XITWELFTH NIGHT
DOWN with the rosemary and bays,Down with the mistletoe;Instead of holly, now up-raiseThe greener box, for show.The holly hitherto did sway;Let box now domineer,Until the dancing Easter-day,On Easter's Eve appear.Robert Herrick
DOWN with the rosemary and bays,Down with the mistletoe;Instead of holly, now up-raiseThe greener box, for show.The holly hitherto did sway;Let box now domineer,Until the dancing Easter-day,On Easter's Eve appear.Robert Herrick
DOWN with the rosemary and bays,Down with the mistletoe;Instead of holly, now up-raiseThe greener box, for show.
DOWN with the rosemary and bays,
Down with the mistletoe;
Instead of holly, now up-raise
The greener box, for show.
The holly hitherto did sway;Let box now domineer,Until the dancing Easter-day,On Easter's Eve appear.Robert Herrick
The holly hitherto did sway;
Let box now domineer,
Until the dancing Easter-day,
On Easter's Eve appear.
Robert Herrick
Now have Good Day
NOW have good day, now have good day!I am Christmas, and now I go my way!Here have I dwelt with more and less,From Hallow-tide till Candlemas!And now must I from you hence pass,Now have good day!I take my leave of King and Knight,And Earl, Baron, and lady bright!To wilderness I must me dight!Now have good day!And at the good lord of this hall,I take my leave, and of guests all!Methinks I hear Lent doth call,Now have good day!And at every worthy officer,Marshall, painter, and butler,I take my leave as for this year,Now have good day!Another year I trust I shallMake merry in this hall!If rest and peace in England may fall!Now have good day!But often times I have heard say,That he is loth to part away,That often biddeth "have good day!"Now have good day!Now fare ye well all in-fere!Now fare ye well for all this year,Yet for my sake make ye good cheer!Now have good day!From a Balliol MS. of c. 1540
NOW have good day, now have good day!I am Christmas, and now I go my way!Here have I dwelt with more and less,From Hallow-tide till Candlemas!And now must I from you hence pass,Now have good day!I take my leave of King and Knight,And Earl, Baron, and lady bright!To wilderness I must me dight!Now have good day!And at the good lord of this hall,I take my leave, and of guests all!Methinks I hear Lent doth call,Now have good day!And at every worthy officer,Marshall, painter, and butler,I take my leave as for this year,Now have good day!Another year I trust I shallMake merry in this hall!If rest and peace in England may fall!Now have good day!But often times I have heard say,That he is loth to part away,That often biddeth "have good day!"Now have good day!Now fare ye well all in-fere!Now fare ye well for all this year,Yet for my sake make ye good cheer!Now have good day!From a Balliol MS. of c. 1540
NOW have good day, now have good day!I am Christmas, and now I go my way!
NOW have good day, now have good day!
I am Christmas, and now I go my way!
Here have I dwelt with more and less,From Hallow-tide till Candlemas!And now must I from you hence pass,Now have good day!
Here have I dwelt with more and less,
From Hallow-tide till Candlemas!
And now must I from you hence pass,
Now have good day!
I take my leave of King and Knight,And Earl, Baron, and lady bright!To wilderness I must me dight!Now have good day!
I take my leave of King and Knight,
And Earl, Baron, and lady bright!
To wilderness I must me dight!
Now have good day!
And at the good lord of this hall,I take my leave, and of guests all!Methinks I hear Lent doth call,Now have good day!
And at the good lord of this hall,
I take my leave, and of guests all!
Methinks I hear Lent doth call,
Now have good day!
And at every worthy officer,Marshall, painter, and butler,I take my leave as for this year,Now have good day!
And at every worthy officer,
Marshall, painter, and butler,
I take my leave as for this year,
Now have good day!
Another year I trust I shallMake merry in this hall!If rest and peace in England may fall!Now have good day!
Another year I trust I shall
Make merry in this hall!
If rest and peace in England may fall!
Now have good day!
But often times I have heard say,That he is loth to part away,That often biddeth "have good day!"Now have good day!
But often times I have heard say,
That he is loth to part away,
That often biddeth "have good day!"
Now have good day!
Now fare ye well all in-fere!Now fare ye well for all this year,Yet for my sake make ye good cheer!Now have good day!From a Balliol MS. of c. 1540
Now fare ye well all in-fere!
Now fare ye well for all this year,
Yet for my sake make ye good cheer!
Now have good day!
From a Balliol MS. of c. 1540
A Twelfth Night Superstition
TWICE six nights then from Christmasse, they do count with diligence,Where in eche maister in his house doth burne by franckensence:And on the table settes a loafe, when night approcheth nere,Before the coles and franckensence to be perfumed there:First bowing down his heade he standes, and nose and eares and eyesHe smokes, and with hos mouth receyves the fume that doth ariseWhom followeth streight his wife, and doth the same full solemly,And of their children every one and all their family;Which doth preserve they say their teeth and nose and eye and eareFrom every kind of maladie, and sicknesse all the yeare.When every one receyued hath this odour great and smallThen one takes up the pan with coales, and franckensence and allAn other takes the loafe, whom all the rest do follow here.And round about the house they go with torch or taper clere,That neither bread nor meat do want, nor witch with dreadful charmeHave power to hurt their children or to do their cattell harmeThere are that three nightes only do perfoure this foolish geareTo this intent, and thinke themselves in safetie all the yeare.
Barnaby Googe'sversification ofThe Popish Kingdome
Twelfth-Day Table Diversion
JOHN Nott, describing himself as "late cook to the dukes of Somerset, Ormond, and Batton," writes in 1726: "Ancient artists in cookery inform us that in former days, when good housekeeping was in fashion amongst the English nobility, they used either to begin or conclude their entertainments, and divert their guests with such pretty devices as these following, viz:—
A castle made of pasteboard, with gates, drawbridges, battlements and portcullises, all done over with paste, was set upon a table in a large charger, with salt laid round about it, as if it were the ground in which were stuck egg-shells full of rose or other sweet waters, the meat of the egg having been taken out by a great pin. Upon the battlement of the castle were planted Kexes covered over with paste, in the form of cannons, and made to look like brass by covering them with dutch leaf-gold. These cannons being charged with gunpowder, and trains laid so that you might fire as many as you pleased, at one touch; this castle was set at one end of the table.
Then in the middle of the table, they would set a stag made of paste, but hollow, and filled with claret wine, and a broad arrow stuck in his side; this was also set in a largecharger, with a ground made of salt with egg-shells of perfumed waters stuck in it as before.
Then at the other end of the table, they would have a ship made of pasteboard, and covered all over with paste, with masts, sails, flags, and streamers; and guns made of Kexes, covered with paste and charged with gunpowder, with a train, as in the castle. This being placed in a large charger was set upright in as it were a sea of salt, in which were also stuck egg-shells full of perfumed waters. Then betwixt the stag and castle, and the stag and ship, were placed two pies made of coarse paste, filled with bran, and washed over with saffron and the yolks of eggs; when these were baked the bran was taken out, a hole was cut in the bottom of each, and live birds put into one and frogs into the other. Then the holes were closed up with paste, and the lids neatly cut up, so that they might be easily taken off by the funnels, and adorned with gilded laurels.
These being thus prepared, and placed in order on the table, one of the ladies was persuaded to draw the arrow out of the body of the stag, which being done the claret wine issued forth like blood from a wound and caused admiration in the spectators; which being over, after a little pause, all the guns on one side of the castle were by a train discharged against the ship; and afterwards the guns of one side of the ship were discharged against the castle; then, having turned the chargers, the other sides were fired off as in a battle. This causing a great smell of powder, the ladies or gentlemen took up the eggshells of perfumed water and threw them at one another. This pleasant disorder being pretty well laughed over, and the two great pies still remaining untouched, some one or other would have the curiosity to see what was in them and on liftingup the lid of one pie, out would jump the frogs, which would make the ladies skip and scamper; and on lifting up the lid of the other out would fly the birds, which would naturally fly at the light and so put out the candles. And so with the leaping of the frogs below, and the flying of the birds above, would cause a surprising and diverting hurley burley among the guests, in the dark. After which the candles being lighted, the banquet would be brought in, the music sound, and the particulars of each person's surprise and adventures furnish matter for diverting discourse.
The Cook and Confectioner's Dictionary, 1726
The Blessing of the Waters
I WAS anxious to be present at the early liturgy of the morning of Epiphany to witness the ceremony of the blessing of the waters in the pretty quaint village on the island of Skiathos in a far-away corner of Greece. It was a great effort, for the night had been cold and stormy; however, by some process which will never be quite clear to me, I managed to find myself at the door of the one church with its many storied bell-tower, soon after four o'clock. Very quaint indeed it looked as I went out of the cold darkness into the brilliantly lighted church, and saw the pious islanders kneeling all around on the cold floor as the liturgy was being chanted prior to the blessing of the waters. Near the entrance stood the font filled to the brim; and close to it was placed an eikon or sacred picture, representing the baptism of our Lord; around the font were stuck many candles fastened by their own grease; whilstpots and jugs of every size and description, full of water, stood about on the floor in the immediate vicinity of the font.
After the priest had chanted the somewhat tedious litany from the steps of the high altar, he set off dressed sumptuously in his gold brocaded vestments, round the church with a large cross in one hand, and a sprig of basil in the other, accompanied by two acolytes, who waved their censers and cast about a pleasant odor of frankincense. Every one was prostrate as the priest read the appointed Scripture, signed the water in the font and in the adjacent jugs with the cross and threw into the font his sprig of basil. No sooner was this solemn impressive ceremony over than there was a general rush from all sides with mugs and bottles to secure some of this consecrated water. Everybody laughed and hustled his neighbor; even the priest, with the cross in his hand, stood and watched them with a grin. The sudden change from the preceding solemnity was ludicrous in the extreme.
Before taking his departure for his home each person went up to kiss the cross which the priest held and to be sprinkled with water from the sprig of basil. Each person had brought his own sprig of basil which he presented to the priest to bless, and in return for this favor dropped a small coin into the plate held by one of the acolytes. Basil is always held to be a sacred plant in Greece. The legend says that it grew on Christ's tomb, and they imagine that this is the reason why its leaves grow in a cruciform shape. In nearly every humble Greek dwelling you may see a dried sprig of basil hanging in the household sanctuary. It is this sprig which has been blessed at the Feast of Lights. It is most effectual say they in keeping off the influence of the evil eye.
The day broke fine and the violence of the storm was over. Yet our captain still lingered saying that perhaps toward evening we might start, and for this delay I believe I discovered the reason. Towards midday on Epiphany it is customary among these seafaring islanders to hold a solemn function, closely akin to the one I had witnessed in the church that morning, namely, the blessing of the sea.
From their homes by the shore the fishermen came, and all the inhabitants of Skiathos assembled on the quay to join the procession which descended from the church by a zigzag path, headed by two priests and two acolytes behind them waving censers, and men carrying banners and the large cross.
Very touching it was to watch the deep devotion of these hardy seafaring men as they knelt on the shore whilst the litany was being chanted, and whilst the chief priest blest the waves with his cross and invoked the blessing of the most High on the many and varied crafts which were riding at anchor in Skiathos harbor. When the service was over there followed, as in the morning, an unseemly bustle, so ready are these vivacious people to turn from the solemn to the gay. Every one chatted with his neighbor and pressed forward toward a little jetty to see the fun. Presently the priest advanced to the end of this jetty with the cross in his hand, and after tying a heavy stone to it he threw it into the sea. Thereupon there was a general rush into the water; men and boys with their clothes on plunged and dived until at length to the applause of the bystanders one young man succeeded in bringing the cross to the surface, stone and all. A subscription was then raised for the successful diver, the proceeds of which were spent by him in ordering many glasses of wine at the nearest coffee shop,and the wet men sat down for a heavy drink—to drive out the chill, I suppose.
In many places you will find the boats hauled upon the beach the day before Christmas, and nothing will induce their owners to launch them again until after the blessing of the sea. I am sure the captain of our steamer shared the superstition, though he chose to laugh at the islanders' ways; for a few hours after the sea had been blessed we put out into it, and I imagine could have started hours before if the captain had been so inclined.
J. T. Bent
La Galette du Roi
IN France, where it probably originated, the Twelfth Night cake, known as La Galette du Roi ("the king's cake"), still survives.
The cake is generally made of pastry, and baked in a round sheet like a pie. The size of the cake depends on the number of persons in the company. In former times a broad bean was baked in the cake, but now a small china doll is substituted.
THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI.Memling.
THE ADORATION OF THE MAGI.Memling.
The cake is the last course in the dinner. One of the youngest people at the table is asked to say to whom each piece shall be given. This creates a little excitement and all watch breathlessly to see who gets the doll. The person who gets it is king or queen, and immediately chooses a king or queen for a partner. So soon as the king and queen are announced they are under the constant observation of the rest of the party and whatever they do is immediately commented upon. In a short time there is a perfect uproar: "The king drinks," "the queen speaks," "the queen laughs." This is kept up for a long time; then there are games, music and dancing.
William Honein theEveryday Book
Drawing King and Queen on Twelfth Night
HONE, in hisEveryday Book, describes a drawing as it was conducted in 1823: "First, buy your cake. Then, before your visitors arrive, buy your characters (painted cards), each of which should have a pleasant verse beneath. Next, look at your invitation list and count the number of ladies you expect; and afterwards the number of gentlemen. Then take as many female characters as you have invited ladies; fold them up, exactly of the same size, and number each on the back, taking care to make the King No. 1 and the Queen No. 2. Then prepare and number the gentlemen's characters. Cause tea and coffee to be handed to your visitors as they drop in. When all are assembled, and tea over, put as many ladies' characters in a reticule as there are ladies present; next put the gentlemen's characters in a hat. Then call a gentleman to carry the reticule to the ladies, as they sit, from which each lady is to draw one ticket and preserve it unopened. Select a lady to bear the hat to the gentlemen for the same purpose. There will be one ticket left in the reticule and another in the hat, which the lady and gentleman who carried each is to interchange, as having fallen to each. Next arrange your visitors according to their numbers—the King No. 1, the Queen No. 2, and so on. The king is then to recite the verse on his ticket, then the queen the verse on hers, and so the characters are to proceed in numerical order.
This done, let the cake and refreshments go round, and hey! for merriment.
St. Distaff's Day and Plough Monday
THE day after Epiphany was called St. Distaff's day by country people, because the Christmas holidays being ended the time had come for the resumption of the distaff and other industrious employments of good housewives.
The Monday after Twelfthday was a similar occasion for the resumption of agricultural labors. Another writer connects the day with a custom which among farm servants corresponded somewhat to the 'prentices Boxing Day. The usage was "to draw around a plough and solicit money with guisings, and dancing with swords, preparatory to beginning to plough after the Christmas holidays."
Olaus Magnus describes the "dance with swords": First, with swords sheathed and erect in their hands, they dance in a triple round; then with their drawn swords held erect as before; afterwards extending them from hand to hand, they lay hold of each other's hilts and points, and while they are wheeling more moderately around and changing their order, they throw themselves into the figure of a hexagon which they call a rose: but presently raising and drawing back their swords, they undo that figure, in order to form with them a four-square rose so that they may rebound over the head of each other. Lastly, they dance rapidly backwards, and vehemently rattling the sides of their swords together, conclude their sport. Pipes or songs (sometimes both) direct the measure which at first is slow, increasing to a very quick movement at the close. Olaus Magnus adds: "It is scarcely to be understood how gamely and decent it is."
William HoneinYear Book