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The Cornish Calendar of Customs
A general overview of the Cornish year in customs, from winter carols and Saint Piran's Day to May Day, midsummer fires and harvest thanksgiving.
Arts and Lore
Festivals and Customs
The yearly calendar of Cornish events and customs.
Christmas and New Year Customs
A general look at winter customs in Cornwall, from carol singing and chapel services to guise dancing, solstice revivals and New Year traditions.
Gorsedh and Celtic Gatherings
How the bardic Gorsedh tradition reached Cornwall, what happens at Gorsedh Kernow, and how it fits into the wider Celtic revival and pan-Celtic gatherings.
Harvest Festivals and Church Customs
An overview of harvest thanksgiving in Cornwall: decorated churches and chapels, older farming customs like the last sheaf, and how the season is marked today.
May Day Customs and Garland Traditions
A general guide to May Day in Cornwall: greenery, garlands, processions and singing, how spring was welcomed, and which customs are old, revived or debated.
Midsummer Bonfires
The tradition of Midsummer bonfires on Cornish hilltops: Saint John's Eve, the old beacon fires, the twentieth-century revival and the debated Celtic links.
Obby Oss and Hobby Horse Traditions
An introduction to the hobby horse custom in Cornwall, including Padstow's May Day 'Obby 'Oss, its songs and costumes, and the debated origins of the tradition.
Saint Piran Day and Cornish Flag Day
What Saint Piran's Day on March 5 is, how the Cornish flag is flown, the saint's tin-mining associations, and how the day is observed in Cornwall and overseas.
Tom Bawcock Eve
The Mousehole festival on December 23, the legend of Tom Bawcock and the stargazy pie, the debated origins of the story, and how the evening is kept today.
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