Watch out for your bottom if you go out this morning because in Sussex today (29th May) is known as ‘Pinch-bum Day’ although in the rest of the country it is ‘Oak Apple Day’. During the English Civil War, in 1651 the future King Charles II was pursued by the Roundheads south across England following…
Month: May 2020
Bumping the Bounds
During May the spring festival of Rogation-tide was celebrated. This word comes from the Latin rogatio which means to ask for or to beg. In spring, seeds were sown and this was the time when God was asked or begged for them to grow. It was during Rogation-tide that the church would sometimes confirm the…
A Sussex May Day
May Day was celebrated by the Romans and the Pagans who knew it as Beltain. It falls midway between the winter and summer solstices and was a time of change and celebration before the hardships of the agricultural year. People would feel at one with nature and would be praying for a bountiful harvest ahead. …
Quirky Sussex History by Kevin Gordon 