English customs, traditions and lore to enjoy for October
So welcome to my series of posts where I look at English customs and folklore (much of it ancient) some more recent and give you some ideas of more updated ways to celebrate the passing of the seasons.
Fall, Leaves, Fall
Emily Brontë
Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
I shall smile when wreaths of snow
Blossom where the rose should grow;
I shall sing when night’s decay
Ushers in a drearier day.
St Luke’s Day - 18th October
Don’t try this one at home folks!
The Horn Fair was held in Charlton Kent for over eight hundred years ago and was named after St Luke whose symbol was a horned ox in medieval times. Over the centuries some very strange customs developed.
Three hundred years ago, it was the tradition that men attended dressed as women (described as Luke’s Ladies) carried gorse bushes and would chase any girls they came across, lashing them if they got close enough, which probably led to the old proverb, “All’s fair at Horn Fair.”
The fair was finally discontinued in 1872 because of drunken and disorderly behaviour and I suspect, people having far too good a time!
Daniel Defore wrote of Charlton and the Horn Fair, the author of Robinson Crusoe, in A tour thro’ the Whole Island of Great Britain (1724-1727) describing it as:
a village famous, or rather infamous for the yearly collected rabble of mad-people, at Horn-Fair; the rudeness of which I cannot but think, is such as ought to be suppressed, and indeed in a civiliz'd well govern'd nation, it may well be said to be unsufferable. The mob indeed at that time take all kinds of liberties, and the women are especially impudent for that day; as if it was a day that justify'd the giving themselves a loose to all manner of indecency and immodesty, without any reproach, or without suffering the censure which such behaviour would deserve at another time.
Ideas to celebrate the day
Find out more about gorse. This website is a beautiful resource and you might even be tempted to try a few gorse related recipes.
Arrange an evening get together with friends and family of silliness and fun games although I’ll leave the chasing with gorse game to your own discretion!
Divination by apples on the Feast of St Simon and St Jude - 28th October
Apples always plentiful at this time of year, were used for divining by people who wanted to know more about the identity of their life partner.
An apple was carefully peeled so that it came off in one long strip. Then standing up and holding the peel in the right hand, the questioner would repeat the verse,
“St Simon and Jude, on you I intrude, by this paring I hold to discover, without any delay, I pray you today, to tell me the name of my lover.”
The peel was then thrown over the left shoulder where it would fall in the shape of the first letter of the future partner’s surname. If the peel broke, it was thought that the inquirer would never marry ( you can decide for yourself if this was a lucky consequence or not!).
Ideas to celebrate the day
Even if you’re already with a partner, the apple game can be an interesting way to while away half an hour or so or perhaps you might like to treat yourself to some apple-related baking.
October lore - blackberries
It’s said by country folk that when the devil was cast out of heaven by St Michael, his foot hit a blackberry bush as he fell and since that time, blackberry bushes have had the devil in them on and after St Michaelmas Day (29th September).
Where I live, the blackberries are still plentiful in October so I’ve been foolish enough to pick them and cook them into a crumble with apples, without, I might add, any sign of harm to my health. However, there may be some truth to the legend as my research suggests that as the fruit becomes over-ripe they may be less easy to digest and their pectin level decreases, making it more difficult to make jam.
To Autumn
John Keats
“Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun
To read more, have a look at my blog post, Ten ways to stay snug and create a cozy English country autumn
References: A year book of folk lore, Christine Chaundler (1959) and A year book of customs, Christine Chaundler (1957)
