Know your bummock from your wassail? Your faggot from your rumball? Don’t worry, you soon will. We’re embarking on a vintage Christmas sleigh ride that will journey through the traditions of times gone by – and suggest a few ways of reviving them for your family.
Stir-up Sunday
Stir-up Sunday, the last Sunday before advent, is the traditional day to get busy with your Christmas pudding. It takes its name from another custom – everyone in the household taking a turn to stir and make a wish.
During this mass stir-athon, a silver sixpence would be added to the mix. The theory was that the finder would receive wealth and good fortune in the year to come.
But the sixpence is a relatively recent development. The origins of hiding tokens in pudding actually date back to the court of Edward II in the 1300s.
A special Twelfth Night cake would officially mark the end of Christmas celebrations and whoever discovered the dried pea or bean baked within would be crowned king or queen for the night.
The pulses were sometimes replaced by a miniature crown or silver ring and gradually inventive souls came up with other tokens or favours, each with its own special meaning.
A ring symbolised marriage. An anchor was protection from danger. A boot suggested travel, while a thimble foretold of thrift and a wishbone brought good luck.
This wonderful tradition can be safely recreated in a more sanitised, modern way – avoiding a broken tooth and hefty dentist bill.
By inserting charms attached to coloured ribbons, or labels on string, after cooking, you can engineer who receives which token.
Imagine. Cousin Charlie is due to graduate next year and by happy coincidence when he pulls the blue ribbon …. ta-dah! A sterling silver mortar board is revealed!
Personalise your own family charm collection by choosing from our wide range of charms.
The Ashen Faggot
No. Not the dubious balls of seasoned liver. This type of faggot is a bundle of sticks, often from an ash tree.
In Anglo-Saxon times, families would burn a faggot on Christmas Eve to determine which unmarried woman would be the next to wed. The sticks were bound with smaller, more pliable, green bands from the same tree. The women each chose a band and the first to break would be the first to marry.
In a sinister twist, the youngest male child of the household would then be placed on the burning faggot and the longer he stayed, the braver he would become.
Like the embers of the faggot, some traditions should indeed burn out.
Recounting ghost stories
For many families, Christmas Eve wouldn’t be complete without a re-run of It’s a Wonderful Life. But previous generations liked nothing more than swapping ghost stories on rumball (old 18th century nickname for 24 December). The most famous leftover from this tradition is Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
While the subject matter may seem a tad off-kilter these days, the idea of loved ones gathering together to share a story is heartwarming. Revive the idea with a book like David Miller’s collection of short stories from various authors – you’ll find something for everyone.
Partying like it’s 1999
Our ancestors really knew how to party and the Feast of Fools was one of the big, raucous celebrations associated with December.
Children dressed as clerics and were given nonsensical names such as Pope of Fools. The Lord of Misrule presided, actively encouraging singing, dancing, eating and drinking (for the adults).
During the feast, an individual’s social standing was placed on temporary hiatus and all were equal. Squeamishness about it being blasphemous meant the feast was banned in the 15th century – but the Lord of Misrule wasn’t going to disappear that easily.
He survived as a character in mummers’ plays – a troupe of masked amateur actors performing folk plays on the streets over the Christmas period. Where the tradition has been revived, it involves bright costumes, elaborate sword fights and lots of music and dancing.
And of course, a recurring theme throughout all these festivities is the consumption of bummock (a large quantity of drink purposely brewed for a special occasion). None more so than when wassailing.
Wassail itself – a spiced mulled cider – was traditionally drunk on Twelfth Night. Revellers would serenade the oldest tree in the orchard, hoping to ensure a good apple harvest. They shooed away evil spirits by making loud noises – sometimes gunshots – and continually toasting the trees.
Feeling buoyed up by all this talk of festivities? Great. Roll up your sleeves, brew up a bummock and get planning the best rumball party ever!
