Plough Monday

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Plough Monday, from George Walker's The Costumes of Yorkshire, 1814.
Plough Monday, from George Walker's The Costumes of Yorkshire, 1814.

Plough Monday is the traditional start of the English agricultural year. While local practices may vary, Plough Monday is generally the first Monday after Twelfth Day (Epiphany), 6 January.[1][2] References to Plough Monday date back to the late 15th century.[2] The day before Plough Monday is sometimes referred to as Plough Sunday.

The day traditionally saw the resumption of work after the Christmas period. In some areas, particularly in northern England and East Anglia, a plough was hauled from house to house in a procession, collecting money. They were often accompanied by musicians, an old woman or a boy dressed as an old woman, called the "Bessy", and a man in the role of the "fool".[1]

In the Isles of Scilly, locals would cross-dress and then visit their neighbours to joke about local occurrences. There would be "goose dancing" and considerable drinking and revelry. [3]

The Plough Monday customs declined in the 19th century but have been revived in the 20th. They are now mainly associated with Molly dancing and a good example can be seen each year at Maldon in Essex

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Hone, William (1826). The Every-Day Book. London: Hunt and Clarke, 71. 
  2. ^ a b Plough Monday. Oxford English Dictionary (online edition, subscription required). Retrieved on 2006-12-01.
  3. ^ "Plough Monday", The Every-day Book and Table Book; or, Everlasting Calendar of Popular Amusements, Sports, Pastimes, Ceremonies, Manners, Customs, and Events, Each of the Three Hundred and Sixty-Five Days, in Past and Present Times; Forming a Complete History of the Year, Months, and Seasons, and a Perpetual Key to the Almanac, Including Accounts of the Weather, Rules for Health and Conduct, Remarkable and Important Anecdotes, Facts, and Notices, in Chronology, Antiquities, Topography, Biography, Natural History, Art, Science, and General Literature; Derived from the Most Authentic Sources, and Valuable Original Communication, with Poetical Elucidations, for Daily Use and Diversion. Vol III., ed. William Hone, (London: 1838) p 81. Retrieved on 2008-06-06
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