HKA-001666Folk Custom
The Hawthorn and the May Queen
A record of hawthorn blossom in May Queen festivities, distinguishing changing seasonal customs from claims of an unchanged ancient rite.
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Folk Custom
Browse Hawthorn Archive records filed under this catalogue heading.
HKA-001665Folk Custom
The Hawthorn Flowering Calendar and the Name May
Common hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna, is also called May or may-tree. Its flowers often appear in late spring, but the date changes with weather, altitude and location. The folk name therefore identifies a seasonal association…
Open archive record →HKA-001664Folk Custom
Hawthorn Hedges as Living Field Boundaries
Hawthorn has long been used as a thorny living hedge to enclose fields, guide movement and manage livestock. Hedges were maintained through cutting and laying, so the claim that British people never cut hawthorn…
Open archive record →HKA-001663Folk Custom
The May Blossom and Courtship Customs
May blossom appears in accounts of seasonal courtship and May Queen customs. Flowers, greenery and outdoor celebration brought young people together, but the precise practices varied by place and period. Later summaries sometimes describe…
Open archive record →HKA-001657Folk Custom
May Blossom in Seasonal Garlands
Hawthorn blossom, traditionally called May, was among the greenery associated with spring festivities in Britain. Garlands and decorated branches featured in changing May Day customs, including celebrations organised around a May Queen. The timing…
Open archive record →HKA-001612Folk Custom
Maid Marian Joined Robin Hood Through May Games
Maid Marian is central to modern Robin Hood stories, but she is not central to the earliest surviving outlaw ballads. Her route into Robin’s company is associated with festive performance and May games, where…
Open archive record →HKA-001603Folk Custom
Food Left for a Brownie Household Helper
Brownie traditions in Scotland and the Border country often describe a shy household or farm helper working unseen, particularly at night. Food such as cream, porridge or bread could be left as an acknowledgement…
Open archive record →HKA-001602Folk Custom
Picking Sloes After the First Frost
A familiar British country rule says that sloes should be gathered after the first frost. Cold can soften the fruit and damage its skin, and modern foragers often reproduce the effect by freezing harvested…
Open archive record →HKA-001596Folk Custom
Rowan Crosses Bound with Red Thread
A British protective custom combined rowan wood with red thread. Recorded versions describe small rowan crosses bound with red material and carried in pockets, sewn into clothing or otherwise kept close to the person.…
Open archive record →HKA-001595Folk Custom
Rowan Crosses Used as Protective Charms
Small crosses and loops made from rowan wood were recorded in parts of Britain as protective objects associated with defence against witchcraft, bad luck and other feared harm. Surviving nineteenth-century examples from northern England…
Open archive record →HKA-001594Folk Custom
Turning Clothing Inside Out When Pixy-Led
A remembered remedy for being fairy-led or pixy-led was to turn an item of clothing inside out. In West Country material the gesture appears alongside stories of travellers who became confused about their route.…
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