Happy Shit-Sack Day to one and all! Join us as we dive nose-first into what is perhaps the best-named of all English traditions.
A brief look at the custom known as Bringing in the May, the night before May Day, when nature ran riot.
As Boss Morris help to reignite the country's interest in traditional culture, we dig into the fRoots archive to see how these things are cyclical. Back in 1997, Colin Irwin celebrated a culture every bit as exotic as the most distant of World Music destinations.
Following on from his article about Penzance’s Midwinter festival - Montol - and the Christmastime mumming tradition called ‘guise dancing’, Tom Goskar turns his attentions to Midsummer and the Cornish festival of Golowan.
Once a year, over the long Spring Bank Holiday weekend, the occupants of Combe Martin, the Earl of Rone Council, and a fair number of spectators enact this fascinating tradition. Alex Hurr takes a deep dive into its history, but warns of distinct fever-dream vibes along the way.
While the summer solstice is commonly associated with something seemingly more spiritual, the rituals of Midsummer had more earthy connections.
One of the consequences of researching and writing folklore and history books is that bits of arcane trivia lodge in...
It’s not every year you get to write about leap years, for rather obvious reasons. So we thought we ought to jump on the chance in 2024.
Jon Wilks chats to folk singer and Morris dancer, Ellie Gowers, about her close encounters with history in the making.
Better late than never, they always say, don’t they? Well it MAY be late, but we were feeling too sad...
Everything you ever wanted to know about the maypole tradition, but were too uncomfortable to ask.
All stories have to start somewhere, and when I began compiling my book Maypoles, Martyrs and Mayhem, way back in...
