs_ are held,
in which dancing forms the leading amusement.--_Time’s Telescope_, 1824,
p. 297.
DERBYSHIRE.
Christmas festivities are well observed in Derbyshire; mummers or
guisers go from house to house, and perform a play of St. George. They
are dressed up in character and decorated with ribbands, tinsel, and
other finery, and on being admitted into the house commence their
performance by St. George announcing himself by beginning his oration:
“I am St. George, the noble champion bold,
And with my glittering sword
I’ve won three crowns of gold;
It’s I who fought the fiery dragon,
And brought it to the slaughter;
And so I won fair Sabra,
The king of Egypt’s daughter.
--Seven have I won, but married none,
And bear my glory all alone,
--With _my_ Sword in my hand,
Who dare against me stand?
I swear I’ll cut him down
With my victorious brand.”
A champion is soon found in the person of Slasher, who accepts the
challenge. St. George then replies in a neat speech, when they sing,
shake hands, and fight with their wooden swords, and Slasher is slain.
The King then enters, saying:--“I am the King of England, the greatest
man alive,” and after walking round the dead body, calls for, “Sir Guy,
one of the chiefest men in the world’s wonder,” who shows his wonderful
courage and prowess in calling for a doctor. The doctor, on making his
appearance, gives a long and quaint account of his birth, parentage,
education, and travels, whilst perambulating around the fallen Slasher,
and ends his oration by saying:
“Here take a little out of my bottle,
And put it down thy throttle.”
The dead man is thus cured, and having received the advice of, “Rise,
Jack, and fight again, the play is ended.”--_Jour. of the Arch. Assoc._
1852, vol. vii. p. 206.
DORSETSHIRE.
It appears that in some parts of this county the mummers still go round
at Christmas-tide, performing a species of play.--See _N. & Q. 5th S._
vol. ii. p. 505.
ESSEX.
On Christmas day at Hornchurch the lessee of the tithes, which belong to
New College, Oxford, supplies, says Hone, (_Every Day Book_, 1827, vol.
ii. p. 1649), a boar’s head dressed and garnished with bayleaves, &c. In
the afternoon it is carried in procession into the mill-field adjoining
the churchyard, where it is wrestled for and afterwards feasted upon at
one of the public-houses by the rustic conqueror and his friends with
all the merriment peculiar to the season.
The following appeared in the _Daily News_ of January 5th, 1852:--By
ancient charter or usage in Hornchurch a boar’s head is wrestled for in
a field adjoining the church, a boar, the property of the parish, having
been slaughtered for the purpose. The boar’s head, elevated on a pole
and decorated with ribbons, was brought into the ring where the
competitors entered, and the prize was awarded.--See Morant, _History of
Essex_, 1768, vol. i. p. 74.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE.
It was formerly the custom of the city of Gloucester to present to the
Sovereign at Christmas a lamprey-pie with a raised crust. The custom is
of great antiquity, and as Henry I., of lamprey-loving celebrity,
frequently held his Court during Christmas at Gloucester, it may have
originated in his time. In 1530 the Prior of Lanthony at Gloucester sent
“cheese, carp, and baked lampreys” to Henry VIII. at Windsor, for which
the bearer received twenty shillings.--Tighe and Davis, _Annals of
Windsor_, p. 562.
During the Commonwealth it appears from the following entry in the
corporation minutes that the pie was sent to the members for the city:--
“_Item._--Paid to Thomas Suffield, cook, for lamprey-pies sent to our
Parliament men, £08 00_s._ 00_d._”
In 1752 it appears to have been the custom to present a lamprey-pie to
the Prince of Wales, as appears by Mr. Jesse’s book, _George Selwyn and
his Contemporaries_ (vol. i. p. 153), where is printed the following
letter from Mr. Alderman Harris to George Selwyn, then M.P. for
Gloucester:--
“_Gloucester, 15th January, 1752._
“SIR,--At the request of Mr. Mayor, whose extraordinary hurry of
business will not afford him leisure to direct himself, I am desired
to acquaint you that by the Gloucester waggon this week is sent the
usual present of a lamprey-pie from this Corporation to His Royal
Highness the Prince of Wales. It is directed to you; and I am further
to request the favour of you to have the same presented with the
compliments of this body, as your late worthy father used to do.
“Sir, your most obedient humble servant,
“GAB. HARRIS.
“P.S.--The waggoner’s inn is the King’s Head, in the Old
Change.”[93]--_N. & Q. 2nd S._ vol. ix. p. 184.
[93] Another correspondent of _N. & Q._ (_2nd S._ vol. ix. p. 185)
says that it was formerly the custom to send to the King the first
lamprey caught in the river at the commencement of the season; it was
stewed, that being the best way of cooking this fish.
HEREFORDSHIRE.
In this county, and also in Worcestershire, it is considered very
unlucky for new shoes or tanned leather to be received into the house
during the Christmas week or on New Year’s Day.--See _N. & Q. 5th S._
vol. iii. p. 7.
KENT.
At one time the festivities of Christmas were commenced at Ramsgate by a
curious musical procession. The following account is taken from Busby’s
_Concert Room and Orchestra Anecdotes_ (1825, vol. i. p. 73):--
A party of young people procure the head of a dead horse, which is
affixed to a pole about four feet in length, a string is tied to the
lower jaw, a horsecloth is then attached to the whole, under which one
of the party gets, and by frequently pulling the string keeps up a loud
snapping noise, and is accompanied by the rest of the party grotesquely
habited and ringing hand-bells. They thus proceed from house to house,
sounding their bells and singing carols and songs. They are commonly
gratified with beer and cake, or perhaps with money. This is
provincially called a _hodening_; and the figure above described a
“hoden,” or wooden horse.
This curious ceremony is also observed in the Isle of Thanet on
Christmas Eve, and is supposed to be an ancient relic of a festival
ordained to commemorate our Saxon ancestors’ landing in that island.
LANCASHIRE.
The following description of primitive manners in the houses of the
gentry at Christmas is extracted by Baines (_Hist. of Lancashire_, vol.
iii. p. 294) from a family manuscript of the Cunliffes, of Wycoller, in
Lancashire, and refers to an age antecedent to the wars of the
Parliament:--“At Wycoller-Hall the family usually kept open house the
twelve days at Christmas. Their entertainment was a large hall of
curious ashler wood, a long table, plenty of _furmerty_, like new milk,
in a morning, made of husked wheat boiled, roasted beef with fat goose
and a pudding, with plenty of good beer for dinner. A roundabout
fire-place, surrounded with stone benches, where the young folks sat and
cracked nuts, and diverted themselves; and in this manner the sons and
daughters got matching without going much from home.”--See _Med. Ævi
Kalend._ vol. i. p. 91.
ISLE OF MAN.
Train, in his _History of the Isle of Man_ (1845, vol. ii. p. 127),
says:--The Christmas festival is introduced by young persons
perambulating the various towns and villages in the evenings,
fantastically dressed, and armed with swords, calling as they proceed,
“Who wants to see the White Boys act?” When their services are engaged
they, like the Scotch _guisards_ or _Quhite boys of Yule_, perform a
rude drama, in which St. George, Prince Valentine, King of Egypt, Sambo,
and the Doctor are the _dramatis personæ_.