jabblog: Traditional pursuits in October

Thursday, 26 October 2023

Traditional pursuits in October – part 3

St George's church, Hinton St George

In villages across Somerset the tradition of Punkie Night is upheld. One of the best-known, if not the best-known is at Hinton St George, a small village surrounded by farmland, woods and orchards. It has a population of about 450 but retains all the amenities a community requires – church, pub, primary school, shop, post office and village hall. On the last Thursday of October the village celebrates the Somerset tradition of Punkie Night.

Punkie is an old English name for a lantern which has been carved from a root vegetable like a swede or turnip or mangelwurzel. The Jack-o’-lantern has a lighted candle in it. Nowadays, a pumpkin is often used (and is easier to carve, I can attest!)

This year, 2023, Punkie Night falls on 26th October. Starting at the village hall at 6:00 pm children form a procession that sets off to travel through the streets of the village. They are led by the Punkie King and Queen and travel from house to house, swinging their punkies and maybe hoping for a treat or two.

As they go they sing traditional songs like the following:

It’s Punkie Night, tonight,

Give us a candle, give us a light.

If you don’t you’ll get a fright.

It’s Punkie Night, tonight,

Adam and Eve wouldn’t believe

It’s Punkie Night tonight.

Legend holds that in the Middle Ages, all the men of Hinton St George went to a fair. When it came to evening and they had not returned, the village women went to look for them, lighting their way with punkies. The punkies gave protection from evil as well as light. Farmers of old would put punkies on their gates to fend off evil spirits.

Punkie Night has echoes of Hallowe’en. The children often dress up, sometimes in something like mediaeval dress, but more likely these days in ‘spooky’ costumes. The procession stops along the way for Morris dancing and the singing of Punkie songs and finishes later at the Village Hall where the Punkies are hung up to be judged. There are first, second and third prizes for the best punkies in different age groups.

Sunday, 1 October 2023

Traditional pursuits in October – part 1

Two children playing Pease Porridge hot

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

October 1^st is the traditional start of the English Pudding Season. (No, I didn’t know there was such a thing, either!)

September is harvest time and was traditionally followed by the slaughtering of animals and the preservation of their meat. Keeping animals not needed for breeding would require them to be fed throughout the winter, an expense most families would not wish to incur. By October 1^st most of the slaughtering would have been completed and the meat salted to preserve it. Women would then start making puddings and pies.

In days of yore, English puddings were savoury. Ingredients included meat, vegetables and spices and sometimes dried fruits were added, to give sweetness.

The word ‘pudding’ derives from the French ‘boudin’ by way of the Latin ‘botellus’. ‘Boudin’ is a French kind of black pudding and ‘botellus’ means small sausage. So, traditional English puddings were essentially sausages! Mediaeval puddings were mainly meat-based. Black pudding is described as a traditional delicacy, though I’m not sure that’s really the right word as black pudding is not ‘dainty’. It is made from animal blood, usually from pigs. It is mixed with fat, onions, cereal and seasoning. White pudding is similar but doesn’t contain blood.

By the 17^th century English puddings could be either savoury or sweet.

One mediaeval dish that is still eaten, particularly in North Eastern England, is pease pudding or porridge. It is usually made from yellow split peas and spices and is often cooked with a ham joint. It is similar in texture to houmous (hummus).

The nursery rhyme is a clapping game between two children, who stand opposite each other. They clap their own hands on the first word, right hands with each other on the second, own hands on the third, left hands with each other, own hands and then both hands with their partner. The sequence is repeated, getting faster with each repetition until one of the pair makes a mistake or they both collapse in a heap of giggles.

Pease pudding hot
Pease pudding cold
Pease pudding in the pot
Nine days old

Some like it hot
Some like it cold
Some like it in the pot
Nine days old

It is very entertaining watching children playing clapping games. The nimbleness they display is impressive and it would be a shame if such pastimes lapsed. Among other things, clapping games promote memory skills, improve fine motor control, and encourage concentration.

The following clip shows two girls playing a traditional clapping game.