Now, now the mirth comes
With the cake full of plums,
Where beane’s the king of the sport here,
Beside, we must know,
The pea also
Must revell, as queene in the court here.
Begin then to chuse,
This night as ye use,
Who shall for the present delight here,
Be a king by the lot,
And who shall not
Be Twelfe-day queene for the night here.
Which knowne, let us make
Joy-sops with the cake;
And let not a man then be seen here,
Who unurg’d will not drinke,
To the base from the brink,
A health to the king and the queene here.
Next crowne the bowle ful.
With gentle lambs-wooll;
Adde sugar, nutmeg, and ginger,
With store of ale, too;
And thus ye must doe
To make the wassaile a swinger.
Give them to the king
And queene wassailing;
And though with ale ye be whet here;
Yet part ye from hence,
As free from offence,
As when ye innocent met here.
A citation by Brand represents the ancient Twelfth-night-cake to have
been composed of flour, honey, ginger, and pepper. The maker thrust in,
at random, a small coin as she was kneading it. When baked, it was
divided into as many parts as there were persons in the family, and
each had his share. Portions of it were also assigned to Christ, the
Virgin, and the three Magi, and were given in alms.
* * * * *
On Twelfth-day the people of Germany and the students of its academies
chose a king with great ceremony and sumptuous feastings.
In France, the Twelfth-cake is plain, with a bean; the drawer of the
slice containing the bean is king or queen. All drink to her or his
majesty, who reigns, and receives homage from all, during the evening.
There is no other drawing, and consequently the sovereign is the only
distinguished character. In Normandy they place a child under the table,
which is so covered with a cloth that he cannot see; and when the cake
is divided, one of the company taking up the first piece, cries out,
“Fabe Domini pour qui?” The child answers, “Pour le bon Dieu:” and in
this manner the pieces are allotted to the company. If the bean be found
in the piece for the “bon Dieu,” the king is chosen by drawing long or
short straws. Whoever gets the bean chooses the king or queen, according
as it happens to be a man or woman. According to Brand, under the old
order of things, the Epiphany was kept at the French court by one of the
courtiers being chosen king, and the other nobles attended an
entertainment on the occasion; but, in 1792, during the revolution, _La
Fête de Rois_ was abolished; Twelfth-day was ordered to be called _La
Fête de Sans-Culottes_; the old feast was declared anti-civic; and any
priest keeping it was deemed a royalist. The Literary Pocket Book
affirms, that at _La Fête de Rois_ the French monarch and his nobles
waited on the Twelfth-night king, and that the custom was not revived on
the return of the Bourbons, but that instead of it the royal family
washed the feet of some people and gave them alms.
* * * * *
There is a difference of opinion as to the _origin_ of Twelfth-day.
Brand says, “that though its customs vary in different countries, yet
they concur in the same end, that is, to do honour to the Eastern Magi.”
He afterwards observes, “that the practice of choosing ‘king,’ on
Twelfth-day, is similar to a custom that existed among the ancient
Greeks and Romans, who, on the festival days of Saturn, about this
season of the year, drew lots for kingdoms and like kings exercised
their temporary authority.” Indeed, it appears, that the question is
almost at rest. Mr. Fosbroke affirms that “the king of Saturnalia was
elected by beans, and that from thence came our king and queen on this
day.” The coincidence of the election by _beans_ having been common to
both customs, leaves scarcely the possibility of doubt that ours is a
continuation of the heathen practice under another name. Yet “some of
the observances on this day are the remains of Druidical, and other
superstitious ceremonies.” On these points, if Mr. Fosbroke’s Dictionary
of Antiquities be consulted by the curious inquirer, he will there find
the authorities, and be in other respects gratified.
* * * * *
The _Epiphany_ is called _Twelfth-day_, because it falls on the twelfth
day after Christmas-day. _Epiphany_ signifies manifestation, and is
applied to this day because it is the day whereon Christ was manifested
to the Gentiles. Bourne in his Vulgar Antiquities, which is the
substructure of Brand’s Popular Antiquities, remarks that this is the
greatest of the twelve holidays, and is therefore more jovially
observed, by the visiting of friends and Christmas gambols, than any
other.
Finally, on observances of this festival not connected with the
Twelfth-night king and queen. It is a custom in many parishes in
Gloucestershire on this day to light up twelve small fires and one large
one; this is mentioned by Brand: and Mr. Fosbroke relates, that in some
countries twelve fires of straw are made in the fields “to burn the old
witch,” and that the people sing, drink, and dance around it, and
practise other ceremonies in continuance. He takes “the old witch” to be
the Druidical God of Death. It is stated by sir Henry Piers, in genl.
Vallancey’s “Collectanea,” that, at Westmeath, “on Twelve-eve in
Christmas, they used 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, lights of the
world.” Sir Henry’s inference may reasonably be doubted; the custom is
probably of higher antiquity than he seems to have suspected.
A very singular merriment in the Isle of Man is mentioned by Waldron, in
his history of that place. He says, that “during the whole twelve days
of Christmas, there is not a barn unoccupied, and that every parish
hires fiddlers at the public charge. On Twelfth-day, the fiddler lays
his head in some one of the girls’ laps, and a third person asks, who
such a maid, or such a maid shall marry, naming the girls then present
one after another; to which he answers according to his own whim, or
agreeable to the intimacies he has taken notice of during this time of
merriment. But whatever he says is as absolutely depended on as an
oracle; and if he happens to couple two people who have an aversion to
each other, tears and vexation succeed the mirth. This they call cutting
off the fiddler’s head; for, after this, he is dead for the whole year.”
It appears from the Gentleman’s Magazine, that on Twelfth-day 1731, the
king and the prince at the chapel royal, St. James’s, made their
offerings at the altar, of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, according to
custom, and that at night their majesties, &c. played at hazard for the
benefit of the groom-porter. These offerings which clearly originate
from the Roman church, and are not analogous to any ceremony of the
church of England, continue to be annually made; with this difference,
however, that the king is represented by proxy in the person of some
distinguished officer of the household. In other respects the
proceedings are conducted with the usual state.