A Calendar of Country Customs

Country customs are sometimes pagan in origin, sometimes they are comparatively recent innovations, but from whatever period in the year. It is for this reason that the author has arranged his book in the form of a calendar. What then are the customs which are here described? The list is a long one and includes, for example, wassailing, Plough Monday, Candlemas, church ales, maypole dancing, rush-bearing ceromonies, harvest homes, sheep and hiring fairs, soul-caking, Halloween, mumming plays and Twelfth Night. Many customs are associated with a particular place. The author describes all in a style free from archaism. By tracing the origins of the customs and by quoting the rhymes often associated with them he shows how vital and enduring an element they were or are in the calendar of the English countryside The illustrations are from rare old photographs. 168 pages. 34 illustrations. Very slight shelf wear to top edge of D/J.