Old English Customs Extant at the Present Time; An Account of Local Observances (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER!! New Year's Day and Jirst-footing?Banjfshire custom?Wassail bowls?New Year's gifts and good wishes?Midnight services?Queen's College, Oxford? Yorks custom?Local rhymes and wassailers?Quaaltagh in Isle of Man?Twelfth Night or Epiphany?Plough Monday?Wassailing orchards?Court custom.?Haxey Hood? Watching animals?St. PauFs Day?Valentine's Day ? Islip valentine ? Customs in Berks and Essex?Hurling at St. Ives. ONE of the earliest customs that I can recollect is that of first-footing on New Year's Eve, which is commonly practised in the North of England and in Scotland. The first person who enters the house after midnight is called the first-foot, and is esteemed as a herald of good fortune. In Lancashire this important person must be a dark-complexioned man, otherwise superstitious folk believe that ill-luck will befall the household. In some other parts of England a light-complexioned man is considered a more favourable harbinger of good fortune. Indeed, there seems to be a great variety of opinion with regard to the complexionof a " first-foot." In Northumberland a light-haired and flat-footed man is preferred; in Fife, red hair and a flat foot are to be avoided. Sometimes a man is preferred, sometimes a boy; occasionally women are chosen; at other places they are strongly objected to. Quot homines tot sententice is certainly true with regard to the appearance and sex of the lucky " first-foot." The person who performs this duty in Durham is bound by custom to bring in a piece of coal, a piece of iron, and a bottle of whisky. To each man of the company he gives a glass, and to each woman a kiss. On these occasions sweetened ale or egg- flip are the prescribed beverages for the drinking of healths when the new year is " brought in." In BanfFshire the villagers co...