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Calendar Customs in the United Kingdom
Calendar Customs in the United Kingdom
Calendar customs have existed since man was born. Every country has its own traditions and England is no exception enjoying some strange folkloric heritage.
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17/03/2011
ngland has an unusually fascinating folklore heritage. Many of the traditions we celebrate throughout the year are inevitably linked to religious festivals and ceremonies. Others are perhaps a little more irreverent, rooted in our pagan past and linked into the county’s interesting history that has survived the onslaught of Roman, Saxon, Viking and Norman conquests.
Whether sacred or secular, certain of our customs and superstitions that have been passed down through generations may appear to be rather strange signposts to our county’s past. Some are ancient, others are relatively modern, initiated or revived for the tourist market. But it would be foolish to dismiss any of these traditions as irrelevant, for, in time they will surely be absorbed in the annual cycle of our county folklore.
Royal Birth Chart
By the early 20th century, astrology seemed to have almost disappeared from public view until revived by a press stunt at the time of the late Princess Margaret’s birth in August 1930. The Sunday Express commissioned an astrologer, R N Naylor, to draw up a birth chart for the royal baby and to compile a simple horoscope for those born around the same time. The public response was enormous and horoscopes became big business as newspaper circulation figures soared and newspapers all over the world began publishing regular columns of astrological predictions.
In spite of past experience, we enjoy ourselves as much as we can at the year’s start in the half-acknowledged, but all the same, general belief that with good luck at the beginning of the year, good fortune will continue to its end. Every society seems to have its own rituals associated with New Year which is a minefield of superstition as in other parts of the kingdom.
Customs at New Year
The passing of the old year and the birth of the new, have great significance in English towns and villages as in other parts of Britain. Celebrations for New Year’s Eve often continue into New Year’s Day without a break. In many parts, the chiming of church bells at midnight and the singing of Auld Lang Syne are traditional ways of saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new – much the same as it is celebrated the world over.
New Year
Beginnings are important. Even non-superstitious folk regard the beginning of a New Year with a certain deference. January lst is a key turning point in many people’s lives. Essex newspapers are full of information advising on New Year Resolutions. This is now the day to start that new diet, a day for tidying up, a clean page in the diary on which, hopefully, splendid and happy things may yet be written. Divination rituals abounded in the old, more superstitious days and even in this sophisticated world, good luck signs are sought.
Molly Dancing
Over the last few years, too, we can meet up with molly dancers from Essex who congregate in Trafalgar Square and dance the New Year in as part of their special way of celebrating. Many revellers join in the jigs. Some may prefer to welcome the New Year quietly at midnight church services or stay at home to celebrate with family and friends. Fortunately, since 1974, New Year’s Day has been a public holiday throughout the UK, giving people a chance to catch up on their sleep.
First Footing
When New Year’s Day arrives, the ‘First Footer’ is welcomed to bring luck to a household; the custom calls for a tall, dark-haired man to cross the threshold immediately after the midnight chimes, bringing with him the symbolic gifts of a loaf of bread, a lump of coal, and silver coins, to ensure that his hosts will have food, warmth and prosperity through the coming year. Entering his silence, he wishes everyone present a ‘Happy New Year’ with a kiss for the ladies. Most importantly, he should leave by the back door.
This Colchester version of the well known rhyme, runs:
I wish you a happy New Year
A pocketful of money, a cellar full of beer,
A good fat pig to last all year
So please give a gift for New Year.
The Scottish Influence
Although far distant from North of the Border, many Scottish traditions are celebrated East Anglia, particularly at New Year. These derive from the influx of Scottish families who arrived in the late Victorian period to take over empty farms during the terrible agricultural depression. This recession was caused by a combination of plummeting wheat prices, disastrous harvests and the importation of cheap corn from abroad that left local farmers destitute. Some sought work in the towns or in industry. More than three hundred Scottish families settled into farms in Essex from the 1880s to 1930s.
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