from the Celtic Chronicles book.
CELTIC. This was a day of enjoyment. There were many fairs, and
families and villages played games and sports, such as egg rolling and
those mentioned under Shrove Tuesday. Sometimes hard-boiled, sometimes
raw, eggs were rolled down slopes the object to to see which egg rolled
the furthest without breaking. Any broken shell was gathered up so that
witches could not use it to work malicious spells against the former
owner. The same precautions were taken with any human debris such as
nail clippings, hair trimmings and bits of discarded clothing.
WALES. In keeping with the tradition of alms collecting on this day,
children in North Wales went egg clapping, attracting householders'
attention with wooden clappers and asking for money or food.
Among the sports played today were stoolball and handball, the latter a
variant of fives, in Tenby, both possibly of English origin. Handball
was popular in Wales until it started in decline in the early 19th
century when puritans sought to stop it being played on the north walls
of churches. Public courts were built in many towns to try to save the
game, but only two survive now. There is a disused court on the Jersey
Marine at Swansea, and the only one still in use is at Nelson, near
Caerphilly, Mid Glamorgan. Welsh handball is played with the bare hand
and a rubber ball on a court of space enclosed by three walls. Cock
fighting was also practised.
Lifting and heaving was practised in the border areas of East Clwyd and
north east Powys until the middle of the 19th century. Today the
beribboned men went from house to house, accompanied by a fiddler, and
lifted the women three times in a chair decorated with greenery, flowers
and white ribbons. After kissing her the men expected a reward on
money, food or drink. Lifting was not done after noon. Lifting was
introduced from neighbouring English counties, but the Church imposed
an explanation of the custom as a re-enactment of the raising of Christ
on the cross.
In North Wales, around Bangor, Caernavon and Conway, the custom of
stocsio (stocksing) turned the start of the day into one of mischief.
Anyone still in bed by an appointed time was put into the stocks and
humiliated before release.
An ancient Welsh dish, prepared since medieval times, eaten today is
Jugged Hare.
--
Pat Connors, Sacramento CA
http://www.connorsgenealogy.com
All outgoing mail virus free, scanned by Norton 2002