Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race

The River Thames, London - 2nd April 2006

The idea for a rowing race between the universities came from two friends - Charles Merivale, a student at Cambridge, and his Harrow schoolfriend Charles Wordsworth (nephew of the poet William Wordsworth), who was at Oxford.

On 12 March 1829, Cambridge sent a challenge to Oxford and thus the tradition was born which has continued to the present day, where the loser of the previous year's race challenges the opposition to a re-match.

The first Boat Race took place at Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire and contemporary newspapers report crowds of twenty thousand travelled to watch. The race was stopped soon after the start and, following the restart, Oxford were clear winners. The event was such a resounding success that the townspeople later decided to organise a regatta of their own which duly became Henley Royal Regatta. After the first year, the early Boat Races took place at Westminster in London, but by 1845, when Westminster had become too crowded, the Boat Race moved six miles up-stream to the then country village of Putney. In 1856 the race became an annual event (excepting only the war years). Find yourself a seat by the river in one of the riverside pubs and watch the action! A great Sunday afternoon!

Palm Sunday

Nationwide - 9th April 2006

The Sunday before Easter is known as Palm Sunday. It marks the end of Lent and celebrates Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem for the Jewish festival of Passover. Great crowds of people lined the streets waving palm branches to welcome him (hence Palm Sunday). Nowadays children are given crosses made from single palm leaves. Traditionally, many churches will have a procession in or around the church while people sing songs of praise and wave palm leaves. In some churches small buns called pax cakes (symbolic of peace and goodwill) are given to the congregation as they leave after a Palm Sunday service.

Easter

Easter is the oldest and most important of British Christian festivals. A day of parties, gift-giving and above all a celebration that Jesus rose from the dead and lives forever. Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the whole Easter period commemorates and tells the story of Jesus' last days in Jerusalem before his death and subsequent resurrection. It is a moveable feast because it is fixed according to the moon. Easter Sunday has to be the first Sunday following the full moon, after the Spring equinox (March 21) - the Paschal Full Moon. This means that Easter can fall as early as March 22 or as late as April 25.

The date of Easter changes every year. The season starts from Easter Sunday and lasts for 50 days through to Pentecost. It was on Easter Sunday that Jesus rose from death. Jesus had told his disciples before he was arrested that he would be crucified and on the third day he would rise from the dead. Sunday was the third day from Good Friday.

Nowadays people gather together on Easter Sunday for a Sunrise Service. This service takes place on a hill side so everyone can see the sun rise. Some Christians take part in an Easter vigil, lighting a new fire outside the church early on Sunday morning. The Paschal candle, decorated with studs to celebrate Christ's wounds, may be lit from the fire and carried into the church where it is used to light the candles of the worshippers. The Easter Eucharist is a particularly joyful service. It is a popular time for baptisms and renewal of baptism vows.

Eggs are a forbidden food during Lent, (see Egg Saturday) making them a welcome return to the menu on Easter Day. For Christians, Easter eggs symbolise new life. They believe that, through his resurrection, Jesus defeated death and sin and offers people the promise of eternal life if they follow his teachings. Eggs have been a symbol of continuing life and resurrection since pre-Christian spring celebrations.

Eggs had a religious significance in many ancient civilizations; Egyptians buried eggs in their tombs as did the Greeks; A Roman proverb states, "All life comes from an egg". It’s probably no surprise that Christianity should also adopt the egg to symbolise the resurrection of Christ.

Maundy Thursday

Nationwide - 13th April

On this day, Christians remember the Last Supper. During the meal Jesus took bread and wine and shared them with his disciples. Christians continue to share bread and wine as part of their worship in church. The Last Supper was probably a Passover meal – the meal which Jewish people share together to celebrate the time when God delivered Moses and the people from slavery in Egypt.

The name 'Maundy' is derived from the Latin word maundatum (command) and recalls Christ's words at the Last Supper: 'And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.'

The night of Maundy Thursday is the night on which Jesus was betrayed by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane. It is also the time when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. The tradition of washing the feet of the poor was remembered by British monarchs up until 1689, this would take place in Westminster Abbey. Eventually this was replaced by the distribution of specially minted coins, called Maundy money.

In England today, the Queen attends a service in one of the many cathedrals through out the country, to distribute the Maundy Money. The Queen is accompanied by a Yeomen of the Guard, who carries a golden tray of Maundy Money in white leather purses, and the "Maundy children" who are selected from local schools to attend her. Everyone carries posies ("nosegays") of flowers - a traditional protection at the time of the Great Plague. (King Charles 1 distributed his Maundy coins in 1639 during an outbreak of the plague.)

The number of purses handed out is equal to the age of the monarch. In 2005, to mark Queen Elizabeth's 79th year, 79 men and 79 women will each receive two purses containing special Maundy coins.

Hot Cross Bun Distribution

Sidmouth, Devon - 14th April, Good Friday

Hot Cross buns have long represented Good Friday, they are current buns bakes with a cross on the top to signify the crusifixion of Christ. There is an old nursery ryhme associated with them:

Hot cross buns
Hot cross buns
One a penny
Two a penny
Hot cross buns

If you have no daughters
Give them to your sons
One a penny
Two a penny
Hot cross buns

The hot cross buns distribution started in 1898 when owing to some local dispute, the local baker refused to bake the traditional hot cross buns. Some local busnessmen arranged for the buns to be baked in a village called Newton Poppleford some 4.5 miles away. To avoid harming the good relations amongst the local traders the buns where given away to the local children . Today buns are distributed to local children under 16 around 9.30am

Widow's Bun ceremony

Widows son public house, 75 Devons road, Bromley-by-bow, London - 14th April, Good Friday

Every year a sailor is invited to add an Easter bun to the collection suspended in the bar. This custom is said to commemorate the time when a widow had a son who had set sail on a voyage, sadly never to return. He has set out at Easter and since that dat, she had set aside some hot cross buns and kept one in particular aside for him. Each year she would add another and another... After her death the tradition was maintained in the pub which was built on the site of her cottage.

Bottle Kicking and Hare Pie Scramble

Hallaton Leicestershire - 17th April, Easter Monday

In 1770 the rector of Hallaton was allotted a piece of land on condition that he provided two hare pies, two dozen loaves and a quantity of ale. Which had to be scambled for in public. The custom still survives today. Every Easter Monday slices of Hare pie are blessed and distributed at the church gates. Following the bottle kicking parade to Hare pie bank, three small wooden kegs are kicked by teams from Hallaton and near by Medbourne in an attempt to get them across respective boundaries the goals being two streams a mile apart. The aim is to kick two of the three bottles across the team’s respective stream.

Egg Rolling

Avenham Park Preston Lancashire - 17th April, Easter Monday

Crowds of children and adults gather early in the afternoon and roll brightly coloured hard-boiled eggs down the slope. When they are so broken as to be beyond rolling, they are eaten. When the world was young Easter (goddess of spring) was associated with the renewal of life and natures re-awakening symbolised by the gay colour of the eggs and festivities

World Coal Carrying Championships

Ossett, West Yorkshire - 17th April, Easter Monday

The championship starts at 12.30 The men carry a hundredweight of coal over an uphill course of five sixths of a mile. Starting at the Royal Oak. The winner receives a trophy and a gold medal. The ladies race follows immediately after over a couse of 100 yards in the high street. This is how it all began:

At the century-old Beehive Inn situated in Gawthorpe the following incident took place one day in 1963. Reggie Sedgewick and one Amos Clapham, a local coal merchant and current president of the Maypole Committee were enjoying some well-earned liquid refreshment whilst stood at the bar lost in their own thoughts. When in bursts one Lewis Hartley in a somewhat exuberant mood. On seeing the other two he said to Reggie, " Ba gum lad tha’ looks buggered !" slapping Reggie heartily on the back. Whether because of the force of the blow or because of the words that accompanied it, Reggie was just a little put out.‘’ Ah’m as fit as thee’’ he told Lewis, ‘’an’ if tha’ dun’t believe me gerra a bagga coil on thi back an ‘ah’ll get one on mine an ‘ah’ll race thee to t’ top o’ t’ wood !’’ ( Coil, let me explain is Yorkshire speak for coal ). While Lewis digested the implications of this challenge a Mr. Fred Hirst, Secretary of the Gawthorpe Maypole Committee ( and not a man to let a good idea go to waste) raised a cautioning hand. " ‘Owd on a minute,’’ said Fred and there was something in his voice that made them all listen. ‘Aven’t we been looking fer some’at to do on Easter Monday? If we’re gonna ‘ave a race let’s ‘ave it then. Let’s ‘ave a coil race from Barracks t’ Maypole.’’( The Barracks being the more common name given by the locals to The Royal Oak Public House )

Thus was born The World Coal Carrying Contest which every Easter Monday lifts the village of Gawthorpe out of obscurity and into the headlines. No event in the Olympic Games could stimulate more enthusiasm than this annual contest of stamina and muscle.

Gawthorpe is a tough little place, lying between Dewsbury and Wakefield where the Yorkshire coalfield merges into the Heavy Woollen District. The nearest pit is closed now, but hard work is still so much of a tradition here that the residents can scarcely have enough of it! Hence, the yearly battle to be King of the Coil Humpers – or Queen, for the ladies in these liberated times have joined in the game.

Hocktide festival

Hungerford, Berkshire - 18th April Easter Tuesday

This dates back to the 14 century when John O’Gaunt granted the inhabitants of Hungerford certain rights of fishing and grazing. These rights are regulated by the Hock Tide Court that meet on this day. The town crier dressed in full livery blows the Lucas horn at 08.00 to summon the ancient manorial court to the town hall. Before and after the court two tithingmen armed with long staves decorated with streamers and flowers carry out their duties – to visit the common right houses and collect a penny from every man of each house and a kiss from every women and girl who in return are given an orange. After a civic luncheon ‘shooting the colts’ takes place.

Twopenny Starvers

St. Michael-on-the-mount, Bristol - 18th April, Easter Tuesday

Twopenny Starvers are issued every Easter Tuesday in this tiny town near Bristol and have been ever since 1739 when children attending a morning service at St. Michael's church made a bequest for something to eat. They were given twopenny starvers (enormous spicy buns) instead of the usual (and smaller) penny starvers and since then the tradition has stuck with starvers given to the poor who couldn't afford bread. Annually, about 500 buns are distributed to children in the parish.

Tyburn Walk

Old Bailey to Tyburn Convent, Marble Arch, London - 23rd April

The walk from the Old Bailey, built on the site of Newgate Prison, to Marble Arch near the spot where the Tyburn gallows stood, has been made each year to commemorate those Catholics executed for their faith during the 16th and 17th centuries.

St. George's Day - England

England - 23rd April

Also the birthday (and day of his death) of Shakespeare, this is our National Day and commemorates St George, our patron saint who saved a maiden from the dragon.... St George wasn't actually English and it is unlikely he ever came here! So who was this hero that we celebrate every year?

St George was actually from Cappadocia (modern day Turkey) and was born in the third century AD. His parents were Christian and he became a Roman soldier eventually protesting against the persecution of Christians. He later lived in Palestine and was imprisoned and tortured, but he remained true to his faith and after his beheading at Lydda in Palestine, he was made a martyr and a saint. The 23rd April was named St. George's Day as early as 1222, but he didn't become our patron saint until 1425 when the Great Warrior King Henry V won an outstanding victory against the French at the battle of Agincourt. The red cross of Saint George is our national flag and makes up part of the Union Jack.

One of the best places to celebrate St. George's Day is indeed in Stratford Upon Avon due to the links on this day with Shakespeare, parades, processions and much frivolity occurs in Stratford at this time.

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