DECEMBER.
"The Darling of the world is come,
And fit it is we find a room
To welcome Him. The nobler part
Of all the house here is the heart,
"Which we will give Him; and bequeath
This holly and this ivy wreath
To do Him honour, who's our King,
And Lord of all this revelling."
HERRICK, _A Christmas Carol_.
St. Nicholas Day--The Boy Bishop--Christmas Eve--Christmas
Customs--Mummers--"Lord of Misrule"--Conclusion.
Now dark and chill December has arrived; and very dark and chill it
must have seemed to our ancestors. No gaslights illuminated the
streets, here and there a feeble oil lamp helped to make the
darkness visible, when the oil was not frozen: the roads were deep
with mud, and everything outside was cold and cheerless. But within
the farmer's kitchen the huge logs burned brightly, and the
Christmas holidays were at hand with the accustomed merrymakings, to
cheer the hearts of all in the depths of the dreary winter.
But before Christmas Day arrived, the children enjoyed a great treat
on St. Nicholas' Day, December 6th, when it was the custom for
parents to convey secretly presents of various kinds to their little
sons and daughters, who were taught to believe that they owed them
to the kindness of St. Nicholas, who, going up and down among the
towns and villages, came in at the windows and distributed the
gifts. St. Nicholas, who died A.D. 343, threw a purse filled with
money into the bedroom of a poor man for the benefit of his three
daughters, who were in sore trouble; and this story seems to have
originated the custom which has been observed in many countries, and
brought much enjoyment to the young folk who received St. Nicholas'
bounty.
Before the Reformation there was another very strange custom
associated with this day; namely, the election of a boy bishop, who
was dressed in episcopal robes, with a mitre on his head, and who
actually was allowed to preach in the church. This was done
regularly at many of our cathedrals and collegiate churches, and we
find records of the custom amongst the archives of Salisbury and
many other places; even the service which they used is in existence.
The youthful bishop was elected by the choir-boys, and exercised his
functions until Holy Innocents' Day. On that day in great state he
entered the cathedral surrounded by the other boys, who played the
part of prebendaries, and attended by the dean and canons, who on
this occasion yielded up their dignity to the youthful prelate and
his followers. The collect for Holy Innocents' Day in our
Prayer-book formed part of the service. It was a strange ceremony,
not unmixed with irreverence, and happily has long been
discontinued, being forbidden by Royal proclamation in 1542, and
finally abolished by Elizabeth.
In the archives of the ancient town of Bristol there is a book of
directions for the Mayor and his brethren, and on St. Nicholas' Day
they are ordered to go to the Church of St. Nicholas and join in the
festival of the boy bishop, to hear his sermon and receive his
blessing. Then they dined together, and waited for the young bishop
to come to them, playing the meanwhile at dice, the town clerk being
ordered to find the dice, and to receive a penny for every raffle.
The bishop was regaled with bread and wine, and preached again to
the Mayor and corporation in the evening. I am informed that a
curious memorial of this custom existed until recent years in one
village at least. An old lady recollected that when she was a child
she was allowed to play with her companions in church on St.
Nicholas' Day.
But Christmas is approaching, and we must hasten to describe that
bright and happy festival. The holiday began on Christmas Eve, and
perhaps you have wondered why we hang up mistletoe, and decorate our
churches and houses with holly, why our ancestors brought in the
Yule-log, and performed many other customs which do not seem to be
very closely connected with the celebration of the birthday of our
Lord. But we must remember that our forefathers were originally
heathen, and at this period of the year they practised several
strange customs connected with their Druidical worship, and held
great feasts in honour of their gods. When Christian missionaries
converted these heathen, they strove to put down some of the old
idolatrous practices; but their efforts were in vain, for the people
were warmly attached to these old rights and usages. So a compromise
was effected: the old Pagan customs were shorn of their idolatry and
transferred to our Christian festivals. Cutting the mistletoe was
distinctly a rite practised by the Druids, who cut the sacred plant
with a golden knife, and sacrificed two white bulls to the sylvan
deities whom they thus sought to propitiate. We hang up our bunches
of mistletoe now, but we do not attach any superstitious importance
to it, nor imagine that any gods of the woods will be influenced by
our procedure. The bringing in of the Yule-log was a Norse custom
observed in honour of Thor, from whose name we derive our word
Thursday or Thor's-day. The mighty log was drawn into the baronial
hall with great pomp, while the bards sang their songs of praise and
chanted "Welcome Yule."
"Welcome be Thou, heavenly King,
Welcome, born on this morning;
Welcome for whom we shall sing
Welcome, Yule."
Herrick, who delighted so much in singing of
"Maypoles, hock-carts, wassails, wakes--"
then bursts out in joyous strains:
"Come, bring with a noise,
My merry, merry 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 psaltries play,
That sweet luck may
Come while the log is a-teending."
We can fancy that we see the ceremony, the glad procession of
retainers and servants, the lights flaring in all directions: we can
hear the shouts and chorus of many voices, the drums beating and
flutes and trumpets sounding. The huge hearth receives the mighty
log, and the flames and sparks shoot up the gaping chimney.
At Court in olden times Christmas was kept right royally, if we may
judge from the extensive _menu_ of the repasts of King Henry III.
and his courtiers in the year 1247. He kept his Christmas at
Winchester Castle, and the neighbourhood must have been ransacked to
furnish supplies for the royal table. The choice dainties were as
follows: Boars, with heads entire, well cooked and very succulent,
48; fowls, 1900; partridges, mostly "put in paste," 500; swans, 41;
peacocks, 48; hares, 260; eggs, 24,000; 300 gallons of oysters; 300
rabbits, and more if possible; birds of various sorts, as many as
could be had; of whitings, "particularly good and heavy," and conger
eels the same; a hundred mullets, "fat and very heavy." For bread
the king paid £27 10s., at the price of four loaves to the penny.
When the king kept his Christmas at York in 1250, the royal treasury
must have been very full, for he ordered for the royal banquets 7000
fowls, 1750 partridges, besides immense numbers of boars, swans,
pheasants, &c. Of course the king had a very large retinue of
vassals and feudal lords to provide for; but the store seems
sufficiently vast to supply the wants of an army of faithful, but
hungry, subjects. Sometimes, when the king was short of money, there
was a considerable reduction in the amount of good things consumed
at Christmas.
Our ancestors were very careful to attend the services of the
church, which their loving hands had adorned with holly, bay,
rosemary, and laurel. They considered it a day of special
thanksgiving and rejoicing, as an old poet observed--
"At Christmas be merry and thankful with all,
And feast thy poor neighbours, the great and the small."
The solemn service of Holy Communion was celebrated on Christmas
Eve, in mediæval times--the only night in all the year when an
evening celebration was allowed. The halls of the knights and barons
of ancient days were thrown open to all comers, and open house was
kept for a fortnight. Rejoicing at Christmas time seems to have been
universal, and it is not for us to judge whether in their mirth they
sometimes forgot the reason of true Christmas joy, and thought more
of their feasting than of Him who was born on Christmas Day. But by
their hearty manner of keeping this annual festival, by the
hospitality which the farmers and rich men showed to their labourers
and poorer neighbours, they promoted, at any rate, "goodwill amongst
men"--old animosities, quarrels, and bitternesses were forgotten,
and the hearts of the poor cheered.
In the North of England every farmer gave two feasts, one called
"the old folks' night," and the other "the young folks' night." The
old Squire used to receive his tenants and neighbours at daybreak,
when the black-jacks were passed round, and woe betide the luckless
cook who had overslept herself, and had not boiled the Hackin, or
large sausage, ere the day dawned, for then she was seized by the
arms and made to run round the market-place, or courtyard, until
she was ashamed of her laziness.
And now let us enter the hall of some great baron and see how our
ancestors kept a merry Christmas. The panelled walls, and stags'
horns, and gallery at one end of the great room were hung with holly
and mistletoe. The Yule-log blazed upon the hearth, and then entered
the vassals, tenants, and servants of the lord to share in the
Christmas banquet. Rank and ceremony were laid aside: all were
deemed equal, whether lords or barons, serfs or peasants--a custom
which arose, doubtless, from the remembrance of Him who on the first
Christmas Day, "although He was rich, yet for our sakes became
poor."
And now on the huge oaken table were placed the various dishes of
the feast--a mighty boar's head, decorated with laurel and rosemary,
whose approach was often heralded with trumpets as the king of the
feast; then came a peacock, stuffed with spices and sweet herbs, and
adorned with its gay feathers, and then followed a goodly company of
geese, capons, sirloins of beef, pheasants, mince-pies, and
plum-porridge. A carol was often sung when the boar's head was
brought in; here is one from the collection of Wynkyn de Worde:
Caput Apri defero
Reddens laudes Domino,
The Boar's Head in hand bring I
With garlands gay and rosemary;
I pray you all sing merrily
Qui estis in convivio.
The Boar's Head, I understand,
Is the chief service in this land;
Look wherever it be fande:
Servile cum cantico.
Be glad, lords, both more and lasse,
For this hath ordained our stewárd
To cheer you all this Christmasse,
The Boar's Head with mustárd.[18]
Neither were the ale and wassail-bowl forgotten, and they circulated
sometimes too often, I fear, and laid the seeds of gout and other
evils, from which other generations suffer. But when the prodigious
appetites of the company had been appeased, the maskers and mummers
entered the hall and performed strange antics and a curious play,
fragments of which have come down to our own time. The youths of the
villages of England still come round at Christmas-time and act their
mumming-drama, in which "St. George" kills a "Turkish knight," who
is raised to life by "Medicine Man," and performs a very important
part of the play--passing round the money-box. This is a remnant of
the mumming of ancient days, and perhaps of some "mystery" play, of
which I told you in a previous chapter.
In Berkshire the characters are represented by "Molly," a stalwart
man dressed in a woman's gown, shawl, and bonnet, with a besom in
his hand, who strives in his dialogue to imitate a woman's voice;
King George, a big burly man dressed as a knight, with a wooden
sword and a home-made helmet; a French officer, with a cocked hat
and sword; a Doctor, who wears a pig-tail; Jack Vinny, a jester;
Happy Jack, a humorous character dressed in tattered garments, and
Old Beelzebub, who appears as Father Christmas. In some parts of the
royal county the part of King George is taken by an "Africky king,"
and a Turkish knight instead of the French officer. Very curious are
the words of the old play, and very ludicrous the representation
when the parts are acted by competent players.
There was also in the baron's hall a great person dressed in a very
fantastic garb, who was here, there, and everywhere, directing the
mummers, making jokes to amuse the company, and looking after
everybody. He was called the "Lord of Misrule." Sometimes his rule
was harmless enough, and did good service in directing the revels;
but often he was more worthy of his name, and was guilty of all
kinds of absurd and mischievous pranks, which did great harm, and
were very profane. But these were not part of the Christmas feast,
where all was happiness and mirth. Sir Walter Scott says, in his
description of the festival--
"England was merry England when
Old Christmas brought his sports again;
A Christmas gambol oft would cheer
A poor man's heart through all the year."
All the old poets sing in praise of the great day which, as Herrick
says, "sees December turned to May," and which makes the "chilling
winter's morn smile like a field beset with corn." Old carols chant
in reverent strains their homage to the infant Saviour: some reflect
time-honoured customs and social joys when old age casts aside its
solemnity and mingles once more in the light-hearted gaiety of
youth, and all unite in chanting the praises of this happy festival.
The poet Withers sings--
"Lo! now is come our joyful'st feast!
Let every man be jolly;
Each room with ivy leaves is drest,
And every post with holly.
"Now all our neighbours' chimneys smoke,
And Christmas blocks are burning;
Their ovens they with baked meats choke,
And all their spits are turning.
"Without the door let sorrow lie,
And if, for cold, it has to die,
We'll bury it in Christmas pie,
And evermore be merry."
Thus the happy night was spent; and if, like grave elders, we look
down upon these frolics of a younger age, and think ourselves so
much wiser and better than our forefathers, we should not forget the
benefits which come from open-handed hospitality, goodwill, and
simple manners, nor scornfully regard honest merriment and
light-hearted gaiety. A light heart is generally not far removed
from a holy heart.
Yes, England was merry England then; and although there were plenty
of troubles in those days, when plagues decimated whole villages,
when wars were frequent, food scarce, and oppression common, yet the
Christmas festivities, the varieties of sports and pastimes which
each season provided, the homely customs and bonds of union between
class and class which these observances strengthened, added
brightness to the lives of our simple forefathers, who might
otherwise have sunk beneath the burdens of their daily toil. We have
seen how many customs and sports, which were at first simple and
harmless, degenerated and were abused: we have noticed some of the
bad features of these ancient pastimes, such as cruelty to animals
and intemperance; and are thankful that there is some improvement
manifest in these respects. But it is interesting to witness again
in imagination the scenes that once took place in our market-places
and on our village greens; and, if it be impossible to restore again
the glories of May Day and the brightness of the Christmas feast, we
may still find plenty of harmless and innocent recreation, and learn
to be merry, and at the same time wise.
* * * * *
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Although the 1st of January was popularly regarded as
the beginning of the year from early times, it was not until 1752
A.D. that the legal commencement of the year was changed from March
25th to the former date.]
[Footnote 2: These fires signified our Saviour and the Twelve
Apostles. One of the fires, which represented Judas, the traitor,
was extinguished soon after it was lighted, and the materials of the
fire kicked about.]
[Footnote 3: The distaff was the staff which held the flax or wool
in spinning. All maidens were engaged in this occupation, and a
"spinster" (_i.e._ one who spins) is still the legal term for an
unmarried woman.]
[Footnote 4: St. Blaize (or Blasius) was Bishop of Sebaste in
Armenia, and was martyred 316 A.D. His flesh was torn with iron
combs, so the wool-staplers have adopted him as their patron saint.]
[Footnote 5: _Shrove-tide_ and _Shrove Tuesday_ derive their names
from the ancient practice of confessing one's sins on that day. _To
be shriven,_ or _shrove_, means to obtain absolution from one's
sin.]
[Footnote 6: It was practised as late as the end of the last
century.]
[Footnote 7: So called from the Gospel of the day, which treats of
the feeding of the five thousand.--_Cf_. Wheatley on Prayer-book.]
[Footnote 8: The caber is a small tree, or beam, heavier at one end
than the other. The performer holds this perpendicularly, with the
smaller end downwards, and his object is to toss it so as to make it
fall on the other end.]
[Footnote 9: _A Pleasant Grove of New Fancies_, 1637.]
[Footnote 10: Sometimes the May Queen did not consort with
morris-dancers, but sat in solitary state under a canopy of boughs.]
[Footnote 11: A Correspondence in _Athenæum_, Sept. 20, 1890.]
[Footnote 12: The same story is told of Willes, who is supposed by
some cricketers to be the inventor of the modern style of delivery.]
[Footnote 13: The word _fair_ is derived from the ecclesiastical
term, _feria_, a holiday.]
[Footnote 14: _Cf._ Govett's _King's Book of Sports_, and _Tom
Brown's Schooldays,_ to which I am indebted for the above accurate
description of back-sword play.]
[Footnote 15: I am indebted for this description to Mr. W. Andrews'
interesting book on the _Curiosities of the Church_.]
[Footnote 16: Cf. _Annals of Winchcombe and Sudeley_, by Mrs.
Dent.]
[Footnote 17: Cf. _Glossary of Berkshire Words and Phrases_, by
Major B. Lowsley, R.E.]
[Footnote 18: The custom of bringing in the boar's head is still
preserved at Queen's College, Oxford. The story is told of a student
of the college who was attacked by a wild boar while he was
diligently studying Aristotle during a walk near Shotover Hill. His
book was his only means of defence, so he thrust the volume down the
animal's throat, exclaiming, "It is Greek!" The boar found Greek
very difficult to digest, and died on the spot, and the head was
brought home in triumph by the student. Ever since that date, for
five hundred years, a boar's head has graced the college table at
Christmas.]
INDEX.
Agape, suggested origin of "Church ales," 53
Ales, Church, 52, 53, 57
Alfred, laws relating to holidays, 5
All-hallow Eve, 105
Animals to be hunted, 16
April, 36
Archery, 25--31
Ascension Day, 50
Ascham's accomplishments of English Gentleman, 97
Back-sword play, 81
Baiting bears, bulls, &c., 89
Bale-fires, 50
Ball games, 20, 21, 61--71
Barley-brake, 39
Bath, wakes at, 81
Battledore, 23
Bean, King of, 7
Berks--Old sports, 81
"Bessy," 9
Blaize St., 18
Boar's head at Christmas, 123
Bonfires, 6, 57, 106, 108
Book of Sports, 48, 50
Bounds, beating, 50
Bowl, 49
Boy bishop, 116
Bull-baiting, 89
Burning wheel, 59
Butts, 27
Caber-tossing, 38
Candlemas, 18
Carols, 111
_Catherine, St._, miracle play, 99
Charlemagne, 58
Chess, 112
Chester, 41, 48
Choirs, Old, 111
Christmas holidays, 5
customs, 118-126
at Court, 120
Church decoration, 37, 49, 121
Churchwardens' accounts, 34, 36, 42, 54, 72, 100
Church ale, 52, 53, 57
Church house, 53
Cloudslee, William of, 28
Club-ball, 65, 66
Cock-fighting, 23, 24
Cock-throwing, 23
Collop Monday, 19
_Colloquies_ of Erasmus, 113
_Conversion of St. Paul_, mystery play, 98
Country parson, 51
Coventry, 42, 103
_Crafte of Hunting_, 16
Cricket, 38, 61-65
Cross-bow, 27
Cudgel-play, 38
Curling, 39
Customs, local, 4, 5, 6, 12, 20, 24, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 50,
54, 60, 62, 78, 81, 106, 108, 109, 117
Dances, country, on village green, 11
Dancing with swords, 10
December, 115
Dedication festivals, 3
_Demands Joyous_, 110
Devonshire custom, 4
Distaff, St., 9
Dragons, 59
Dues, Cock-fight, 24
Early sport, 14, 16
Easter, 36--41
Eighteenth century cricket, 63
Election of King of Bean, 7
England "Merry," 1, 125, 126
_English Villages, Our_, 3, 80
Epiphany, 5
Erasmus, _Colloquies_ of, 113
Evelyn's _Diary_, 90
Fairs, 3, 80
Falconer, 87
February, 13
Festivals, 3, 36, 50, 118
Finsbury, 28
Football, 20, 21, 41
Foot-races, 22, 38
Fox-hunting extraordinary, 17
France, home of tennis, 39
Gambling, 112
Games, minor ball, 71
" ball, 20, 21, 64, 71
" indoor, 21, 112
George Herbert, 51
Golf, 66, 68
Good Friday cake, 33
Gospel trees, 50
Grasmere, 72
Guildford, cricket at, 62
Gunpowder Plot, 108
Guy Fawkes, 107
Hambledon Cricket Club, 63, 64
Handball, 27
Handball in Church, 38
Harvest home, 75, 79
Hawking, 84
Heaving, 37
Herbert, George, 51
Herefordshire custom, 6
Herrick, 9, 31, 74, 115, 119, 125
Hobby-horse, 26
Hock-cart, 75
Hocking, 54
Hock-tide, 41, 42
Holland, golf introduced from, 66
Horse-collar, grinning through a, 54
Hot cross buns, 33, 34
Hunting, 13, 17
Hurling, 22, 23
Indoor games, 21
Ireland, 50
Isaak Walton, 17
January, 1
Jersey, 59
Jingling match, 56
John's, St., Eve, 57
Jousts, 94
July, 61
June, 52
Kenilworth Castle, pageants at 103
Kent and Sussex, first homes of cricket, 62
King of the Bean, 7
Lammas, 74
Lancashire, 49
Lawn-tennis, 70
Lifting, 37
Lillywhite, 65
Local customs, 4, 5, 6, 12, 19, 20, 24, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41,
50, 54, 60, 62, 78, 81, 107, 108, 109, 117, 123
"Lord of Misrule," 125
Magdalen hymn, 45
Magdalen pulpit, 60
March, 25
Martinmas, 110
Maundy Thursday--Money, 33
May--May Day, 44
May-pole, 45, 46, 48
May Queen, 46
"Merry England," 1, 125, 126
Mews, origin of word, 88
Michaelmas, 88
Midsummer Eve, 58
Minor ball-games, 71
Miracle plays, 36, 57, 98
Misrule," "Lord of, 125
Mitford, Miss, _Our Village_, 64
_Moralities_, 99
Mothering-Sunday, 31
Mummers, 124
_Mysteries_, 57, 98, 100
New Year's Day, 45
_Nicholas, St., The Image of_, mystery play, 99
Nicholas, Day, St., 116
_Noah and the Flood_, mystery play, 98
November, 105
October, 92
Old songs, 4, 6, 8, 13, 14, 23, 28, 36, 46, 63, 75, 76, 77, 109
Orchards, wassailing of, 4, 6
Otter-hunting, 17
_Our English Villages_, reference, 3, 80
_Our Village_, reference, 64
Outdoor winter sports, 7
Oxford customs, 109, 123
Pace, _Pasche, Paschal_, eggs, 37
Pageants, 101
Pall Mall, 68
Palm Sunday, 32
Park, St. James's, 68
Parson, country, 50
Pea, Queen of, 8
Pig-catching, 56
Pigeon-holes, 56
Plagues, 72
Plough Monday, 9
Pole-leaping, 38
Purification, 18
Puritans, 47
Quarter-staff, 38, 54, 56
Queen of the Pea, 8
Queen of the Play, 46
Quintain, 41
Reading town, 27, 42, 54
Reformation, 9, 18, 22
Refreshment Sunday, 31
Relics of Sun-worship, 51, 59
Revival of Bounds-beating, 51
Robin Hood, 28
Roch's, St., Day, 75
Rogation Days, 50
Royal golfers, 66
" tennis players, 69, 70
Rush-bearing, rushes in Churches, 49, 71, 72
Salisbury, boy bishop, 116
September, 84
Sepulchres, 35
Sheep-shearing, 79
Shere Thursday, 33
Shrovetide, 19, 24
Simnell-cakes, 32
Single-stick, 35
Skating, 10, 38
"Spinster," derivation of, 9
Sports, Book of, 48, 49, 50
Sports, early, 14, 16
Songs, old, 4, 6, 8, 13, 14, 23, 28, 36, 46, 63, 75, 76, 77, 109
Soul-cakes, 106
Stool-ball, 66
Stuarts, 21, 48, 50, 66, 68, 80
Sudeley Castle, pageants at, 101
Sun-worship, relics of, 57, 59
Superstitions, 5, 33, 39, 50, 59, 106, 107
Sussex custom, 4
Sussex and Kent, first homes of cricket, 62
Tansy-cake, 38
Tennis, 68, 71
Tilting at a ring, 97
Tipcat called Billet, 23
Tournaments, 92
Trap-ball, 66
Tusser, _Five Hundred Points of Husbandry_, 79
Twelfth Day Eve, 5, 6
Twelfth Night, 7
_Undershaft_, St. Andrew, 48
Uncleanliness, 72
Valentine, St., 18
Wakes, 79, 80, 81
Walton, Isaak, 17
"Wassail," 4
Water tournament, 39, 40
Whistling match, 56
White Horse Hill, 54
Whitsuntide, 52
Willes, 65
Winter games, indoor, 10
Wise men from East, 7
Withers, Christmas song, 125
Wrestling, 59
Year, New, festivities, 4, 5
Yule-log, 118
* * * * *
Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, London & Bungay