Unusual folklore festivals, ceremonies and events taking place in February

THE FOLKLORE YEAR - FEBRUARY

Many British folklore customs are of Celtic origin. The Celts divided their year by four great festivals, starting with Samhain, signifying the arrival of winter and the New Year, which fell on 1st November. Imbolc was next and occurred on 1st February, followed by Beltane on 1st May and Lugnasdh on 1st August.

Whilst these dates were all fixed within the Celtic year, the exact dates may not correspond precisely with those above, as dates were adjusted when first the Julian calendar was introduced, and later when England changed to the Gregorian calendar in 1751.

As with Christian festivals such as Easter, many Celtic celebrations do not have definite dates and are moveable or flexible.

Readers should always check with local Tourist Information Centres (TIC’s) that events or festivals are actually taking place before setting out to attend.

Permanent dates in February

1^st February	The Celtic Feast of Imbolc	Throughout the UK	Imbolc was the second of the four great fire festivals. At Imbolc, Brighid, the daughter of Daga, was pregnant with the seed of the Sun. She was ripe with the promise of new life, as the seeds of the earth deep within its soil begin to awaken at this time, thus signaling the return of spring. Imbolc, which literally means "in milk", traditionally has marked the lactation period of ewes and cows. Ewes are unable to produce milk until after they bear their young, which occurs at this time. Since milk was very important to the basic survival of the tribes, this was a time of great joy. It meant that the end of a long winter was in sight, and green pastures were only a few months away. During the Imbolc ritual it was customary to pour milk (or cream) onto the earth.
2^nd February	Candlemas Day	Throughout the UK	This, being the fortieth day after the birth of Christ, it was the day on which, the purification of the mother and the presentation of the son should occur. Also known in England as The Wives' Feast. “If Candlemas Day be fair and bright, Winter will have another flight But if it be dark with clouds and rain, Winter is gone, and will not come again.”
2^nd February	Jedburgh’s Ball Game	Jedburgh, Roxburghshire	A ball game played by two teams made up of ‘everyone that wants to play’. The game has very few rules and is played with a ball approximately the size of a baseball. The object being to get the ball past a certain marker. Legend recalls that following a local battle the first game was played by Scottish soldiers with an Englishman’s head.
3^rd February	The Feast of St Blaize	St Etheldreda’s Church, Ely Place, London	The patron saint of people afflicted with throat complaints. During a ceremony at the church sufferers’ throats are blessed when touched by two candles bound together.
13^th / 14^th February	Blessing the salmon nets	Pedwell Beach, Northumberland	Close to midnight on 14th fishermen gather on the banks of the River Tweed where the vicar of nearby Norham blesses the nets and boats. The fishermen then set out to make their first catch of the season
14^th February	St Valentine’s Day	Throughout the UK	Originally a pagan priest in third century Rome, St Valentine became a Christian convert. Despite being noted for his chastity, he became the patron saint of lovers. It became an old country custom to choose sweethearts on his feast day. The earliest Valentine cards written on parchment appeared in the fourteenth century.
14^th February	Valentine Fair	King’s Lynn, Norfolk
24^th February	St Matthias’s Day		The thirteenth Apostle -patron saint of carpenters and tailors. In a leap year, this feast is observed on February 25.

Flexible dates in February

Sunday closest to 2^nd February	Cradle-Rocking Ceremony	Blidworth, Nottinghamshire	Although banned in the reformation cradle rocking was revived in Blidworth in 1923. The ceremony involves the rocking of an infant in a cradle, in remembrance of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.
First Monday after 3^rd February (Feasten Day)	Hurling the Silver Ball	St Ives, Cornwall	The game starts when the ball is thrown from the wall of the parish church of St Ia. Whoever holds the ball at the stroke of noon wins the prize of a crown piece.
Shrove Tuesday	Pancake Ceremony	Scarborough, Yorkshire	The connection between pancakes and Shrove Tuesday dates back to when fasting in Lent was strictly observed. The pancake ceremonies provided the opportunity to use up the households butter, eggs and flour.
Shrove Tuesday	Pancake Races	Olney, Buckinghamshire; Winster, Derbyshire; Stone, Kent; Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London; Whitby, Yorkshire	Some of the races can be dated back to as early as 1445. Legend recounts a housewife who was cooking when she heard the church bells calling the faithful to prayer. Afraid of being late, she ran to the church still clutching the frying pan in which the pancake was still cooking.
Shrove Tuesday	Shrove Tuesday Football	Ashbourne, Shawcross, Derbyshire; Corfe Castle, Dorset; Chester-le-Street, Sedgefield, Durham; Alnwick, Rotherbury, Northumberland, Atherstone, Warwickshire	Not so much a game of football more a splendid free-for-all involving several hundred players. Dating back to the twelfth century the game was originally known as camping. The rules and area of play tend to be local to the town or village, with some prominent building e.g. church or pub, serving as the ‘goals’.
Shrove Tuesday	Shrove Tuesday Skipping	Scarborough, Yorkshire	The contest is run along a mile of ‘the front’ at this popular seaside resort. Ropes are provided and hundreds of folk take part annually. The ringing of the pancake bell in the museum signals that pancake making can commence in the town.
Shrove Tuesday	Jedburgh’s Second Ball Game	Jedburgh, Roxborough

We have taken great care in recording and detailing the festivals, customs and celebrations presented in our Folklore Year calendar, if however you consider that we have omitted any significant local event, we would be delighted to hear from you.