October's Facts, Traditions and Customs.

FACTS ABOUT THE MONTH OF OCTOBER.

                                                                 Gemstone. Opal.





                                                                Flower. Calendula. (Marigold.) 

                                                               

The month of October gets its name from the old Roman Calendar. It was the eighth month of the year and 'Octo' was the roman word for eight.

The Saxons called this month 'Wyn Monath' as it was the season for making wine.

October is the start of Autumn, the days and nights begin to turn cooler as the summer months come to an end. The countryside turns into an array of colours, reds, orange and yellows as the leaves on the trees start to shed them until next spring.

October 4th is St. Francis Day. 
It is this time of the year when we see our summer visitors The Swallows lining up on telephone wires at the side of the road getting ready to begin their long flight across the world back to Africa. It was once thought by our ancestors that the Swallows, when they had disappeared had gone to sleep on the bottom of lakes and ponds for the winter. This myth probably came about because people saw them skimming across the surface of ponds and lakes when catching insects as nothing was known then about migration in those times.

October the 10th is the 'Old Michaelmas Day', this day was formally held on the 29th of September but after the calendar reform of 1752 it was moved forward by eleven days. On or around this day it was once the custom to hold the annual Mop Fairs.

Mop Fairs.

Mop Fairs were held on or around the 10th of October. ( Michaelmas Day ). Traditionally this was the time of the year that the Mop Fair or Hiring Fairs took place. The working year of most people that worked in the countryside for a living was from October to October. Farm workers and servants would go to the fairs to offer their services for hire, they would carry something with them so that their prospective new employers knew what their trade was. Dressed in their best clothes and carrying something to show what work they were looking for, they would walk around the fair looking for work for the next year. If you were a Shepherd you carried a fleece, a Forrester would carry an axe and if you were a Maid you would carry a mop, which was why they became to be known as Mop Fairs. When they had been chosen by their new master or mistress they were given a small token such as an old shilling ( 5 new pence ) to seal the agreement and the worker would then remove his or her sign of their trade and replace it with a bunch of brightly coloured ribbons to show that they had been hired. Mop fairs are still held in small towns and villages all around the country. In the county of Warwickshire there are several Mop Fairs with the main one being held in Stratford. On the morning of the fair children are given free rides.  After World War 1 most of these mop fairs became funfairs and are still held today.

St Luke's Day.

St Luke’s Day falls on October 18th, traditionally this was the day when young girls could take a look into the future regarding their marriage prospects. To do this they had to put on their faces a mixture of spices, honey and vinegar before going to bed. When they had done this and gone to bed, before going to sleep they had to recite the following rhyme;

St luke, St Luke, be kind to me,

In my dreams let me my true love see.

St Luke's day was also known as Dog Whipping Day, it was the custom on this day to Whip and chase out of the streets of the town all stray dogs.

Weather Lore, Beliefs and Sayings.

Rain in October

Means winds in December

When berries are many in October

Beware a hard winter.

In October dung your fields

And your land its wealth shall yield.

If the October moon comes without frost,

then expect no frost till the moon of November.

If ducks do slide at Hallowtide,

At Christmas they will swim;

If ducks do swim at Hallowtide

At Christmas they will slide.

And finally, although I can't see it happening this year.

It is said that there always will be Twenty nine fine days in October.

Festivals and Traditions.

October 1st. Start of the English Pudding Season.

This was the time of the year when everyone began making their puddings. The fillings in them could be anything; meat, fruit or vegetables. 

October 4th. St Francis Day. In olden days this was the day they thought Swallows flew to the bottom of ponds to hibernate for the winter.

October 21st. Apple Day.

In 1989 a custom began to celebrate nature and the culture symbolised by the Apple that began its life in the Tien Shan area ( the Heavenly Mountains ) in China.

Punky Night.

Punky Night falls on the last Thursday in October and is an old Somerset tradition.

This dates back to some time in the Middle Ages when all the men from a small village somewhere in Somerset went to a fair. When they failed to return that night all the women went looking for them, guided in the dark by the light of their punkies. A punky is another name for a pumpkin that had been hollowed out and a candle put inside to help see where you were going in the dark, a sort of 
Old Fashioned Torch.

Another name for these is a Jack O Lantern. Traditionally on this night children in the South of England would march through the streets, singing a 'punky' song.

It's Punky Night, tonight,

It's Punky Night tonight,

Give us a candle, gives us a light.

It's Punky Night, tonight. It's Punky Night, tonight,

It's Punky Night , tonight,

Adam and Eve, wouldn't believe

It's Punky Night, tonight.

October 31st. Halloween Night.

On October the 31st, we celebrate Halloween, thought to be the one night of the

year when ghosts, witches, fairies and all spirits from the spirit world became very active.

The Celts believed that the evil spirits came with the long hours of winter darkness. They believed that on this night that the barrier between our world and that of the spirit world were at their weakest and therefore the spirits would haunt our world. The Celts would also build large bonfires to frighten the spirits away and pray for the souls of people in Purgatory to help them rise to heaven.

A Jack O Lantern or A Punky.

Other Notable Dates.

3rd October 1906. The Letters S.O.S. Were established as the international distress signal for help.

3rd October 1990. East and West Germany re-united and became one country again.

4th October. St. Francis of Assisi’s Day.

6th October 1769. Captain James Cook discovered New Zealand.

11th October 1968. Apollo 7 was launched, making it the first manned flight of the capsule that would take men to the moon.

13th October 1884. Greenwich Mean Time was introduced.

14th October 1066. The Battle of Hastings, King Harold was defeated by William of Normandy.

18th October. St. Luke's Day.

21st October 1805. The Battle of Trafalgar.

23rd October 1642. The Battle between the Cavaliers and the Roundheads took place at Edgehill.

24th October. United Nations Day.

25th October 1415. The Anniversary of The Battle of Agincourt.

25th October 1854. The Anniversary of the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava.

28th October. Feast of St Jude.

31st October. All Hallows Eve.

A Harvest Moon.

                                                                                 Moon Phases.

While writing the Facts of the month for September I remember reading an article about the different phases of the moon, one of these is Harvest Moon that is the name our ancestors called the month of September. This was before the calendar had been invented and it was how our ancestors remembered the changes of each season and kept track of each month of the year.

A full moon happened every twenty nine days which means that on average there is a new moon once each month, so as the seasons changed our ancestors gave each new moon a name that related to the natural world. The names varied slightly in different regions and cultures listed here are the more common names that you may have heard or come across before.


                                                      January                          Wolf Moon.
                                                      February                        Snow or Ice Moon.
                                                      March                            The Worm or Storm Moon.
                                                      April                              The Growing Moon.
                                                      May                               The Flower or Hare Moon.
                                                      June                               The Strawberry or Mead Moon.
                                                      July                                Buck or Hay Moon.
                                                     August                            Sturgeon or Corn Moon.
                                                     September                       Harvest Moon.
                                                     October                           Hunter's Moon.
                                                     November                       Beaver or Snow Moon.
                                                     December                       Cold or Winter Moon.

A Harvest Moon.

                                                                                                                               

Some of the meanings or the names given to some of the phases may be hard to work out why they were so named but with a little thought most of them will become obvious to you i.e.; April's moon is the time that crops would be sewn, June would relate to the time they made Mead an early type of beer, July is the start of the rutting season for Roe Deer hence Buck and Hay making would also begin this month, so most of the names become more logical and easier to work out their meaning. Two of the most important moons of the seasons were the Harvest Moon  (because it is the closest to the Autumn Equinox ) around the 21st of September and the other is the (Hunters Moon in October). The reason being, that both of these moons rise more quickly in to the sky on successive evenings than any other moons of the year. This means that the period of darkness is shorter between Sunset and Moonrise , so there was more light in the sky for Farmers and Hunters to carry on with their work. Also these two Moons were special because they appear much bigger because of the Earth's tilt, so they appear to hang much lower in the sky at this time of the year.

Wood Burners.

                         

                                                                                Wood Burners.

In the last few years wood burners have again become popular, probably due to the ever rising costs of Gas and Electric. Wood burners and multi fuel stoves for heating and cooking have been around for many years, improvements to design and construction have made them a very good alternative and efficient source for providing heat and to cook with. Most of you will be familiar with the names of Rayburn, Aga and Franco Belge, if you live in the countryside or used to live in the countryside, chances are you probably have one or used one. Nearly every farmer, estate worker, gamekeeper had one of these in their home, I had one on all the estates where I lived and worked. The main fuel for me was wood as I had an unlimited supply, I only ever used coal when I needed to. Now they are back in fashion with many more choices available to suit any property, wether you want to cook with it or just use it to heat your home.

An Aga Multi fuel Stove.

A Rayburn.

The more modern wood burner will fit in to any property old or new provided you have a chimney, although it is possible to put one in with out. These new burners provide a lot of heat for their physical size but do get one that is capable of doing what you want it to do and also decide if it is just for

background heat or to heat radiators and if you want to cook with it.

A Franco Belge

A Aga wood burner.

Now the most important tip that I can give you if you decide to fit one in your home, you will need to build up a store of good timber and it must be kept dry. If your timber is not kept dry it will smoke, provide little heat and soot up your chimney very quickly. When buying your logs always try to find a  good supplier and always if possible stick to hardwoods, here is an old traditional poem that will tell you everything you need to know about choosing the right logs for your fire.

                                                                          Logs to burn, logs to burn

Logs to save the coal a turn,

Here's a word to make you wise,

When you hear the woodman's cries.

Never heed his usual tale ,

That he has good logs for sale,

So read these lines and really learn,

The proper kinds of logs to burn.

Oak logs will warm you well,

If they're old and dry.

Larch logs of pine will smell,

But the sparks will fly.

Beech logs for Christmas time,

Yew logs heat well.

'Scotch' logs it is a crime 

For anyone to sell.

Birch logs will burn too fast,

Chestnut scarce at all.

Hawthorn logs are good to last

If you cut them in the fall.

Holly logs will burn like wax,

You should burn them green.

Elm logs like smouldering flax

No flames to be seen.

Pear logs and apple logs,

These will sent your room.

Cherry logs across the dogs

Smell like flowers in bloom.

But Ash logs, all smooth and grey,

Burn them in the green or old:

Buy up all that come your way,

They're worth their weight in gold.

And finally if you have the room to make a small lean to type of cover to store your logs under out of the rain but allows the wind to blow through the pile to help dry them out and season them, it would be a good idea to make one. It takes on average one year per inch of the thickness of timber to dry or season the wood, so collect and store your timber in advance the year before for best results.

Hedgerow Fruits.

                                                                        Crab Apple Jelly.

Now is the time to start gathering your hedgerow fruits and begin making your wines, jellies and jams. A lot of the fruits, berries, nuts and the various Fungi's are beginning to ripen in our countryside, this is free food and if you have the time to gather it in and follow some simple recipes the rewards are worth it.

Today I will tell you how to make Crab Apple Jelly, this simple to make jelly tastes absolutely great with Pork and in my opinion tastes equally as good as any shop bought apple jelly if not better. The fruits of the Crab apple trees are ready now to gather, try to collect them from trees that are not to near to a busy road, if you can find them in a hedgerow or small wood away from the road this is the best place to collect them from.

                 Clik on photo's for a larger image.


You will need some sterilised jam jars with tops or papers to seal in the jelly after you have made it, a large pan to boil the fruit, a thermometer and muslin cloth or a proper bag to strain the juices through and separate the fruit. And the juice from a lemon.

                                                                         Ingredients.

                                                                4 lbs of Crab Apples.
                                                                 4lbs of Caster Sugar.
                                                                  Juice from 1 Lemon.

Wash and prepare fruit, slice apples in half discard any bruised fruits and put into a large saucepan with just enough water to cover them. Now bring the fruit to the boil and simmer until the fruit has gone soft,
this takes around thirty minutes. Next, pour into a jelly bag or through several layers of muslin suspended over another pan and let it drain overnight ( DO NOT SQUEEZE the bag as it can turn your juice cloudy ). Now measure your juice, add your sugar and the juice of the Lemon, bring it to the boil stirring it to help dissolve the sugar. Once it begins to boil continue the boiling of the pans contents, remove any froth and keep the boil rolling for around 40 minutes to reach the set point, times vary. Now for the tricky part, to test if your juice is ready to set, chill a desert spoon in the fridge beforehand. Dip the chilled spoon into the pan and if it has set it will start to solidify on the back of the spoon, it must do this before you can pour your fruit juice into your jars. You may want to buy a proper jam making thermometer to help you with this but it is just as easy to do it without. When your fruit has reached the set point it is now ready to pour into your jam jars. Your jars must have been sterilised beforehand and they need to be warm when your fruit is poured into them, you can keep them warm by standing them in a bowl of hot water or putting them into a warm oven. Now to finish, pour the juice into the pre warmed and sterilised jam jars, tightly seal or place your jam papers on top of the jelly, allow to cool before moving, then store in a cool dark place until ready for use. If you have made it right your jelly should keep for up till twelve months, serve it with any meat but Pork is favourite and it also tastes nice on toast.

Foot Note;
The amounts of Sugar used can be adjusted to your own taste ie; more or less makes it bitter or sweeter to the taste, around 1lb of sugar to 1 pint of juice is the norm. In my Gran's kitchen she had a hook or nail to suspend the juice from when straining it, you can get round this by tying the corners of your jelly bag or muslin cloth to the four legs of a high stool turned upside down or again you can buy a gadget from a decent cook shop or hardware store that will do this.

Facts For The Month Of September.

FACTS ABOUT THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER.  

                              Gemstone; Sapphire.  

                                                           Flower;     Aster.               

The name of September comes from the Roman word 'septum' which means seven. In the old Roman calendar it was the seventh month of the year.

The Anglo – Saxon name of this month was 'Gerst monath' ( Barley Month ), as it was during this month that they harvested the barley that they used to make their favourite drink ( Barley brew ) similar to todays beer. It was also called 'Haefest month', or Harvest month.

The Romans thought that this month was looked after by one of the Gods, Vulcan the God of fire and they expected September to be a month of fires and volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

VulcanThe God Of Fire.

The Julian Calendar.

Until the year of 1752, this was the calendar that we used in Britain. It was based on the 'Solar year' the length of time it took for the Earth to rotate around the Sun. It was however found to be less accurate than the 'Gregorian Calendar', so it was decided to change over to this new system.

The Gregorian Calendar.

This is the calendar mostly used now. It was named after 'Pope Gregory X111' who introduced it in 1582. There is a leap year every forth year. The calendar corresponds closely to the 'Astronomical' year which has 365.24219 days so it is just one day out every 3,300 years, where as the 'Julian calendar' is 365.25 days long which is a fraction longer, so over time it fell out of line with the seasons. So in 1752 Britain decided to correct this by changing from the 'Julian Calendar' to the 'Gregorian Calendar' but in doing so we lost 11 days as the 3rd of September that year (1752 ) became the 14th of September. This caused mayhem with the population of Britain and they took to the streets in protest crying out “ Give us back our 11 days! ' as they thought that their lives had been shortened by the 11 days removed from the month. Also there is nothing recorded in history for those missing days between the 3rd & 13th of September in 1752.

Pope Gregory X111.

Harvest Festival.

Traditionally the harvest festival took place after the harvesting of the corn which began on the 24th of September in Medieval Times.

When all the corn was being gathered in, the celebrations began and one of those was called “The Calling of the Mare”. As the last of the harvest was being cut the farmers raced to beat their neighbours so as not to be the last to gather in their corn and to prove that they had the best reapers. As the last sheaf of corn was cut it would be used to make the rough shape of a 'Mare' which was quickly sent round to the next farmer who had not completed their harvest. The reason being, to say that wild horses would get his corn if he did not get it in quickly. The farmer would run round to the farm next door and throw the Mare over the hedge into the field where the neighbouring farmer was working and then shout Mare, Mare and run off.

The farmer, who received the mare would then work harder to try and beat his neighbour so he could pass the mare on to him. The last farmer to gather in his corn and finish the harvest would then have to keep the mare all year on display for all to see so that everyone knew he had been the last farmer of the year to get in his harvest.

Harvest Time.
(The Modern Reaper.)

What is the Harvest Festival.

The Harvest Festival is to celebrate the gathering of all the food from the land. In Britain we have celebrated the harvest festival since pagan times for the successful harvest of our crops. We do this by singing, praying and decorating our churches with fruits, flowers and crops to give thanks, this is the 'Harvest Festival'.

Harvest Festival.

Corn Dollies.

The corn dolly was supposed to represent the spirit of the Corn Goddess that lived in the corn and it dates back over hundreds of years. We believed that the corn goddess  would die when all the corn was cut unless some of it was saved. To keep the corn goddess alive until the sowing of the new seed next spring, a corn dolly was made from the last sheaf of corn from the harvest for her to rest in.

The making of corn dollies has now become a popular hobby at arts and craft centres all over the country. The styles and designs of many corn dollies vary in different areas.

Michaelmas Day.

The feast of 'Saint Michael' the Archangel is celebrated on the 29^th of September. He is the patron saint of the sea, ships and boatmen, of horses and horsemen and of all travellers. He was the Angel who hurled 'Lucifer '( the devil ) down from heaven for his treachery. Michaelmas also used to be the night when the winter curfew began, the first indication that winter was on it's way.

Saint Michael Defeats
The Devil Before He Was Thrown Out Of Heaven.

The Curfew.

The Curfew took the form of the tolling of the church bells, one strike for each of the days of the month that had passed by in the current year and normally began at the stroke of 9pm. Chertsey is one of the last places that continues this practise.

Goose Day.

This was another name for Michaelmas day and was when the Goose Fairs were held. One of the most famous of these is the 'Nottingham Goose Fair' which is still held every year. Traditionally these fairs were held across the country and farmers would take their Geese to the fair, which was also a market. Goose was eaten on Michaelmas day. It became a custom to eat Goose on that day as this was the day when Queen Elizabeth 1^st' was eating one, when she received the news that the Spanish Armada had been defeated. In celebration of this, she said that from this day henceforth she would always eat goose on Michaelmas Day.

                                                                       Rides at the Goose Fair.

Quarter Day.

Michaelmas day was also a 'Quarter Day', the day when rents were due and all bills had to be paid. Tenants often struggled to find the money to pay their dues, so to seek the indulgence of their landlord they would often present a big fat goose as part payment or to gain a little more time to find the money to pay their bills.

                                                                                   Mop Fairs.

'The Mop Fair' was another day when traditionally every year farm workers along with all their tools, would go to the nearest 'Market Town' where there was a mop fair being held, to offer their services for hire for the following year. A Mop Fair always took place the day after Michaelmas Day.

Weather Lore, Beliefs and Sayings.

                                                     The Michaelmas Daises, among dede weeds,

Bloom for St. Michael's valorous deeds.

And seems the last of flowers that stood,

Till the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude.

( The feast of St. Michael and St. Jude is on the 28^th of October. )

Eat a goose on Michaels Day,

And want not for money all the year.

He who eats goose on Michaelmas Day,

Shan't money lack or hath debts to pay.

                    If St. Michael brings many Acorns, Christmas will cover the fields with snow.

                                                      A dark Michaelmas, a light Christmas.

Some of our Grand Parents may remember being told as a child not to pick the fruits of the 'Blackberry' bush after Michaelmas. The reason for this was that on St. Michael's Feast Day when the Devil was kicked out of heaven he landed in a 'Bramble bush' and so it is said that he cursed it by scorching it with his fiery breath, stamping on it with his feet then spitting on it and therefore generally making the fruits of the Bramble bush unfit to eat. Legend says that he renews his curse every year on Michaelmas Day.

The 'Victorians' believed that Michaelmas day was the best day of the year to plant a tree, as they always grew better when planted on this day.

Festivals and Traditions.

A game played by children at this time of the year is 'Conkers'. The fruit of the 'Horse Chestnut Tree' sheds its nuts at this time of the year. Traditionally children would gather the nuts to play the game of conkers. On finding your first conker of the season, you were supposed to recite the following verse; “Oddly, oddly onker you are my first conker'. This would ensure when playing the game, you had good fortune and therefore had less tangles.

The Horn Dance.

In Staffordshire in the village of Abbots Bromley every year, on the first Monday after the 4^th of September, they perform the old custom of having a Horn Dance. This custom goes back over 800 years. It involves two teams of dancers accompanied by their followers; Maid Marion, Robin Hood, a Fool and a man on a Hobby Horse. This old pagan custom involves two teams of dancers carrying some very old horns ( antlers ) from the heads of some deer, one set painted white the other painted blue. Each team dances towards the other as if to fight, they then go backwards and then move forwards again as if they are to lock their horns together, similar to two stags ( male deer ) behaviour during the Rut ( the mating season ). The dance lasts all day long as they travel around the village playing music and performing the dance at surrounding farms and the village pubs. The distance they cover is around ten miles. 

                             

                                  
                                                                 Abbots Bromley Horn Dancers.

                                                                                Anniversaries.

2-6^thof September in 1666 was when The Great Fire of London took place.

3^rd of September 1939 The Second World War began ending on 15^th of August 1945.

7^th of September Queen Elizabeth 1 was born.

9^th of September 1087 William the Conqueror died.

26^th of September Sir Francis Drake returned to Plymouth in his ship The Golden Hind, becoming the first British navigator to sail around the world.

29^th of September Michaelmas Day.

30^th of September Alexander Fleming discovered Penicillin.

Look Out For Next Months Facts.