customs and traditions Archives - Page 2 of 2

Hallowe’en in the ‘pagan borderlands’

Posted on October 31, 2020July 15, 2025 by HarrietP

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

Posted on July 26, 2020July 15, 2025 by HarrietP

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

Posted on January 26, 2020July 15, 2025 by HarrietP

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

Posted on January 5, 2019July 15, 2025 by HarrietP

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

Christmas in Penrith – in 1853

Posted on December 23, 2018July 15, 2025 by HarrietP

‘Christmas in Penrith’ as an historical search left Cumbrian Characters rather spoiled for choice of material. The year 1853 is totally random – but as good as any other, perhaps. Charle... Read More

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Cumbrian Characters

Family history is so much more than names and dates

Category: customs and traditions

Christmas in Penrith – in 1853