Culture UK - what makes the Britsh so ... British! Unusual folklore festivals, ceremonies and events taking place in January

THE FOLKLORE YEAR - JANUARY

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 January

1^st January	Hogmanay New Year Celebrations	Scotland	It is believed that many of the traditional Hogmanay celebrations were originally brought to Scotland by the invading Vikings in the early 8th and 9th centuries.
1^st January	Andrew’s Dole	Bideford, Devon	Dates from 1605, when Mayor John Andrew provided a loaf of bread to each of the poor old folk within the town
1^st January	Mummers’ Plays and sword dancing	Northumberland and Durham	Traditional masked mimes dating from the 15th century in which a character is killed and then brought back to life, so signifying the death of the Old Year and rebirth of the New Year.
1^st January	Mummers’ Play	Symondsbury, Dorset
1^st January	Needle and Thread Ceremony	Queens College, Oxford	In a ceremony dating back 600 years, each college member is given a needle and some coloured silk thread to mend their academic hoods and instructed to ‘Take this and be thrifty’.
5^th January	Twelfth Night	Throughout the UK	Formerly the last day of Christmas and the time to remove all Christmas decorations.
6^th January	Twelfth Day		The twelfth day after Christmas Day and the Old Calendar date for Christmas Day.
6^th January	Baddeley Cake Ceremony	Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London	In 1794 Robert Baddeley bequeathed a sum of £100, so that every year a Twelfth Night cake could be served to the cast performing at the theatre.
6^th January	Haxey Hood Game	Haxey, Lincolnshire	A tradition which started in the 13th century when Lady de Mowbray was riding through the village. A gust of wind blew the Lady’s silken hood away and the villagers fought for the privilege of returning it to her.
6^th January	Royal Epiphany Gifts	St James’s Palace, London	First started during the reign of George II, the monarch commemorates the Gifts of the Magi on the Feast of the Epiphany. Today money is donated to the poor of the parish.
7^th January	St Distaff’s Day		Traditionally the day when people returned to work after the Christmas festivities.
11^th January	Old Calendar Hogmanay
11^th January	Burning the Clavie	Burghead, Scotland	Perhaps a little slow to change, the folk of Burhead ignore the fact that the calendar changed in 1752 and celebrate their New Year by burning the ‘clavie’, a half barrel nailed to long pole used for salmon fishing.
13^th January	St Hilary’s Day		Traditionally known as the coldest day of the year.
17^th January	Wassailing Orchards	Carhampton and Roadwater, Somerset	Takes place on the Old Twelfth Night, when the wassailing party enter the orchards with a goodly amount of cider with which toast the trees and thus encourage a fruitful season.
25^th January	Burns Night	Scotland and now worldwide	Robert Burns is the best loved Scottish poet, admired not only for his verse and great love-songs, but also for his character and wit, his high spirits, 'kirk-defying', hard drinking and womanising!
30^th January	Charles I’s Martyrdom	Windsor Castle and London	Commemoration of the first anointed king to be officially executed. A memorial service is held at Windsor Castle and choristers march from St. Martin-in-the-Fields to Trafalgar Square.

Straw Bear Day, Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire

Flexible dates in January

Various date throughout January checkout at www.themorrisring.org	Morris Dancing	Alvechurch, Birmingham, Bradford, Goathland, Horsham, Monkseaton, Turners Hill and West Chillington.	Regarded as an ancient tradition even in the reign of Elizabeth I, these ‘madde men’ with their ‘Devils dance’ were banned by the Puritans following the Civil War.
Saturday before Plough Monday	Straw Bear Day	Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire	The `straw-bear' being a man completely covered in straw, led by a string, and made to dance in front of people's houses, in return for money, beer or food.
Sunday nearest the 5^th of the month	Plough Sunday	Chichester and Exeter Cathedrals and Hedenham Church, Norfolk	Traditionally the first Sunday after Epiphany, the time to celebrate the long hours of tilling and preparing the soil before the seed can be sown. A celebration of the mystery of land and human labour.
Tuesday after Plough Monday	Straw Bear Day	The Fens	See above.
First week of the month	Mari Lwyd Visits	Glamorgan, Wales	A pagan practice is the wearing of animal disguises at the Winter festival. The custom lives on in the 'Mari Lwyd' Horse of Llangynwyd, with its snapping jaws and bottle-glass eyes. Mari Lwyd is believed to bring good luck and fertility to the houses they visit.
Last Tuesday in January	Fire Festival of UP_HELLY_Aa	Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland	Held every year to celebrate the end of Yule. Over 900 colourfully dressed "guisers" follow the Jarl's squad of Vikings and their longship through the darkened streets of the town to the burning site. Here the official ceremony ends in a spectacular blaze as 800 flaming torches are thrown into the galley.
Last Thursday of the month	Dicing for Maids’ Money	Guildford, Surrey.	Dating from a 1674 legacy, two servant girls of the town throw a dice to win the prize of a year’s wage. The ceremony takes place at the Council Chamber.