Book details

Book description

This enthralling book will take you, month-by-month, day-by-day, through all the festivities of English life. From national celebrations such as New Year s Eve to regional customs such as the Padstow Hobby Horse procession, cheese rolling in Gloucestershire and Easter Monday bottle kicking in Leeds, it explains how they originated, what they mean and when they occur. A fascinating guide to the richness of our heritage and the sometimes eccentric nature of life in England, The English Year offers a unique chronological view of our social customs and attitudes Steve Roud has been researching British folklore for over thirty years. He is the author of The Penguin Guide to the Superstitions of Britain and Ireland, and winner of the 2004 Katharine Briggs Folklore Award.