from the Chronicles of Celtic Folk Customs by Brian Day
CELTIC. Today was uniformly a joyful day. All over the Celtic lands
this was a family day, and they rose early to go to a hilltop and see
the sunrise. The sun was said to dance for joy at the resurrection of
Christ, though the custom of observing this by looking at the sun's
reflection in water made this certain, as the refraction and shimmering
of the light caused the image to 'dance'. People bowed to the sun and
danced themselves.
Eggs, which had accumulated in Lent, were given as gifts to children, so
it was a natural step to do the same when chocolated eggs were made in
the 19th century, or eggs of other edible or inedible substrances. The
Church adoped this ancient symbol of renewal as the symbol of
resurrection. Lamb was a popular food for the main meal, and egg
decorating and egg rolling were done after the church service, and
afterwards a family picnic.
WALES. At least one new item of clothing was worn today for the Easter
service, especially if it was something brightly coloured. Easter
carols would be sung. It was the custom for children to sing carols
outside homes in order to receive Easter treats. They announced their
presence to the householders with rattles.
Today was also a popular day to have children baptised, and their new
clothes were regarded as suggestive of the new character they would
assume after bapism.
In most parts of Wales eggs were eaten for breakfast and lamb was the
preferred dish for the Easter main meal. None of the lamb was given to
the dog (providing there was one) as it would be certain to make it go
mad. On the Welsh borders until the end of the century the Easter main
meal was eaten outside in a wheatfield (Corn-Showing) as a picnic.
Typical foods were plum cake, cider and Welsh Toasted Cheese.
--
Pat Connors, Sacramento CA
http://www.connorsgenealogy.com
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