Category: customs and traditions
May Day – ruined by the Puritans!
May Day celebrations have been more lamented than practised since the killjoy Puritans came on the scene, even if the village of Temple Sowerby still has a maypole (main image). Origins of May Day cel... Read More
Easter in Carlisle 1803
Easter in Carlisle Easter in Carlisle has previously been mentioned on Cumbrian Characters, in a post on the public space by Carlisle Castle known as the Sorceries. The post covered the old tradition ... Read More
Holly, a unique Westmorland tradition
A look into a Twelfth Night tradition, involving holly, in Westmorland leads to the story of a worthy Cumbrian Character. But in this post, it’s all about the holly! Holly, a Brough-under-Stainmore ... Read More
Christmas 1843 in Cumbria
Charles Dickens’ arguably most-popular work, A Christmas Carol, was published in 1843. It was also the year of the first Christmas card. So, how did folk in Westmorland celebrate Christmas 1843?’ ... Read More
Hallowe’en in the ‘pagan borderlands’
Hallowe’en is a subdued affair in 2020, due to Covid-19 and lockdowns. But then in the UK, it mostly always was. The short history is that it became a Big Thing in the US, due to Scottish and Irish ... Read More
Wedding invitations with a Cumbrian twist
Wedding invitations are a mixed blessing for the recipient (I am not alone in thinking this, right?!). You have to set aside a weekend and spend a fortune on accommodation, getting there and back, a n... Read More
Invitation to a funeral: a Cumbrian custom
Cumbrian custom, or Solway custom? The following Cumbrian custom may not be unique to Bowness-on-Solway – or indeed be a uniquely Cumbrian custom. But in 1974, one elderly Bowness-on-Solway resident... Read More
Twelfth Night – and twelfth cakes
Twelfth Night these days just means ‘time to take down the Christmas decorations’ – and a Shakespeare play – right? Well perhaps, but it used to mean a lot more. Twelfth cakes It is st... Read More