Plough Monday

Plough Monday, the first Monday after Twelfth Night was the day the agricultural year started, but before they began  their hard work, the plough men and boys took the opportunity to have a bit of fun by dressing up, disguising their faces and processing around the village to perform a plough play and hopefully be given some money.  The plough was often blessed in the church on the Sunday before, so that day was named as Plough Sunday.

Turn out for plough Monday

Up, fellows now

Buckle the horses

And follow the plough. 

Photo of picture from my book 'The English Year' by Steve Roud. It's described as 'from George Walker's - The Costume of Yorkshire 1814'

The church in the village still celebrates Plough Sunday and in the past I've walked up the road to take a photo of the decorated plough, the Morris dancers and the procession around the village.

This was 2023

This year I didn't - it was freezing out there, no sun and rain threatened, not good for hanging around waiting.

The 12th of January is also the Old New Year's Day which many people carried on celebrating after the calendar changed in the 1752.

If on the 12th January the sun shine

It foreshadows much wind.

Country folk often went on using the old calendar for years so there was also 'old twelfth night' on the 17th, which means there is still time to get Christmas decor down or to Wassail the apple trees.