The Folklore Society’s Advent Calendar 2024, Part 2
The Folklore Society’s Advent Calendar 2024:
[Part 1], December 1st to 8th: https://folklore-society.com/blog-post/the-folklore-societys-advent-calendar-2024/
Part 2, December 9th to 14th: https://folklore-society.com/blog-post/the-folklore-societys-advent-calendar-2024-part-2/
Part 3, December 15th to 21st: https://folklore-society.com/blog-post/the-folklore-societys-advent-calendar-2024-part-3/
Part 4, December 22nd to 25th: https://folklore-society.com/blog-post/the-folklore-society-advent-calendar-2024-part-4/
14th December
Gingerbread:
‘Spice cakes for Xmas + Parkin in November are the chief Yorkshire cakes I Know, + used to have with Wakefield gingerbread + batch-cakes when as a girl I used to visit at Hospitable Wakefield.’
(Folklore Society Archives, Letter from Lucy Toulmin-Smith to Alice Gomme, 18 Aug 1891. Transcript thanks to the Beyond Notability project; Toulmin-Smith and Gomme feature in their database: https://beyondnotability.org/)
You can find a recipe for Wakefield Gingerbread here: https://traditional-yorkshire-recipes.info/wakefield-gingerbread/
13th December
Lights for St Lucy’s Day: Bake a St Lucia bread crown, topped with candles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ7Fh4f6VTQ
(pertinent btl comment: ‘Can i have this kake i bake on my Heed?’).
And while you’re baking, sing or hum along to this Swedish song ‘Sankta Lucia ljusklara hägring’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrXU1g8K-gI
More about St Lucy traditions in Scandinavia: https://www.scandinavianarchaeology.com/the-tradition-of-lucia-and-the-bringer-of-light/
12th December
Decorations: ‘… Our Mistletow bush was quite “a golden bough” decorated with oranges + coloured ribbons + it hung till shrove Tuesday when the pancakes were supposed to be cooked over it.’ (Folklore Society Archives; Dorothea Townshend, letter to The Folklore Society, of 1 February 1897; Townshend is listed in the ‘Beyond Notability’ database: https://beyond-notability.wikibase.cloud/wiki/Item:Q1066).
11th December
Christmas tree: ♪ while Grinches flinch, and Scrooges sneer, we’ll put our Christmas tree up here ♪
On Christmas trees and the Upminster Christmas tree festival 2024, see https://www.plant-lore.com/news/upminster-christmas-tree-festival-2/
10th December
Cake!
Here’s ‘How to Make A Christmas Cake – The Victorian Way’, a video made by English Heritage during lockdown in 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLFvA_ozB54. The comments under the video are worth a read too.
10 December was the Eve of St Obert (St Aubert in France), some time patron saint of Bakers/Baxters in Scotland who had altars in his name in churches in Edinburgh, St Andrews and Dundee (Banks, British Calendar Customs: Scotland, vol. III, p.194.).
And, in Perth, at some point before 1845, there was a St Obert’s Eve celebration with a folk play of some sort.
‘St Obert was the patron saint of the corporation or calling of the Bakers, whether a real or an imaginary being, is uncertain. But believing him to have been a real being, they were accustomed to honour him by holding an annual festival, at which a play was performed, known by the name of Saint Obert’s Play. On the 10th December, a number of people assembled at even, called “Saint Obert’s Eve.” They attired themselves in disguise dresses, and passed through the city piping and dancing, and striking drums, and carrying in their hands burning torches. One of the actors was clad in a particular kind of coat, which they designated the Devils Coat, and another rode upon a horse, having on its feet men’s shoes. There is no account extant of its minute particulars [but, from the manner in which the kirk session and the corporation officials dealt with the performers, it appears to have been idolatrous, profane, and immoral in its tendency].’ New Statistical Account of Scotland Perth, Perthshire (b) X.80’
(Folklore Society Archives, Ordish Collection; scan & transcript at https://archives.vwml.org/records/TFO/2/5/50; Ordish omitted the square-bracketed words from his notes from his source: see https://libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk/statacc/tag/customs/)
9th December
Mummers’ costumes: Palhaço da Folia de Reis (‘Clown of 3 Kings’ Day’) figure from Brazil, given to The Folklore Society by Affonso Silva, 2014.
Brazilian Three Kings’ Day mummers perform during the period from 24 December to Epiphany: watch them in action here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO7kLkyrzoo
Doc Rowe sent us this photo of the Marshfield Paper Boys in their traditional Boxing Day costumes:
And here’s Doc filming Goldsmiths Students wearing brown paper tatters in their 2019 mumming play for modern times (in which the poor old ‘oss died from overwork at Amazon)
For more on mumming costumes, visit: https://www.efdss.org/learning/resources/beginners-guides/34-english-folk-costume/2472-efdss-section-11-mumming
The Folklore Society’s Advent Calendar 2024:
[Part 1], December 1st to 8th: https://folklore-society.com/blog-post/the-folklore-societys-advent-calendar-2024/
Part 2, December 9th to 14th: https://folklore-society.com/blog-post/the-folklore-societys-advent-calendar-2024-part-2/
Part 3, December 15th to 21st: https://folklore-society.com/blog-post/the-folklore-societys-advent-calendar-2024-part-3/
Part 4, December 22nd to 25th: https://folklore-society.com/blog-post/the-folklore-society-advent-calendar-2024-part-4/