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

THE FOLKLORE YEAR - MARCH

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 March

DATE	EVENT	LOCATION	DESCRIPTION
1^st March	St David’s Day – Gwyl Dewi Sant	Wales	The patron saint of Wales
1^st March	Whuppity Scoorie	Lanark, Strathclyde	This festival marks the approach of spring. At 6pm, children traditionally race around St Nicholas' Church, making as much noise as possible and trying to hit each other with paper balls on the ends of strings. Its origins are obscure: one source claims that the children's shouting was to chase away evil spirits, another claims that it reflects curfew changes when the lighter spring evenings replaced the dark winter nights yet another that it dates from a time when miscreants were whipped round the town cross then 'scoored' (scoured or cleansed) in the nearby River Clyde.
11^th March	Penny Loaf Day	Newark, Nottinghamshire	For three nights Hercules Clay dreamed that he saw his house on fire. So convinced was he of impending doom that he moved his family out. They had no sooner left the property, when a bomb fired by Parliamentary forces during the English Civil War, destroyed the house. As thanks for his lucky escape, Hercules left £100 in trust, to provide penny loaves for the poor of the town.
18^th March	St Edward the Martyr’s Day	Brookwood Cemetery, near Woking, Surrey	Brutally murdered on this day in 978 on the orders of his stepmother, Edward the 15-year-old Anglo-Saxon King of England became known as a Saint and Martyr when miracles began to occur at his tomb. As a consequence of this, his body was moved from Wareham to Shaftesbury Abbey. Pilgrims still attend his modern shrine.
25^th March	Feast of the Annunciation		On this day, nine months before Christmas, the incarnation of Jesus Christ is celebrated. The Archangel Gabriel came to Mary of Nazareth and told her she was to bear the Son of God.
25^th March	Tichborne Dole	Tichborne, Hampshire	This custom dates back to the twelfth century when Lady Mabella Tichborne lay sick and dying. She asked her husband Sir Roger to establish a gift (dole) of bread in her memory for those who arrived in Tichborne for the Feast of the Annunciation. Not thrilled at this prospect, Sir Roger said he would provide flour for the bread from as much land as his wife could encompass. A determined lady, she managed to crawl round 23 acres, an area still know today as The Crawls.

Flexible dates in March

Spring Equinox	Druids’ Spring Equinox Ceremony	Parliament Hill Fields, London	The Druid Order meets at the Stone of Free Speech. Seeds are scattered and an Eisteddfod of music and poetry takes place.
End of March	Oranges and Lemons Ceremony	St Clement Danes (Royal Air Force Church), London	Following the afternoon service, recalling the traditional nursery rhyme, the pupils of St Clements Danes School are presented with an orange and lemon.
Late March or April	Stow Commemoration	Church of St Andrew Undershaft, London	Every three years the Lord Mayor places a new quill pen in the hand of the effigy of John Stow. Stow is celebrated for his Survey of London, a unique record of the city before its destruction by the Great Fire. The ceremony will take place in 2005.
End of March or early April	The Boat Race	From Putney to Mortlake, River Thames, London	Over a 4¼ mile course, crews from Oxford and Cambridge universities compete in one of the oldest sporting events in the world. The race was originally held at Henley, but moved to its new venue in 1845.

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.