Milk Of The Virgin Mary
11 October – In the past on this day supposed relics of the Milk of Mary were venerated in abbeys across England. These were phials containing a drop of breast milk from the Virgin Mary.
Category: Festivals
Gregorian Calendar Adopted
2 September – In 1751 the Gregorian Calendar was adopted in Britain, resulting in the loss of 11 days, compared to the old Julian calendar.
The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance
1st Monday after 4 September – One of the oldest folk festivals in Britain. The dance involves six horn dancers equipped with reindeer horns painted white and brown, a Maid Marion, a boy armed with a bow and a hobby horse. The dancers make a 20-mile tour of the parish. The actual dance follows a snake like pattern, as the dancers intertwine with each other.
Michael Mass, St Michael’s Day
29 September – One of the quarter days, and a celebration of the Archangel Michael.
The Festival of the Torches
15th August – In Roman times this was Diana‘s chief festival, when lighted torches were placed in her sacred groves. Her other sacred day was the ‘Feast of our Lady Queen of Heaven’ on the 31st of May.
Plague Sunday
Last Sunday in August – A service is held in Cucklet Cleft (Cucklet Church), a natural cavern destroyed by glacier ice near Eyam, Derbyshire. The service commemorates the bravery of the Eyam villagers and William Mompesson, for closing Eyam village after it became infested with the plague in 1665.
Marymass
3rd or 4th Monday in August – Once said to have been celebrated with hilltop fires, the festival is now associated with Mary Queen of Scots. A Queen is voted from the local Irvine girls and a parade goes through the town along with other events.
The Burryman
14 August – On the second Friday of August, a man completely covered in Burdock burs (known as the Burryman) walks the boundaries of South Queensferry, a distance of seven miles. The ritual probably has pagan origins.
Lammas / Lugnasadh
1 August – Celtic festival of Lugh, the god of light. Celebration of the early harvest, when loaves were baked and sometimes distributed from churches. Lammas is derived from Loaf Mass.
Hocktide
7th May – Hocktide which was a medieval English festival was generally celebrated on the second Tuesday after Easter. The men of the village would tie up the women and demand a kiss for their release. The following day thewomen would tie up the men and demand money for their release which would go to Parish funds. It is suggested that it celebrates the massacre of the Danes in the 11t
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