Foreword

Why did I choose to talk about British traditions and superstitions?

Because I believe that they are a good way of discovering people and they
help you understand their beliefs, behaviour and habits. With their help
you can enter the British world and become a part of it even though
figuratively speaking.
Every nation has its own traditions and superstitions. So, the British
couldn’t have been an exception. The British are one of the people whose
superstitions and traditions are known worldwide and have become quite
famous. Who hasn’t heard about the tradition of drinking tea, about all the
traditions regarding the royal family, about Robin Hood or the Loch Ness
monster, about King Arthur and his knights, about Christmas customs,
about Halloween or about St. Valentine’s Day?
The British are traditional people. They actually have customs for almost
each day of the year and put a lot of soul into their organization and treat
each of them with respect and seriousness. But, the British people are at
the same time people who believe in superstitions and in the effect that
they have upon their lives. As a result, they don’t leave their homes
without, firstly, making sure that the Universe is not against them and
something bad may happen to them during the day.
We can say that British superstitions and traditions are a way of living and
they may apply to each of us. They are for everyone no matter their
origins, living conditions, social status or culture.

1
 1.Introduction

Short history of Great Britain and the British

The British (also known as Britons, informally Brits or archaically Britishers) are citizens of
the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, one of the Channel Islands, or of one of the British
overseas territories, and their descendants In a historical context, the word is used to refer to
the ancient Britons, the indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain south of the Forth British
nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, which are acquired
through a variety of means including by birth in the UK and by descent from British
nationals.

Although early assertions of being British date from the Late Middle Ages, a developed
British national identity emerged following the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in
1707. The notion of Britishness—which was closely tied with Protestantism at the time of its
inception—was forged during the Napoleonic Wars between Britain and the First French
Empire, and was developed further during the Victorian era. The complex history of the
formation of the United Kingdom created a "particular sense of nationhood and belonging" in
Britain; Britishness came to be "superimposed on to much older identities", and the English,
Scottish and Welsh "remain in many ways distinct peoples in cultural terms", giving rise to
resistance to British identity. Because of longstanding ethno-sectarian divisions British
identity in Northern Ireland is controversial, but is held with strong conviction by Unionists.

Contemporary Britons are descended mainly from the varied ethnic stocks that settled in
Great Britain before the 11th century. Prehistoric, Celtic, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse
influences were blended in Britain under the Normans, Scandinavian Vikings who had lived
in northern France. Conquest and union facilitated migration, cultural and linguistic exchange,
and intermarriage between the people of England, Scotland and Wales during the Middle
Ages, Early Modern period and beyond. Since the 19th century, and particularly since the
mid-20th century there has been immigration to the United Kingdom by people from Ireland,
the Commonwealth, other parts of Europe and elsewhere; they and their descendants are
mostly British citizens with some assuming a British, dual or hyphenated identity.

International perceptions of the British broadly revolve around their politeness and reserved
nature. The British are a diverse, multicultural society, with "strong regional accents,
expressions and identities". The social structure of Britain has changed radically since the
19th century, with the decline in religious observance, enlargement of the middle class, and
increased ethnic diversity. The population of the United Kingdom stands at around
60,000,000. The British diaspora is concentrated in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and
United States.

The experience of military, political and economic power from the rise of the British Empire,
led to a very specific drive in artistic technique, taste and sensibility in the United Kingdom.

The UK is an ethnically diverse country with people from various stock. For most of the last
millennium, the lands now constituting the United Kingdom were largely inhabited by
indigenous peoples with small to medium-scale migration from Europe occurring between the
16th and 20th centuries. In 1066, the Normans successfully took control of England and, in
subsequent years, there was some migration from France. In the 19th century, immigration by

2
people outside Europe began on a small scale as people arrived from the British colonies. This
increased during the 20th century. Since World War II, however, substantial immigration
from the New Commonwealth and European countries has considerably altered the
demographic make-up of many cities in Britain. The majority of Britons are White (92%)
with the remainder from various ethnic groups, mainly Asian, Black, and mixed-race.

1.2.The meaning of traditions and superstitions for British people

Britain is full of culture and traditions which have been around for hundreds of years. British
customs and traditions are famous all over the world. When people think of Britain they often
think of people drinking tea, eating fish and chips and wearing bowler hats, but there is more
to Britain than just those things. We have English and British traditions of sport, music, food
and many royal occasions. There are also songs, sayings and superstitions. Who was Guy
Fawkes? Why does the Queen have two birthdays? You can find the answers here in our
pages on life in Britain.

Superstition is a part of British culture today. Although superstition was more alive a
hundred years ago, there are still superstitious people around, both young and old. Some
people though, clame not to be superstitious, but it is still a part of them.
Superstition is a pretty slippery concept, and we need to examine what we mean by it. The
simple statement that a superstition is an irrational belief is quite adequate for most purposes,
as long as we don't enquire too closely into the meaning of the word 'irrational'. But not every
irrational belief gets labelled as superstition, so we need to look a bit closer. One of the key
characteristics of superstition is a belief in the existence of luck, as a real force in life, and that
luck can be predicted by signs, and can be controlled or influenced by particular actions or
words. Other key elements include a belief in fate, which again can be predicted and
manipulated, and a belief in fate, which again can only be described as magic - the idea that
people can be harmed or protected by spells, charms, amulets, curses, witchcraft, and so on.
Superstitions are also unofficial knowledge, in that they run counter to the official teachings
of religion, school, science, and government, and this is precisely why - even in the 21st
century - many of us like to hold onto a few, to show that we are not totally ruled by science
and hard fact.
But why were people so superstitious? It is usually assumed that superstition is the result of
fear and uncertainty - an attempt to control the parts of life that are in fact beyond our
understanding or control. This is largely true, and there is some evidence that superstition is
more prevalent in people involved in dangerous occupations, and increases in times of
particular uncertainty, such as during a war.

English folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in England over a number of
centuries. Some stories can be traced back to their roots, while the origin of others is uncertain
or disputed. England abounds with folklore, in all forms, from such obvious manifestations as
the traditional Arthurian legends (which were originally strictly Britonic) and Robin Hood
tales, to contemporary urban legends and facets of cryptozoology such as the Beast of Bodmin
Moor.
Morris dance and related practices such as the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance preserve old
English folk traditions, as do Mummers Plays. Pub names may preserve folk traditions.

3
 2.Traditions - All Year Round British Folklore and Customs
2.1. January

New Year's Day

New Year's Day is the first day of the year, in the Gregorian calendar. In modern times, it is
January 1. It is a time for looking forward and wishing for a good year ahead. It is also a
holiday.
People welcome in the New Year on the night before. This is called New Year's Eve. In
Scotland, people celebrate with a lively festival called Hogmanay. All over Britain there are
parties, fireworks, singing and dancing, to ring out the old year and ring in the new. As the
clock - Big Ben - strikes midnight, people link arms and sing a song called Auld Lang Syne. It
reminds them of old and new friends.

The Door Custom

In the old days, the New Year started with a custom called 'first footing', which was suppose
to bring good luck to people for the coming year. As soon as midnight had passed and January
1st had started, people used to wait behind their doors for a dark haired person to arrive. The
visitor carried a piece of coal, some bread, some money and some greenery. These were all
for good luck - the coal to make sure that the house would always be warm, the bread to make
sure everyone in the house would have enough food to eat, money so that they would have
enough money, and the greenery to make sure that they had a long life.
The visitor would then take a pan of dust or ashes out of the house with him, thus signifying
the departure of the old year.

St Agnes's Eve 20 January

This was the day on which girls and unmarried women who wished to dream of their future
husbands would perform certain rituals before going to bed. These included transferring pins
one by one from a pincushion to their sleeve whilst reciting the Lord's Prayer, or abstaining
from food and drink all day, walking backwards up the stairs to bed, and eating a portion of
dumb cake ( previously prepared with a group of friends in total silence and often containing
an unpleasantly large portion of salt) before lying down to sleep.

Customs of the Year's First New Moon

It is said that if you look through a silk handkerchief at the new moon, which has never been
washed, the number of moons you see will be the number of years which will pass until you're
married. But it is unlucky to see the new moon through a window.

4
Twelfth Night
Evening before Epiphany. Twelfth Night marks the end of the medieval Christmas festivities
and the end of Twelfthtide (the 12-day season after Christmas ending with Epiphany). Also
called Twelfth Day Eve.

Epiphany or Twelfth Day

Also known as Old Christmas Day and Twelfthtide. On the twelfth day after Christmas,
Christians celebrate the visit of the Magi or wise men to the baby Jesus.

Plough Monday
The day on which work started again after Twelfth Night was known to countryfolk as Plough
Monday: the day on which labourers had to return to the fields. The day was also nicknamed
St Distaff's Day: the day on which women had to return to work with the distaff (another
name for a spindle) after the Christmas holiday.

Wassailing
People went from door to door, rather like carol singers at Christmas times, but at New Year
they were called 'wassailers'.

Burns Night
The people of Scotland honour their greatest poet, Robert Burns. He was born on January
25th nearly 245 years ago (1759) and wrote his first song when he was sixteen. A traditional
Scottish meal is neaps (swede), tatties (potato) and haggis washed down with whisky.

2.2.February

Candlemas Day (the Christian festival of lights )

2nd February is Candlemas Day. This ancient festival marks the midpoint of winter, halfway
between the shortest day and the spring equinox. In olden times, many people used to say that
the Christmas season lasted for forty days - until the second day of February.

How did this 2nd February come to be called Candlemas?

It was the day of the year when all the candles, that were used in the church during the
coming year, were brought into church and a blessing was said over them - so it was the
Festival Day (or 'mass') of the Candles.
Candles were important in those days not only because there was no electric lights. Some
people thought they gave protection against plague and illness and famine. For Christians,
they were (and still are) a reminder of something even more important. Before Jesus came to

5
earth, it was as if everyone was 'in the dark'. People often felt lost and lonely. Afraid. As if
they were on their own, with no one to help them. Then came Jesus with his message that he
is with his followers always ready to help and comfort them. As if he is a guiding light to
them in the darkness. Christians often talk of Jesus as 'the light of the World' - and candles are
lit during church services to remind Christians of this.

Borrowed Days - 12 - 14 February

12 - 14 February were traditionally said to be 'borrowed' from January. If these days were
stormy, the year would be favoured with good weather: but if fine, the year's weather would
be foul. The last three days of March were said to be borrowed from April.

Candlemas
Candlemas is a traditional Christian festival that commemorates the ritual purification of
Mary forty days after the birth of her son Jesus. On this day, Christians remember the
presentation of Jesus Christ in the Temple. Forty days after the birth of a Jewish boy, it was
the custom to take him to the temple in Jerusalem to be presented to God by his thankful
parents.
In pre-Christian times, this day was known as the 'Feast of Lights' and celebrated the increase
strength of the life-giving sun as winter gave way to spring.
This feast is called Candlemas because that was the day on which the year's supply of candles
for the church were blessed.

St Valentine’s Day
This was originally thought to be the day on which birds chose their mates. There are many
traditions and tales associated with romance activities on Valentines day including:
• the first man an unmarried woman saw on 14th February would be her future husband;
• if the names of all a girl's suitors were written on paper and wrapped in clay and the clay put
into water, the piece that rose to the surface first would contain the name of her husband-to-
be.
• if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine’s Day, it meant she would marry a
sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a
goldfinch, she would marry a rich person.
Each year in Britain, we spend around £503m on cards, flowers, chocolates and other gifts for
Valentine's Day. Traditionally these were sent anonymously, but now-a-days we often make it
clear who is sending each 'Valentine'.

Thinking Day
This is the day when members of the Scout and Guide movements remember their founders
Lord and Lady Robert Baden-Powell.

6
Kissing Friday (the Friday after Ash Wednesday) Friday of Shrove Week, English schoolboys
were once entitled to kiss girls in without fear of punishment or rejection, a custom that lasted
until at least the 1940s.
2.3. March

Lent Lily
One of the flowers most associated with March is the narcissus (Wild daffodil). Named after
the boy in Greek mythology, who was changed into a flower. Narciccus is also known as Lent
Lily because it blooms in early spring and the blooms usually dropping before Easter. It is the
main daffodil species of Britain.
The daffodil became a popular Welsh symbol in the 19th Century. Lloyd George used it to
symbolise Wales at the 1911 Investiture and in official publications.

Festivals and Traditions

St David’s Day - Patron Saint of Wales
St Piran’s Day Cornwall
St Patrick’s Day - Patron Saint of Ireland
Mothers Day / Mothering Sunday
The fourth Sunday in Lent (3 weeks before Easter) when Simnel cakes are eaten.
Lady Day
Oranges and Lemons.
In the days when the River Thames at London was wider than it is now, barges carrying
oranges and lemons landed just below the churchyard of St. Clements Dane. On the last day
of March, local primary school children gather at the church to attend a service. They recite
the famous nursery ‚ rhyme and, on occasions, play the tune on hand bells. At the end of the
service, the children are presented with an orange and a lemon from a table outside the
church.

2.4. April

April Fool’s Day

April begins with a day of fun and jokes - April Fool’s Day. No one really knows when this
custom began but it has been kept for hundreds of years.
The First of April, some do say
Is set apart for All Fool’s Day;
But why the people call it so,
Not I, nor they themselves do know.

When did April Fool become popular in England?

7
April fooling became popular in England and Scotland during the 1700s.

April Fool Jokes

April Fool jokes usually involve persuading someone to do something silly, like looking for
hen’s teeth, striped paint, a long weight, a left-handed screwdriver or some other non-existent
thing.
However, you can only play April Fool’s on people before midday –at midday the fun must
stop or the trickster is told:
‚April Fool’s Day is past and gone,
Your’re the fool and I am none.’

The Cuckoo
The arrival of the cuckoo is the signal that spring has come. It arrives some time in mid April.
The cuckoo sings from St. Tiburtius’ Day (14th April) to St John’s Day (24th June). However
in Worcestershire there is a saying that the cuckoo is never heard before Tenbury fair (April
21st), or after Pershore fair (June 26th). The difference in dates is because traditionally the
bird arrives in different parts of the country during April.
Various April dates are called ‚Cuckoo Day ‚ and some places hold ‚Cuckoo Fairs’.
24 April - Marsden Cuckoo Day in West Yorkshire is an annual traditional festival that
celebrates the arrival of spring. According to a local legend, Marsdeners used to try to prolong
the cuckoo’s stay by building a wall around its nest.
25 April - Heathfield Cuckoo Fair in East Sussex is an annual tradition of releasing a cuckoo
to mark the beginning of summer. A tale of Heathfield Fair depicts an Old Woman releasing
the Cuckoo from her basket, whereupon he „flies up England carrying warmer days with
him”.
2 May - Downton Cuckoo Fair is an annual traditional event held on the greens of the
picturesque village of Downton, south of Salisbury, Wiltshire. The fair marks the „opening
the gate” to let the cuckoo through.

Easter usually comes in the month of April. It is what is called a ‚moveable feast’ because the
date of it is fixed according to the moon. Easter Sunday has to be the first Sunday after the
full moon which means that Easter can fall as early as 22 March or as late as 25 April .

Primrose Day
In the late 19 century, 19 April was celebrated as Primrose Day in memory of British Prime
Minister, Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield), who died on this day in 1881. People were
encouraged to pay tribute to the statesman by wearing primroses as they were supposedly his
favourite flower. However, it seems there was a misunderstanding and that the flower was not
his favourite after all. Queen Victoria sent a wreath of primroses to Disraeli’s funeral with a
note stating that they were „his favourite flowers”; people assumed that the ‚his’ referred to
Disraeli, but in fact it referred to Victoria’s late husband, Prince Albert.

8
St Georges Day - England’s National Day
The 23rd April is St. George’s Day . St. George is the Patron Saint of England and also of
Scotland.
It is said that St. George once saved a village from great danger. The village were frightened
of a fierce dragon who lived close by, so St George killed the dragon.

2.5.May
May Day (Garland Day)
In Britain, as in most parts of Western Europe, May day marked the end of the harsh winter
months, welcomed the beginning of Summer, and optimistically looked forward to the bright
and productive months. For our ancestors, largely in rural areas, it was a major annual festival
and was celebrated through out the country, especially on the first of May with music,
dancing and games.
Traditional May Day celebrations included dancing around maypoles and the appearance of
hobby horses’ and characters such as Robin Hood and Jack in Green.

Oak Apple Day

This is the day that traditionally people wear oak apples or oak leaves pinned to them to
remember that on May 29th King Charles ll returned triumphantly to London after the
restoration of the monarchy in 1660.
The reason for the wearing of oak apples or oak leaves was to celebrate the King’s narrow
escape from capture by Cromwell’s soldiers by hiding in an oak tree.
Until well into the twentieth century, anyone caught not wearing an oak leaf or oak apple on
May 29th could be pinched, kicked, or otherwise abused. Whipping with nettles was a
favourite punishment, hence the name Nettle Day’ in some areas.

Arbor Tree Day

Arbor Day, on the last Sunday in May, is the Sunday nearest to Oakapple Day.
In Aston-on-Clun in Shropshire, a large tree standing in the centre of the village is decorated
with flags on the last Sunday in May. The flags stay on the tree until the following May.
Aston-on-Clun is the only place in the UK that still marks this ancient tradition.
People say that in 1786 the local landowner John Marston married on May 29th and, when
passing through the village, saw the villagers celebrating Arbor Day. The bride thought that
the tree looked so beautiful covered in flags, that she gave money to the village to allow the
custom to continue.

9
 2.6. June

Well Dressing
At different times during June there are ceremonies called ‚well dressings’. Springs and wells
of fresh water that come from the underground streams have always seem to be magical
things, so some wells are honoured with decorations.
The decorations consist of branches of greenery and amazingly beautiful pictures made of
flower petals and moss.

Trooping the Colours

The official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II is marked each year by a military parade and
march-past, known as Trooping the Colour (Carrying of the Flag)
Trooping the Colour will take place on Saturday 13 June on Horse Guards Parade. Events
begin at approximately 10am and the parade starts at 11 a.m. (lasts approximately one hour).
The longest day of the year is 21 June or 22 June. It is the day when the sun is at its most
northerly point and this is why it is „the longest day”.
In Wiltshire, there is a circle of huge stones at a place called Stonehenge, and hundreds of
people go there to watch the sun rise on 21 June.
These stones have stood in Wiltshire for thousands of years and no one knows how they got
there. They are not local stone and so whoever placed them there had to somehow transport
them over several miles.

Midsummers Day
The middle of summer comes after the longest day and it is a time associated with witches,
magic, fairies and dancing
On the eve of Midsummer’s Day, many bonfires used to be burnt all over the country. This
was in praise of the sun, for the days were getting shorter and the sun appeared to be getting
weaker, so people would light fires to try and strengthen the sun.

2.7. July

Henley Royal Regatta

Takes place during the first week of July on a stretch of the River Thames at Henley-on-
Thames in Oxfordshire. The Regatta began in 1839 with a single afternoon of rowing races
and now lasts for five days.

10
Swan Upping
The census of swans takes place annually during July on the River Thames in a ceremony
known as Swan Upping. Swans are counted and marked on a 70 mile, five day journey up the
River Thames.

Whitstable Oyster Festival

The English Oyster season officially begins on St James’ Day.
Whitstable Bay, on the north Kent coast, is famous for its oysters. It has been associated with
oysters for hundreds of years. An old Kentish tradition says that Julius Caesar was drawn to
Britain by the Whitstable oysters. On St. James’s Day the locals hold an annual oyster
festival, an event dating back to at least the early 19th century when it was the custom for
fishers and dredgers to celebrate with an annual ceremony of thanksgiving.

2..8.August

Lammas Day
1st August is Lammas Day, and was Thanksgiving time (Harvest time) in Britain. The name
comes from an Anglo-Saxon word Hlafmaesse which means Loaf Mass. The festival of
Lammas marks the beginning of the harvest, when people go to church to give thanks for the
first corn to be cut. This celebration predates our Christian harvest festival.
On Lammas Day farmers made loaves of bread from the new wheat crop and gave them to
their local church. They were then used as the Communion bread during a special mass
thanking God for the harvest. The custom ended when Henry VIII broke away from the
Catholic Church, and nowadays we have harvest festivals at the end of the season.
Michaelmas Day (September 29) is traditionally the last day of the harvest season.
Lammas Day used to be a time for foretelling marriages and trying out partners. Two young
people would agree to a „trial marriage” lasting the period of the fair (usually 11 days) to see
whether they were really suited for wedlock. At the end of the fair, if they didn’t get on, the
couple could part.
Lammas was also the time for farmers to give their farm workers a present of a pair of gloves.
In Exeter, a large white glove was put on the end of a long pole which was decorated with
flowers and held on high to let people know that the merriment of Lammas Fair was
beginning.

Edinburgh Festival in Scotland

Dating from 1947, the Edinburgh Festival is primarily a celebration of the performing arts,
with live concerts, plays, ballets, operas and other shows.

11
Royal National Eisteddfod in Wales
The Eisteddfod is an older tradition, revived in the 19th century. It originated as a medieval
gathering of bards and minstrels, attended by people across Wales, who competed for the
prized chair at the noble’s table.
Held during the first week of August, it celebrates Welsh arts and culture.

Notting Hill Carnival

The carnival is held on the Summer Bank Holiday, the last Monday in August. It features a
colourful procession, elaborate and extravagant costumes, and the music of many steel bands.
The carnival originated in the mid 1960s as a way of celebrating and maintaining the cultural
traditions of the Caribbean immigrants who live in and around the Notting Hill area.

2.9. September

Harvest Festival
Traditionally 24th September was the day on which harvesting began in medieval England.

Calling the Mare

As the last of the crops are gathered in, there used to be a lovely ceremony called ‚Calling the
Mare’. The farmers all wanted to prove that they had the best reapers, so they tried to gather
in the last of their crops before the neighbouring farmer did.
The last sheaf of the harvest was used to make a rough mare shape and it was quickly sent
round to any farmers who had not finished gathering his crops. It was a way of saying to the
farmer that wild horses would be after his crops, if he didn’t gather them in quickly. The men
would run round to the neighbouring farm, throw the mare over the hedge into the field where
the other farmer was working, and they would shout ‚Mare, Mare’ and then run away.
The farmer, who received the mare, would then have to work quickly to see if he could finish
before another farm did, then he would throw the mare to them.
The farmer who was last to finish had to keep the mare all year and have it on display so that
everyone knew he had been the slowest farmer of that year.

Corn Dolly
Similar to the mare there is a custom of making corn dollies.
A corn dolly was supposed to have been the spirit of the corn goddess and dates back
hundreds of years. People believed that the corn goddess lived in the corn and would die when
the corn was harvested unless some of it was saved. So to make sure the corn goddess stayed
alive until next spring sowing, a corn dolly was made from the last sheaf of corn for the corn
goddess to rest in until the next.

12
Traditional corn dollies named after counties or place names of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland

Essex Terret (This is the Essex Ring

Cambridgeshire
Terret - there is also the Essex Bell or Mordiford
Handbell
Bar Terret)
Barton Turf dolly,
Norfolk

Norfolk Lantern Stafford Knot Suffolk Horseshoe

Michaelmas Day
Michaelmas Day is the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel, celebrated on 29 September. St.
Michael is the patron saint of the sea and maritime lands, of ships and boatmen, of horses and
horsemen. He was the Angel who hurled Lucifer (the devil) down from Heaven for his
treachery.
Michaelmas Day is traditionally the last day of the harvest season.
The harvest season used to begin on 1 August and was called Lammas, meaning ‚loaf Mass’.
Farmers made loaves of bread from the new wheat crop and gave them to their local church.
The custom ended when Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church, and nowadays we
have harvest festivals at the end of the season near Michaelmas Day.

Curfew
Michaelmas used to be a popular day for the winter night curfew to begin - the first hint that
winter was on the way. Curfew took the form of a tolling of the church bell, usually one strike
for each of the days of the month that had passed in the current year and generally rung at
9pm.
The word curfew may derive from the French word couvre feu, meaning ‚cover fire’. Curfew
was the time when household fires were supposed to be doused. The bell was tolled every
night, apart from Sunday, until Shrove Tuesday.
Chertsey is one of the last places to still ring a Curfew bell at 8pm from Michaelmas Day to
Lady Day (29th September to 25th March). Their oldest Curfew bell dates from 1380! Find
out more

13
Goose Day
Michaelmas Day is sometimes also called Goose Day. Goose Fairs are still held in some
English towns, but geese are no longer sold. A famous Michaelmas fair is the Nottingham
Goose Fair which is now held on or around 3 October.
A Great custom in England was to dine on goose on Michaelmas. One reason for this was said
to be that Queen Elizabeth I was eating goose when news of the defeat of the Armada was
brought to her. In celebration she said that henceforth she would always eat goose on
Michaelmas Day. Others then followed her lead.

Quarter Day
Another suggestion, why goose are eaten, is that, as Michaelmas Day was a Quarter Day,
rents were due and bills had to be paid. Tenants seeking delay of payment traditionally bought
a goose as a present for their landlord to help seek his indulgence. Geese were supposedly
very tasty at this time of year.

Labourers for hire

On the day after Michaelmas, every year agricultural labourers presented themselves, along
with their tools, at the nearest market town. There they offered themselves for hire for the
coming year. A fair followed the hirings and this was called ‚Mop Fair’.
Conkers - A traditional game for this time of year
Conkers are the fruit of the horse-chestnut tree. Children have been playing with conkers for
years.

Horn Dance
On the first Monday after September 4th, in a town called Abbots Bromley in Staffordshire, a
very picturesque custom takes place. It is called the Horn Dance. Six men hold masks on
sticks which have long reindeer horns attached to them.
There are two teams of three men each. One team’s reindeer horns are painted white - the
other’s are blue. Each team dances towards the other as if to fight, then they go back, then
advance as if to lock horns, and then go back again. After a while they pass each other straight
over the the other side and they start again.
There are other people in attendance dancing as well - a hobby horse, someone dresses as
Made Marion, a boy with a bow and arrow, a triangle player, a musician and a Fool.

Gurning Competition
The World Gurning Championships are held at the Egremont Crab Fair in the Lake District in
a tradition dating back to 1267. To gurn has many meanings but one of them is to ‚distort the
face’ and making faces is just what this competition is - to see who can make the most awful
face.

14
Holy Rood Day
Rood is another name for a cross and traditionally on 14 September children were freed from
school or work so they could gather nuts.

2.10. October

Lost Traveller Story

In Hampshire, in the eighteenth century, a Mr William Davis was riding home when a heavy
fog surrounded him, and in no time at all he found that he had lost his way.
Suddenly, he heard the bells from his church start to ring, so he followed the sound and
arrived safely home.
Later on he worked out that he must have been only a few yards away from chalk pits, where
the ground had been dug deeply. Had he gone any further, he would have been killed.
When Mr Davis died in 1754, he left some money in his will. The money was to pay the
bellringers to ring the church bells at 6:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. on 7th October every year, to help
travellers find their direction should they get lost on the same night he had been lost.

Mop Fairs (Hiring Fairs)

Michaelmas used to be the time for ‚Mop’ or Hiring Fairs. Servants and farm labourers would
work from October to October and then go to the centre of the village or town to hire
themselves out again for the next year.
People looking for work would dress in their best clothes, and to let people know what work
they wanted, they used to wear or carry some sign of their work. Maids, looking for work,
would carry a small mop (that’s where we get the name Mop Fairs from), a shepherd had
wool,a gardener had flowers and so on.
The new masters and mistresses would walk around the fair and talk to the people. When they
had come to an agreement, they gave the servant a small token - maybe something like 5p.
The servant would then remove the sign of his job and replace it with a bunch of brightly
coloured ribbons to let everyone else know that he had been hired.

St Luke’s Day (18th)

Traditionally a day when girls could have some insight into their future marriage prospects.
Before going to bed they must put on their faces a mixture of spices, honey and vinegar, and
once in bed they must say the following rhyme:
St Luke, St Luke, be kind to me/ In dreams let me my true love see
Punky Night
Punky Night falls on the last Thursday in October and is a Somerset tradition.
Some time in the Middle Ages, all the men of Hinto St George went off to a fair. When they
failed to return that evening, the women went looking for them by the light of punkies.

15
Punky is another name for a pumpkin which has been hollowed out and has a candle standing
inside it.
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.
Nowadays, on Punky Night in Hinton St George, Somerset, local children join a procession
through the village streets, swinging their homemade lanterns and going house to house,
singing traditional ‘punky’ songs and sometimes getting a few pennies at the front door.

Halloween October 31st (Eve of All Hallows)

On October 31st, we celebrate Halloween, thought to be the one night of the year when
ghosts, witches, and fairies are especially active.

2.11. November

All Saints’ Day - 1 November

In the year 835 AD the Roman Catholic Church made 1st November a church holiday to
honour all the saints. This feast day is called All Saints’ Day.

All Hallows
All Saints’ Day used to be known as All Hallows (Hallow being an old word meaning Saint
or Holy Person). The feast day actually started the previous evening, the Eve of All Hallows
or Hallowe’en.
Christians remember all the saints
On Saints’ Day, Christians remember all ‚men of good will’ (saints), great ones and forgotten
ones, who have died through the ages.
Saints are men and women from all ages and all walks of life, who were outstanding
Christians. Some - the martyrs - died for their faith. All of them are honoured by the church.

Hallowtide
All Saints’ Day, together with All Souls’ Day are know collectively as Hallowtide.
All Souls’ Day - 2 November
On All Souls’ Day the Roman Catholic Church remembers all those who have died - not just
the great and the good, but ordinary man-in-the-street. Families visit graves with bunches of
flowers and in church the names of the dead may be read out on request. In some parts of the
country, All Souls’ Day ends with a play or some songs.

16
All Souls Day Tradition
According to tradition, a pilgrim returning from the Holy Land took refuge on a rocky island
during a storm. There he met a hermit, who told him that among the cliffs was an opening to
the infernal regions through which flames ascended, and where the groans of the tormented
were distinctly audible. The pilgrim told Odilo, Abbot of Cluny, who appointed the following
day (2 November 998) to be set apart for ‚all the dead who have existed from the beginning of
the world to the end of time’. The day purposely follows All Saints’ Day in order to shift the
focus from those in heaven to those in purgatory.

Mischief Night
The 4th November is called Mischief Night in some parts of the country. This was the night
when all sorts of naughty things were done - the main idea being to put things in the wrong
place.

Martinmas Day (11th)

The Feast of St Martin, Martinmas was a time for celebrations with great feasts and hiring
fairs, at which farm labourers would seek new posts.
It was also the time when autumn wheat seedling was usually completed in many places,
including the south of Derbyshire. Here it was the farmer’s custom to provide a cakes-and-ale
feast for workers. These special cakes were made with seeds and whole grains, and called
Hopper Cakes.
Tradition food eaten on Martinmas
Beef was the day’s traditional meat dish.
Martinmas today
Since 1918 the 11th has been commemorated as Armistice Day, and all remnants of the old
Martinmas celebrations have disappeared.

Guy Fawkes Day ( Bonfire Night) - 5th November

In November 1605, the infamous Gunpowder Plot took place in which some Catholics plotted
to blow up the English Parliament and King James l, on the day set for the king to open
Parliament. The men were angry because the king had treated them badly and they didn’t like
it.
The story is remembered each 5th November when ‚Guys’ are burned in a celebration known
as „Bonfire Night”

The Lord Mayor’s Show

The Lord Mayor’s Show takes place in London on the second Saturday in November, to mark
the start of the new Lord Mayor of London’s year in office. The first Lord Mayor’s Show was
held in 1215 and since its conception only major events such as the Black Death - and in
1852, the funeral of the Duke of Wellington - have stopped the show.

17
St Cecilia’s Day - 22nd November
St Cecilia is thought to have been a Roman maiden who was martyred in the second or third
century. Her story is told in the ‚Second Nun’s Tale’ in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. She is
usually portrayed with an organ, and is the patron saint of musicians.
Concerts and recitals are often given on St Cecilia’s Day.

St Andrews Day - 30th November

On 30 November, Scottish people celebrate St Andrew’s Day. St Andrew is the patron saint
of Scotland.

2.12. December

St Nichola’s Day 6 December

This is the feast day of St Nicholas, Bishop of Myra in Asia Minor (now Turkey) in the 4th
century AD. He is the patron saint of children.
In the Netherlands and neighbouring countries of Europe, St Nicholas is said to bring sweets
and presents to well behaved children on 6 December. This tradition was imported to the USA
by Dutch settlers, and St Nicholas evolved into Santa Claus, those gift-giving rounds are
preformed later in the month. In this new incarnation he subsequently returned across the
Atlantic to merge with the British Father Christmas.

Boy Bishops
It was formerly customary on St Nicholas Day to elect a boy bishop who would perform a
juvenile version of the normal duties and ceremonies of this office, excluding the celebration
of Mass, until Holy Innocents Day (28 December)

Holy Innocents Day - Childermass

Holy Innocents Day, also known as Childermas, falls on 28 December. It commemorates
King Herod’s massacre of all male infants in and around Bethlehem under the age of two in
attempt to kill the young Christ.
In the days when Christmas was less child-centred, Childermas was a time for indulging
children with treats and parties.

New Year’s Eve

31st December is the last day of the year. It is New Year’s Eve. Many people see the old year
out with a party, welcoming in the New Year with toasts of champagne, and exchanging good
wishes for a ‚Happy New Year’. This celebration is particularly dear to the Scots. They call it
Hogmanay.

18
All over Britain there are parties, fireworks, singing and dancing, to ring out the old year and
ring in the new. As the clock - Big Ben - strikes midnight, people link arms and sing a song
called ‚Auld Lang Syne’. It reminds them of old and new friends.

2.13.Christmas in the UK

Christmas

From old English Cristes maesse (Christ's Mass), older still, Yule, from the Germanic root
geol. In some languages:

English: Christmas, Yule, Noel

German: Weihnachten
Finnish: Joulu
Swedish: Jul
Italian: Il Natale
Spanish: La Natividad
French: Noel

The traditional Christmas is not a single day but a prolonged period, normally from 24th
December to 6th January. This included the New Year, thus increasing the festival value of
Christmas.

A Christmas history

The Christmas customs and rituals that we follow Christian, Celtic or Roman? Actually, they
are a mixture of all three.

We still look at the Christmas season as a time of "goodwill to all men". This custom goes as
far back as Rome. Lucian (a third century poet) describes the Roman festival of Saturnalia
(Dec. 17 - 24) as "a time when all men shall be equal and all resentment and threats are
contrary to law".

The dates of this Roman festival actually coincided with the old Celtic celebration of Yule so
St. Augustine (realizing that it was much smarter to change the "focus" of Britain's popular
Celtic festival than to ban it) and the other Christians of the time declared that Dec. 25 was the
date of Christ's birth. By establishing that date, they blended all of the Celtic, Christian and
Roman beliefs together into one celebration, let everyone do their own thing and everyone
was happy.

By the time we get to 1066, Britain was very Christian although many of the old Celtic and
Roman customs survived, especially at Christmas.

One of the most important of these was the use of lights in home and church. This was a left
over from the old Celtic belief of "sympathetic magic". The intent being that the lights would
encourage the return of the sun after the dark days of winter. To this day, we still use many
candles in church and our religious observances.

19
Decorating the church and home with evergreen foliage (holly, ivy and mistletoe) was another
custom left over from the old beliefs. Ivy, once the badge of the Roman wine God, Bacchus,
was thought to prevent hangovers and bring good luck. As mistletoe was the ancient symbol
of fertility, it's use was frowned on by the church. However, Holly was welcomed as the
blood of Christ and the crown of thorns.

The nativity play was an invention of St. Francis of Assisi and was a continental custom. It
made its appearance in Britain in the 12th century and was performed in churches and public
places.

In medieval times, the celebration was called the Twelve Days of Christmas and the party ran
for all 12 days. The celebration began on December 25 and ended on January 5. It was a time
for continuous feasting and merry making, which climaxed on Twelfth Night. At his time of
year it was cold outside and there was little agricultural work to do except caring for the
animals so work could be suspended. Sometimes the festivities continued until Candelmass
on Feb. 2. The highlight of this celebration was the feast, the lavishness of which depended
on your place in the social ladder. Many feudal lords were expected to give a great meal for
their tenants. They really did it up big time! During Christmas 1213, the royal family's
guests consumed 200 pigs, 1000 hens, 15,000 herring, 10,000 eels, 100 pounds of almonds
and 27 hogsheads of wine.

On Christmas Eve, the wassail bowl was passed. The rich would fill the bowl with spiced
wine in which roasted apples were floated. The bowl was then passed from person to person
to drink to each other's health. The poor substituted wine with ale mixed with nutmeg, ginger
and honey. This custom can be traced to Anglo-Saxon times, the Saxon phrase "was haile"
meaning a toast to another's health.

At these dinners, the centerpiece of the feast, a boar's head, would be carried into the hall with
great ceremony, preceded by the master of ceremonies and followed by minstrels singing
carols. This was another ancient custom from a time when the boar was a sacrificial animal
revered by the Nordic people.

To end the feast, frumenty was served. (the predecessor to Christmas pudding) This was a
wheaten porridge sweetened with fruit nuts and spices. Christmas pies of the time were meat-
based. The centerpiece of the Twelfth Night party was the Twelfth Night cake. The eating of
this caked involved the crowning of the King of the bean and the Queen of the pea. Whoever
found these items buried in their cake were crowned monarch for the night and their orders
had to be obeyed. These people were party animals that had been drinking for days so one
can only imagine what went on. This idea was carried into schools, colleges and churches by
appointing a boy bishop who was given temporary power to direct the merry-making.

In the villages, mummers would wear masks or blacken their faces, put on animal skins and
perform traditional dances, which originated from old Celtic festivals.

From the 1400's on, there would be a Lord of Misrule. This was generally a person of low
rank who was permitted to reign over the Feast of Fools. This feast included a lot of music,
dancing, men dressed up in women's clothes, drinking and undoubtedly, a lot of debauchery.

There were many other traditions and customs during the celebration. I have highlighted just
a few.

20
All of this merry-making had very little to do with children which is a big difference from
today. The children joined in but gifts were a matter for adults only and were exchanged at
New Year between king and courtiers, landlord and tenants. Father Christmas did not exist at
that time. The medieval child knew Christmas as an adult event. It was a time when
grownups could set aside the strict, oppressive rules of their society and act like children.

Decorated Christmas trees, as we know them, were introduced during the Victorian era.
However, the ancient Celtic people worshiped trees and decorated them throughout the
winter. The idea being to protect them until the sun returned. Based on stories of the 4th
century Dutch St. Nicholas, Santa Claus was introduced in North America by the Dutch
colonists

Christmas nowadays

Christmas Day, 25 December, is celebrated by Christians as the day on which Jesus Christ
was born. In Great Britain, carol services take place in Churches throughout December and
nativity plays are performed They are stories of Christ's birth acted out by school children.
Some families have models of nativity scene in their houses. Another popular form of
Christmas performances are pantomimes which are dramatised versions of well-known fairy
tales. They involve singing, dancing and encouraging the audience to participate. Before
Christmas, people send Christmas cards to their friends and family. The first ever Christmas
card was sent in Britain in the 19th century. Traditional Christmas symbols are Santa Claus,
angels, holly or snowmen.

Traditional Christmas decorations which include holly and ivy originate in the Middle Ages.
The custom of kissing beneath a spring of mistletoe comes, probably, from pagan tradition. A
few days before Christmas families decorate their Christmas tree with baubles, coloured
lights, tinsel and bows. Some people hang a holly wrath on their front door. It has been a
tradition since 1947 that Oslo presents London with a large Christmas tree which stands in
Trafalgar Square in commemoration of Anglo-Norwegian cooperation during the Second
World War. Every year, there is a program of Christmas carols on Trafalgar Square. Another
famous British Christmas tree is the one presented by the British Christmas Tree Growers
Association. It stands outside the Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street

One of the longest preserved British Christmas customs which has changed over hundreds of
years is the kissing bough. In the early middle ages, it was customary in Europe to hang up a
small treetop, upside down as a symbol of the Holy Trinity. This was not only Christmas
tradition but was also used as a Christian symbol of blessing upon the household. The custom
of the Holy Bough transformed into a Kiss under the Mistletoe (which, being evergreen, was
always used in the making of the Holy Bough).

The most popular and international symbol of Christmas is Santa Claus, who in Britain is also
called Father Christmas. He originates from the Viking lore, which was brought by the
Vikings when they invaded Britain in the 8th century. The Anglo-Saxons, who at that time
inhabited Britain, The Saxons welcomed King Frost, or Father Time, or King Winter. They
believed that by welcoming the Winter as a personage, or elemental deity, that element would
be less harsh to them. The Vikings brought their god Odin, the father of the gods. Disguised
in a long blue hooded cloak, and carrying a satchel of bread and a staff, Odin was supposed to

21
join groups of people around their fire, sitting in the background and listening in to hear if
they were content or not. He would occasionally leave a gift of bread at a poor homestead.
These were first customs associated today with Father Christmas-he hooded figure, the secret
visits, the leaving of a gift. With the Normans came St. Nicholas. Viking and Saxon deities
mingled with a Christian element to create a saintly Parish Visitor - a sort of medieval social
worker, a "prototype" of modern Santa Claus.

A famous story by Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Carol", made many people all over the
world associate Christmas with Victorian England.

On Christmas Day's morning, British families open their presents together. The presents are
believed to be left by Santa Claus who, at night, puts them into a stocking that each person
hangs near the chimney. Then many British families attend Christmas services at churches.

On that day, people in Britain have traditional Christmas dinner which consists of roast
turkey, goose or chicken with stuffing and roast potatoes. Next, they eat minced pies and
Christmas pudding-a rich dried-fruit pudding with brandy butter, it may contain coins or
lucky charms for children. The pudding is usually prepared weeks beforehand and is a
tradition that each member of the family stirs the pudding and makes a wish. Some people
also serve Christmas cake which is a rich baked fruit cake with marzipan, icing and sugar
frosting. After dinner, everyone pulls Christmas crackers which were invented by a London
baker in the 19th century. It is a brightly coloured paper tube, twisted at both ends. The cracker
is pulled by two people, it gives out a crack and its contents which are a party hat, a riddle or a
joke and a small toy, are dispersed. Another British Christmas tradition is the Queen's
Christmas Message to the nation which is broadcast on the radio and TV.

The day after Christmas in Britain is called Boxing Day. The name comes from a former
tradition of giving Christmas box a gift of money or food inside a box - to the deliverymen
and trades people who called regularly during the year. It used to be also known as the Feast
of St Stephen when church alms-boxes were opened and the contents given to the poor.
Today, on Boxing Day many sports events take place in Britain

Christmas decorations are traditionally taken down in any time between New Year and 6
January, the festival of Epiphany.

Magi

From old Persian language, a priest of Zarathustra (Zoroaster). The Bible gives us the
direction, East and the legend states that the wise men were from Persia (Iran) - Balthasar,
Melchior, Caspar - thus being priests of Zarathustra religion, the mages. Obviously the
pilgrimage had some religious significance for these men, otherwise they would not have
taken the trouble and risk of travelling so far. But what was it? An astrological phenomenon,
the Star? This is just about all we know about it.

Christmas card

The practice of sending Christmas greeting cards to friends was initiated by Sir Henry Cole in
England. The year was 1843 and the first card was designed by J.C.Horsley. It was
commercial - 1000 copies were sold in London. An English artist, William Egley, produced a

22
popular card in 1849. From the beginning the themes have been as varied as the Christmas
customs worldwide.

Star

The astrological/astronomical phenomenon which triggered the travel of the Magi to give
presents to child Jesus. Variously described as a supernova or a conjunction of planets it
supposedly happened around the year 7 BC - the most probable true birth year of Christ. Star
is often put to the top of the Christmas tree.

Christmas Day

The traditional date for the appearance of Santa Claus, obviously from the birthdate of Jesus
(the word Christmas is from old English, meaning Christ's mass). This date is near the
shortest day of the year, from old times an important agricultural and solar feasting period in
Europe. The actual birthday of Jesus is not known and thus the early Church Fathers in the 4th
century fixed the day as was most convenient. The best fit seemed to be around the old
Roman Saturnalia festival (17 - 21 December), a traditional pagan festivity with tumultuous
and unruly celebrations. Moreover, in 273 Emperor Aurelianus had invented a new pagan
religion, the cult of Sol Invictus (invincible sun, the same as the Iranian god Mithra), the
birthday of this god being 25th December (natalis sol invicti). The Christian priests obviously
saw this choice as doubly meritorious: using the old customary and popular feasting date but
changing the rough pagan ways into a more civilized commemoration.

The first mention of the birthday of Jesus is from the year 354. Gradually all Christian
churches, except Armenians (celebrating 6th January which date is for others the baptismal
day of Jesus and the day of the three Magi), accepted the day. In American/English tradition
the Christmas Day itself is the day for Santa, in German/Scandinavian tradition the Christmas
Eve is reserved for presents.

Christmas symbolics

Candles,fires: Summer, warmth, paradise, end of darkness, Jewish Hanukkah

Tree: Eternal life, Paradise tree, pagan symbol
Apples: Apple of Paradise
Reindeer: A prop
Santa Claus: St Nicholas, pagan deity
Gifts: Customary (Romans, pagans everywhere), Magi
Mistletoe: Peace, kisses
Holly: Christ's crown of thorns
Gnomes: Pagan entirely
Straw: Stable & crib, pagan, handy material for deco
Sock: A prop (as chimney etc)

23
Christmas Crib

Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem. In Catholic countries this fact is brought to mind
with miniature replicas of the nativity scene. The manger, animals, miniatures of Jesus,
Joseph, Maria, the shepherds and the Three Magi are part of this very popular symbol. It was
started (says the legend) by St Franciscus of Assisi. The Pope has his own in Rome but
nowadays the custom is followed in Protestant countries, too.

Mistletoe

Sacred to ancient druids and a symbol of eternal life the same way as Christmas tree. The
Romans valued it as a symbol of peace and this lead eventually its acceptance among
Christmas props. Kissing under mistletoe was a Roman custom, too.

Decorations

Anything goes nowadays. In old times they were simple, wood, paper, straw and often very
intricate. Themes follow the general taste of each time but national traditions can be discerned
even now.

Christmas gifts

There are many roots of this custom. There is St.Nicholas the anonymous benefactor, there is
the tradition of Magi giving precious gifts to Jesus, there is the Roman custom of giving gifts
of good luck to children during Saturnalia. The day of gift giving varies greatly in different
Christian cultures and times:

6th December - in memory of St. Nicholas

24th December - Christmas Eve
25th December - Birthday of Jesus
1st of January - the New year
6th of January - The Epiphany, day of the Three Wise men, the Magi

The giver of the presents are many: Jesus himself, Old Father Christmas, Santa Claus, a
Goat, Befana (the female Santa in Italy), the three Magi, Christmas gnomes, various
Saints, the Kolyada (in Russia), the Joulupukki (in Finland). The oldest Finnish tradition
did not necessarily involve a giver of the presents at all: an unseen person threw the gifts in
from the door and quickly disappeared.

Christmas carols

The Catholic Church valued music greatly and it is no wonder that the early Christmas songs
date from 4th century (the earliest known is Jesus refulsit omnium by St.Hilary of Poitiers).
The Mediaeval Christmas music followed the Gregorian tradition. In Renaissance Italy there
emerged a lighter and more joyous kind of Christmas songs, more like the true carols (from
the French word caroler, meaning to dance in a ring). These songs continued to be religious
and in Latin, though. In Protestant countries the tradition, as everything Christmas-related,
intensified.

24
Christmas plays

Religious plays were part of the Medieval Christian tradition and many of them were
connected with Christmas. The plays were often communal with pageants and general
participation. A popular theme was the coming of the Magi (the Three Kings), because the
plot allowed lots of pomp and decorative props to please the audience. These plays live on in
many places, for instance in Finland in the form of the traditional Star Boys drama.

Food

Christmas means eating in most parts of the Christian world. In old societies hunger was the
supreme king and eating was the highest contrast, the supreme way to nirvana. Meat of some
kind was the most important dish (was this connected with the words of Jesus, "this is my
flesh"?), often pork, ham,goose, (later turkey), fish (carp, salmon). An innumerable variety of
cakes and pastries, often very intricate and only baked for Christmas were and are known
throughout the world. Cakes could be hung from the Christmas tree, too.

3. Superstitions

3.1.What do superstitions mean to the British?

Superstition is a part of British culture today. Although superstition was more alive a
hundred years ago, there are still superstitious people around, both young and old. Some
people though, clame not to be superstitious, but it is still a part of them.
All superstition has grown from something, there is no smoke withoout fire. Who was
the first one to decide that opening an umbrella in a house is bad luck? Who was the first to
walk under a ladder and suffer the consequenses? Who hung a horseshoe the wrong way up,
smashed a mirror and spilled the salt? Who first branded Friday 13th as a day on which luck
would run out?
Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth century life was hazardous, and the central
feature of day-to-day existence was a preoccupation with finding explanations for fortune and
misfortune. Religion, diseases and fire might have been the most essential elements in the
background of the beliefs of superstition. Even though we are not searching for the same
answers today superstition is still with us as a tradition.
The word 'Superstition' comes from the Latin 'super' which meansabove, and 'stare'
which means to stand. Those who survived in a battle were called 'superstitians', since they
had outlived their fellow warriors and therefore stood above them.
Every generation since the dawn of time has written off superstition as being
nonsensical and about to 'kick the bucket'. Yet taboos keep springing back to life. Why do

25
primitive omens survive in the Age of Science? Superstitions are many-sided: silly and
serious, illogical and practical, Pagan and Christian. The ancient omens once touched every
aspect of daily life: in the home; at birth, marriage & death; animals; and women in particular
were the centre of many home-spun rituals. Join Alec in a fun debate as we 'touch wood' and
avoid ladders during an exploration of how primitive rituals are passed on to the next
generation. They are the 'oldest beliefs in the world' and may well outlive the major religions
of today.

3.2. A strong superstition

Of all birds it is probably the magpie that is most associated with superstitions. However,
most superstitions regarding magpies are based around just one bird. Throughout Britain it is
thought to be unlucky to see a lone magpie and there are a number of beliefs about what you
should do to prevent bad luck.

In most parts of the UK it is believed that you should salute the single magpie and say “Good
morning Mr Magpie. How is your lady wife today?” By acknowledging the magpie in this
way you are showing him proper respect in the hope that it will not pass mad fortune on to
you.

In Yorkshire magpies are associated with witchcraft and you should make a sign of the cross
to ward off evil. And in Scotland a single magpie seen near the window of a house is a sign of
impending death, possibly because magpies are believed to carry a drop of the devil’s blood
on his tongue or in another legend because he was the only bird that didn’t sing or comfort
Jesus when he was crucified.

Other things you can do to prevent the bad luck a lone magpie may bring include doffing your
hat, spitting three times over your shoulder or even flapping your arms like wings and cawing
to imitate the magpie's missing mate.

As the well known rhyme "One for sorrow, Two for joy, Three for a girl, Four for a boy, Five
for silver, Six for gold, Seven for a secret never to be told." shows it is only seeing a lone
magpie that brings bad luck and groups of magpies are said to predict the future. There are
many different versions of this rhyme with some counting as high as 20 birds.

Like many other birds magpies mate for life and this may be the inspiration for this rhyme.
And in some parts of the world magpies are not associated with bad luck at all. In Korea a
popular magpie superstition has people believing that that the magpie can foretell when they
will have visitors in the future. In China it is believed that the magpie’s song will bring
happiness and good luck and in some parts of China the magpie is considered a sacred bird.

Although it is not known why magpies have become associated with bad luck magpies are
members of the crow family and like all crows have a reputation for liking shiny objects and
have the reputation of stealing jewellery. Rossini wrote a tragicomic opera entitled La Gazza
Ladra (The Thieving Magpie) about a French girl accused of theft who is tried, convicted and
executed. Later the true culprit is revealed to be a magpie and in remorse the town organises
an annual 'Mass Of The Magpies' to pray for the girl's soul.

26
Another reason for humans disliking magpies is that during breeding season they will
sometimes supplement their diet of grubs, berries and carrion with eggs and baby birds. They
have also been known to kill small pets such as guinea pigs. Studies have shown that magpies
raiding nests have no effect on the populations of songbirds of game birds.

Ensure that the breeding birds in your garden aren't disturbed by magpies by choosing a bird
box that keeps predators out.

3.3. Good luck or bad luck?

Good Luck

Lucky to meet a black cat. Black Cats are featured on many good luck
greetings cards and birthday cards in England.
Lucky to touch wood .
Lucky to find a clover plant with four leaves.
A horseshoe over the door brings good luck. But the horse shoe needs to be
the right way up. The luck runs out of the horse shoe if it is upside down.
On the first day of the month it is lucky to say "white rabbits, white rabbits
white rabbits," before uttering your first word of the day.
Catch falling leaves in Autumn and you're have good luck. Every leaf means a lucky
month next year.

Bad Luck

Unlucky to walk underneath a ladder

Seven years bad luck to break a mirror.
Unlucky to see one magpie, lucky to see two, etc..
Unlucky to spill salt. If you do, you must throw it over your shoulder to
counteract the bad luck.
Unlucky to open an umbrella in doors.
The number thirteen is unlucky. Friday the thirteenth is a very unlucky day.
Friday is considered to be an unlucky day because Jesus was crucified on a Friday.
Unlucky to put new shoes on the table.
Unlucky to pass someone on the stairs.

3.4.Superstitions for everyone

There are many British superstitions and even those who think they are nonsense often
follow them “just in case”. A good example of this is it is bad luck to walk under a
ladder, one could say this makes practical sense.
Another common belief is that it is bad luck to break a mirror, particularly a
rectangular one. Equally it is bad luck to spill salt, to undo this you throw a pinch over
your left shoulder.
A horseshoe over the front door brings good luck, but it has to be the right way up.
We touch; knock on wood, to make something come true.
Black cats that cross your path are lucky. To see one magpie is unlucky but to see two
is lucky. It is very unlucky to kill a robin. As long as there are ravens living at the

27
tower of London the royal family will survive.
If you drop a table knife expect a male visitor, if you drop a fork a female visitor.
Crossed cutlery on your plate and expect a quarrel. Leave a white tablecloth on a table
overnight and expect a death.
Bride and groom must not meet on the day of the wedding except at the alter. The
bride should never wear her complete outfit before the day, her outfit should consist of
“something borrowed, something blue, something old and something new”. The
husband should carry his new wife over the threshold of their home.
It is good luck to show a silver coin to the new moon and to give a baby silver for its
christening.
Children believe it is bad luck to step on the cracks in the pavement and to spit can
avert bad luck. Two people will spit in their hands and then shake hands to seal a
bargain.
It is unlucky to open an umbrella indoors or to pass someone in the opposite direction
on a staircase.
Never sit 13 people at one table, in fact avoid the number 13, particularly Friday the
13th. 3 and 7 are often thought to be lucky numbers.
Festivals have many superstitions, Christmas trees, Yule logs, Christmas presents,
decorations and twelfth night. New Year’s Eve has “first footing” and spring cleaning.
Easter has Easter eggs, maypole dancing, May queens, etc.
Many people still wear good luck charms, a St Christopher medallion or a rabbit’s foot
are the most popular.
Certain classes of people, soldiers, sailors, airmen, actors and athletes have
superstitions unique to them. Actors will not mention Macbeth off stage and wish each
other ‘break a leg” before a performance.
Wishing wells still collect people’s coins and most people at sometime have searched
for a 4-leaf clover, or bought a bunch of “lucky” lavender from a gipsy.
There are many ideas about insects, particularly in the home. Black beetles are
unlucky, bees and ladybirds are lucky and must not be killed. A very small red spider
is called a “money spider” if you can get it to run across your palm you will receive
money.

Food Superstitions

When finished eating a boiled egg, push the spoon through the bottom of the
empty shell to let the devil out
In Yorkshire, housewives used to believe that bread would not rise if there
was a corpse (dead body) in the vicinity, and to cut off both ends of the loaf
would make the Devil fly over the house!

Animal Superstitions

Animals feature a lot in our superstitions as they do in superstitions around the world.
One ancient British superstition holds that if a child rides on a bear's back it
will be protected from whooping-cough. (Bears used to roam Britain but
now they are not seen on our shores)

28
In some parts of the UK meeting two or three Ravens together is
considered really bad. One very English superstition concerns the
tame Ravens at the Tower of London. It is believed if they leave then
the crown of England will be lost.
It is said to be bad luck if you see bats flying and
hear their cries. In the middle ages it was believed
that witches were closely associated with bats.
If a sparrow enters a house it is an omen of death to one who lives
there. In some areas it is believed that to avoid ill luck any sparrow
caught must be immediately killed otherwise the person who caught it will die.
In some areas black rabbits are thought to host the souls of human beings.
White rabbits are said to be really witches and some believe that saying
'White Rabbit' on the first day of each month brings luck. A common
lucky charm is a Rabbit's foot, but not for the rabbit.
It is thought very unlucky to have the feathers of a peacock within the
home or handle anything made with them. This is possibly because of the
eye shape present upon these feathers i.e. the Evil-Eye associated with
wickedness.

3.5. True or false superstitions?

My grandmother must have had a rhyme or saying for every occasion - one I heard regularly
during my formative years was
"A whistling girl and a crowing hen
Make the devil dance in his den"
or her other popular variation on the theme - "When a woman whistles, the devil dances,"
echoing an age-old disapproval of an "unfeminine" habit.

She also greeted every event, change in the weather etc., with an appropriate rhyme, so I have
tried to recall as many as I can and write them down. Most of these rhymes are very
commonly known and many have a logical interpretation, so I have listed them as "yes" -
basically true - "no" - decidedly untrue - and "maybe" - either partly true, or who can tell?

WEATHER LORE

Red sky at night, sailors' delight

Red sky in the morning - sailors take warning.
YES - basically true. The red of the sunset and sunrise is caused by moisture particles in the
atmosphere : British weather tends come in from the west on the prevailing winds, so the
moisture in a sunset sky is already well on its way and will pass over in the night, to the relief
of sailors (or shepherds, depending on how far from the sea you are!) Conversely, a red
morning sky is caused by moist air already well past and, given the frequency of change in the
British weather, a fine morning will give way to a wet and windy afternoon!

Rain before seven

Stopped by eleven

29
YES - similar to the red sky - given the size of the British Isles and the average wind speed,
weather systems usually take around four hours to pass through. So, if it's raining before
seven, the low pressure system causing the rain will have passed over in the next four hours.

St. Swithun's Day, if thou be fair

For forty days 'twill rain na mair;
St. Swithun's Day, if thou dost rain
For forty days it will remain.
MAYBE - only partly true: St. Swithun was a ninth-century English monk and Bishop of
Winchester who died around 862 AD. According to legend, his last wish was that he could be
buried under the churchyard path, where everyone going to and from the church would walk
over his grave. The clergy did not think it was appropriate and soon removed his body and re-
buried him within the church, whereupon it began to pour with rain, day and night, until there
was serious danger of flooding. The rain did not stop until Swithun was buried outside once
more, according to his wishes. St. Swithun's Day is on July 15th, which is usually in a period
of reasonably settled weather, and if it is wet on St. Swithun's Day the chances are that we are
in for a long wet spell, and likewise a dry spell in the middle of July is likely to last - but forty
days of unbroken sunshine? In England? Never! (St. Swithun is the Patron Saint of drought
relief!)

When the swallows fly high

The weather will be dry.
YES - swallows live on a diet of insects, which they catch on the wing. In fine weather these
insects will be swept upwards by thermal currents, making the swallows fly higher in order to
catch them.

Oak before the Ash, then we'll only have a splash

Ash before the Oak, then we're sure to have a soak.
YES - don't ask me why, but this one does seem to be substantially true: I expect it's tied in to
rainfall and temperatures in spring being a predictor of summer weather. The Oak and the Ash
are two distictive trees of lowland Britain, and the rhyme refers to the order in which they
come into leaf. On the whole, we hope that the oak leaves will appear first!

A frond of seaweed hung outside will predict the weather.

YES - of course it will. If it's wet, it's raining, if it's dry, it isn't raining. In reality, a fresh frond
of seaweed is hygroscopic - it absorbs moisture out of the atmosphere. So, if the air is moist,
as before rain, the seaweed will feel damp and supple.

There is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

MAYBE - but have you, or anyone you know, ever managed to get to the end of a rainbow?
Rainbows are caused by the refraction of sunlight by raindrops and occur when you stand
with your back to the sun, between the sun and the rain. As you move towards the rainbow, it
will always recede and you can never get to it - and when viewed from a plane, you will see
that a rainbow is in fact a perfect circle with no beginning and no end.

30
WILDLIFE LORE

The cuckoo sings in April,

The cuckoo sings in May,
The cuckoo sings in part of June and then she flies away.
NO - "she" doesn't sing at all. The familiar "cuckoo" call is made by the male bird, who,
typical of the male of the species, makes all the noise and fuss whilst his mate gets on quietly
with the business of laying her eggs in other birds' nests. Her call is a quiet gurgling noise,
much less commonly heard or recognised.
Cuckoos are migratory birds which very sensibly spend our winter in the South African
summer, returning each spring to breed. The "first cuckoo of spring" is a traditional subject
for letters to the Editor of local and national newspapers; usually, cuckoos are first heard in
March and they cease to sing by June although in fact they often stay around until August,
stocking up on insects and grubs before beginning their long flight south again.

In April, come she will;

In May she will stay;
In June she'll change her tune;
In July she will fly
In August, fly she must.
YES - apart from the proviso concerning him/her and the cuckoo's song mentioned above. The
last of the cuckoos will have arrived by April and in May their egg-laying exploits will be in
full swing. By June, the male cuckoo has ceased to look for a mate and stops calling, allowing
the different call of the female to be heard. A few cuckoos start their migratory flight
southwards at the end of July, especially if the weather is not too good, and they will all have
left by the end of August. Simon and Garfunkel adapted this old rhyme and set it to music, but
I don't think they were referring to a cuckoo in their version.

A swarm of bees in May

Is worth a load of hay;
A swarm of bees in June
Is worth a silver spoon;
A swarm of bees in July
Is not worth a fly.
YES - honey bees swarm when a new queen hatches and takes half of the hive's worker bees
off with her to found a new colony. This new beehive will need all of the summer to establish
itself and to build up sufficient food supplies to see it through the winter months. Thus, a
swarm which leaves the hive early in the year is likely to succeed and so is prized by
beekeepers.

You must always tell the bees if there has been a death in the family,
or else they will leave the hive and fly away.
NO - the bees cannot hear you. If you neglect your bees due to bereavement or some other
family upset, they may well take exception and leave and won't necessarily stay just because
you warned them in advance!

"Bicarbonate for Bees, Vinegar for Vasps."

31
YES and NO - a useful mnemonic when it comes to treating stings, the theory behind it being
that bee stings are acidic and wasps stings alkaline: this is an over-simplification as both have
complex venom. A paste of bicarbonate of soda will help cool the site of a sting, from either
species

Two swallows do not a summer make

YES - the swallow is a migratory bird which arrives in large numbers once the threat of really
cold weather has passed. They do not, however, all arrive at once, and occasionally a few
stragglers will arrive early or leave late.

If you kiss a toad it will turn into a handsome prince

NO - unforunately not, which is a pity because I don't mind toads. There is, however a great
deal of truth in the saying that you have to kiss an awful lot of toads before you find your
handsome prince.

3.6.The story of the broken mirror, the black cat

and lots of good luck.

Nikos was an ordinary man. Nothing particularly good ever happened to him, nothing
particularly bad ever happened to him. He went through life accepting the mixture of good
things and bad things that happen to everyone. He never looked for any explanation or reason
about why things happened just the way they did.
One thing, however, that Nikos absolutely did not believe in was superstition. He had
no time for superstition, no time at all. Nikos thought himself to be a very rational man, a
man who did not believe that his good luck or bad luck was in any way changed by black cats,
walking under ladders, spilling salt or opening umbrellas inside the house.
Nikos spent much of his time in the small taverna near where he lived. In the taverna
he sat drinking coffee and talking to his friends. Sometimes his friends played dice or cards.
Sometimes they played for money. Some of them made bets on horse races or football
matches. But Nikos never did. He didn’t know much about sport, so he didn’t think he could
predict the winners. And he absolutely didn’t believe in chance or luck or superstition, like a
lot of his friends did.
One morning Nikos woke up and walked into the bathroom. He started to shave, as he
did every morning, but as he was shaving he noticed that the mirror on the bathroom wall
wasn’t quite straight. He tried to move it to one side, to make it straighter, but as soon as he
touched it, the mirror fell off the wall and hit the floor with a huge crash. It broke into a
thousand pieces. Nikos knew that some people thought this was unlucky. “Seven years bad
luck” they said, when a mirror broke. But Nikos wasn’t superstitious. Nikos wasn’t
superstitious at all. He didn’t care. He thought superstition was nonsense. He picked up the
pieces of the mirror, put them in the bin, and finished shaving without a mirror.
After that he went into the kitchen to make himself a sandwich to take to work for his
lunch. He cut two pieces of bread and put some cheese on them. Then he thought he needed
some salt. When he picked up the salt jar, it fell from his hand and broke on the floor. Salt
was everywhere. Some people, he knew, thought that this was also supposed to bring bad
luck. But Nikos didn’t care. He didn’t believe in superstitions.

32
 He left the house and went to work. On his way to work he saw a black cat running
away from him. He didn’t care. He wasn’t superstitious. Some builders were working on a
house on his street. There was a ladder across the pavement. Nikos thought about walking
around the ladder, but he didn’t care, he wasn’t superstitious and didn’t believe in
superstitions, so he walked right underneath the ladder.
Even though Nikos wasn’t superstitious, he thought that something bad was certain to
happen to him today. He had broken a mirror, spilled some salt, walked under a ladder and
seen a black cat running away from him. He told everybody at worked what had happened.
“Something bad will happen to you today!” they all said. But nothing bad happened to him.
That evening, as usual, he went to the taverna. He told all his friends in the taverna that he
had broken a mirror, spilled the salt, seen a black cat running away from him and then walked
under a ladder. All his friends in the taverna moved away from him. “Something bad will
happen to him”, they all said, “and we don’t want to be near him when it happens!”.
But nothing bad happened to Nikos all evening. He sat there, as normal, and
everything was normal. Nikos was waiting for something bad to happen to him. But it didn’t.
“Nikos, come and play cards with us!” joked one of his friends. “I’m sure to win!” Nikos
didn’t usually play cards, but tonight he decided to. His friend put a large amount of money
on the table. His friend thought Nikos was going to lose. Nikos thought he was going to lose.
But it didn’t happen like that.
Nikos won. Then he played another game, and he won that one too. Then somebody asked
him to play a game of dice, and Nikos won that as well. He won quite a lot of money. “Go
on then Nikos” his friends shouted, “Use all the money you have won to buy some lottery
tickets!” Nikos spent all the money he had won on lottery tickets. The draw for the lottery
was the next day.
The next day after work Nikos went to the tavern again. Everybody was watching the draw
for the lottery on TV. The first number came out, for the third prize. It was Nikos’ number.
Then the second number, for the second prize. It was another of Nikos’ tickets. Then the
first prize. It was Nikos’ number as well. He won all three of the big lottery prizes.
It was incredible. It seemed that all the things that people thought caused bad luck actually
brought him good luck.
The next day Nikos bought a book about superstitions from all over the world. When he had
read the book he decided to do everything that would bring him bad luck. He left empty
bottles on the table. He asked his wife to cut his hair for him. He accepted a box of knives as
a gift. He slept with his feet pointing towards the door. He sat on the corners of tables. He
put a candle in front of the mirror. He always left his hat on the bed. He always left his
wallet on the bed. He bought things in numbers of six, or thirteen. He crossed people on the
stairs. He got on a boat and whistled. And with everything he did, he got luckier and luckier.
He won the lottery again. He won the games of dice in the taverna every evening. The
things got crazier and crazier. He bought a black cat as a pet. He broke a few more mirrors,
on purpose. He didn’t look people in the eye when they raised their glasses to him. He put
loaves of bread upside down on the table. He spilled salt. He spilled olive oil. He spilled
wine.
The more superstitious things he did, the luckier he became. He went in to the taverna and
started to tell all his friends what he thought.
“You see!” he told them. “I was right all along! Superstition is nonsense! The more things I
do to break ridiculous superstitions, the more lucky I am!”
“But Nikos” replied one of his friends, “Don’t you see that you are actually as superstitious as
we are? You are so careful to break superstitions, and this brings you luck. But you are only
lucky when you do these things. Your disbelief is actually a kind of belief!”

33
Nikos thought hard about what his friend said. He had to admit that it was true. He was so
careful to break all the superstitions he could, that in some way he was actually observing
those superstitions.
The next day, he stopped spilling salt, chasing away black cats, walking under ladders, putting
up umbrellas in the house and breaking mirrors. He also stopped winning money on the
lottery. He started to lose at games of cards or dice.
He was a normal man again. Sometimes he was lucky, sometimes he wasn’t. He didn’t not
believe in superstitions any more, but he didn’t believe in them either.
“Nikos”, said his friend to him, “It was your belief in yourself that made you lucky. It was
your self-confidence that helped you, not superstitions.”
Nikos listened to his friend and thought that he was right. But, however rational he still
believed himself to be, he always wondered what would have happened if he hadn’t broken
that mirror...
THE END

4.CONCLUSION

The British (also known as Britons, informally Brits or archaically Britishers) are citizens of
the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, one of the Channel Islands, or of one of the British
overseas territories, and their descendants In a historical context, the word is used to refer to
the ancient Britons, the indigenous inhabitants of Great Britain south of the Forth British
nationality law governs modern British citizenship and nationality, which are acquired
through a variety of means including by birth in the UK and by descent from British
nationals.
Britain is full of culture and traditions which have been around for hundreds of years. British
customs and traditions are famous all over the world. When people think of Britain they often
think of people drinking tea, eating fish and chips and wearing bowler hats, but there is more
to Britain than just those things. We have English and British traditions of sport, music, food
and many royal occasions. There are also songs, sayings and superstitions. Who was Guy
Fawkes? Why does the Queen have two birthdays? You can find the answers here in our
pages on life in Britain.
Superstition is a part of British culture today. Although superstition was more alive a hundred
years ago, there are still superstitious people around, both young and old. Some people
though, clame not to be superstitious, but it is still a part of them.
English folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in England over a number of
centuries. Some stories can be traced back to their roots, while the origin of others is uncertain
or disputed. England abounds with folklore, in all forms, from such obvious manifestations as
the traditional Arthurian legends (which were originally strictly Britonic) and Robin Hood
tales, to contemporary urban legends and facets of cryptozoology such as the Beast of Bodmin
Moor.
Morris dance and related practices such as the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance preserve old
English folk traditions, as do Mummers Plays. Pub names may preserve folk traditions.
Most folklore traditions are no longer widely believed. Whereas some traditions were once
believed across the whole of England, most belong to specific regions.

34
Christmas Day, 25 December, is celebrated by Christians as the day on which Jesus Christ
was born. In Great Britain, carol services take place in Churches throughout December and
nativity plays are performed They are stories of Christ’s birth acted out by school children.
Some families have models of nativity scene in their houses. Another popular form of
Christmas performances are pantomimes which are dramatised versions of well-known fairy
tales. They involve singing, dancing and encouraging the audience to participate. Before
Christmas, people send Christmas cards to their friends and family. The first ever Christmas
card was sent in Britain in the 19th century. Traditional Christmas symbols are Santa Claus,
angels, holly or snowmen.

35
5. Bibliography

• LONGMAN Dictionary of Contemporary English

• Roud, Steve, The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Great Britain and
Ireland, 2004
• Simpson, Jacqueline, and Steve Roud, A Dictionary of English Folklore,
2000
• Vickery, Roy, A Dictionary of Plant Lore, 1995
• Westwood, Jennifer, and Jacqueline Simpson, The Lore of the Land: A
Guide to England's legends, 2005
• www.wikipedia.org

36