A long time ago the year was marked out with special days which marked the
passing year. These were days of celebrations where people would do things, eat
things or make things which they would not normally do. Some of these
celebrations may seem strange, funny and even mad to visitors to our country.
Where else can you watch adults run down a steep hill chasing a ball of cheese?
Below is a calendar of our unusual customs, ceremonies and traditions in England
and other parts of Britain.
January
Fireball-Whirling Ceremony, Stonehaven, Scotland . On the
night of the Old New Year's Eve, young men whirl balls of burning rope around
their heads.
February
Hurling the Silver Ball, St Ives Cornwall.This traditional event
is held annually on Feast Monday. The silver ball is thrown from the wall of the
parish church by the mayor into the waiting crowd, then passed from one to
another on the beaches and through the streets of the town. The person
holding the silver ball at 12.00pm takes it to the mayor at the Guildhall.
March
The Tichborne Dole
April
Walpurgis Night, Beltane Eve. Celtic Fire Festival celebrating
the coming of summer. This is an old pagan festival, which borrowed its name
from Saint Walburga whose feast occurs on May Day. On this night witches are
believed to ride on broomsticks and he-goats to places of old pagan sacrifices in
the Harz Mountains, especially to Brocken, the highest point in the mountains.
May
May Sweeps Festival, Rochester, Kent. (First weekend in
May).This occurs in the first weekend in May. It is a throwback to pagan
traditions and coincides with the tradition of Chimney Sweeps welcoming the
summer so that they could clean the dirty chimneys. Dancers and Musicians
converge on the street to provide a wonderfully colourful spectacle.
Cheese Rolling, Cooper's Hill, Brookworth in Gloucestershire. Forty thousand
spectators congregate at Coopers Hill in the Gloucester village of Brockworth to
watch the traditional Double Gloucester cheese hurtle down a steep slope,
pursued by dozens of running, rolling competitors, the fastest of whom wins the
cheese.
June
18th June Nettle Eating Contest. Marsham, Dorset. Thirty
challengers attempt to eat nettle in order to find out the current champion
nettle-eater.
July
Swan Upping (last Monday) River Thames. The Dyers and
Vintner's Companies have the right, established in medieval times, to keep
swans on the Thames River. Every year the Queen's Swan Keeper and Swan
Markers from the two livery companies row in skiffs along the river to mark the
cygnets (baby swans).
August
Scarecrow Festival, Kettlewell, Yorks. Life-size scarecrows
are made and displayed around the village by local people in early to mid-August.
A hugely popular event.
September
Horseman's Sunday - Hyde Park Church - Third Sunday.The
vicar of St John's Church appears before his congregation on horseback and
blesses a hundred or so horses. He then leads a cavalcade of over 100 horses
and riders to the church to celebrate horse riding in the heart of London. At
noon the horses begin to arrive in procession, lining up along the forecourt of
the church and on Hyde Park Crescent for a blessing, before taking part in a
ride-past and a presentation of rosettes.
October
4th Thursday. Punky Night. Traditionally on this night,
children in the South of England would carve their ‘Punkies’,(pumpkins) into Jack
O'Lanterns. Once carved the children would go out in groups and march through
the streets, singing traditional ‘punky’ songs, calling in at friendly houses and
competing for best lantern with rival groups they meet. The streets would be lit
with the light of the Punkies. Today, in Hinton St George, Somerset, the
children still carry candle-lanterns made from hollow out pumpkins through the
streets in the evening.
November
5 November. Tar-Barrel Racing. Ottery St Mary, Devon.
Ottery St. Mary is internationally renowned for its Tar Barrels, an old custom
said to have originated in the 17th century. The annual event involves people
racing through the streets of the town, carrying flaming wooden barrels of
burning tar on their backs.
December
Christmas Day Morning. Peter Pan Swim. Serpentine Lake
in Hyde Park - 9am. This event dates back to 1864, when the author of the
children’s classic, J M Barrie presented the Peter Pan Cup. Dozens of men and
women swim the 100 yards in temperatures just above freezing and spectators
are welcome on the banks. Only members of the Serpentine Swimming Club may
take part in the race.