MAY

May was the major holiday period in the country calendar. The majority of the preparation and the planting had been accomplished and the level of work diminished - before the major effort of harvest. This time of year was called the "Tides of Summer" - not because of the sea levels or the effects of the moon - rather the names of the Church Festivals

Rogationtide ~ Ascensiontide ~ Whitsuntide

Before the days of Social Benefit (or even The Dole) the country people maintained Clubs or Friendly Societies to help them survive during times of sickness. These groups were often run from the local pub, with a few pence being put each week "On the Plate" as it passed round. If the wage-earner of the family went sick and was unable to work, the fund would pay-out his wages (for as long as the subscription lasted). It was during the Tides of Summer that these accounts were wound-up each year - and un-claimed subscriptions repaid to the contributor.

Publicans were wont to brew strong summer ales at about this time to take advantage of men with time of their hands - and money in their pockets ! It was an all-too-familiar sight to see the families waiting outside the pub to guide (drag) fathers and husbands home after they had slaked their thirst !! To this day we still say that those going to the Doctor for sick notes are - "On the Box" - the box in which the sick-funds were kept.

Rogation Days - in the Roman Catholic church, festivals devoted to special prayers for the crops; they comprise the Major Rogation (Major Litany) on April 25 and the Minor Rogations (Minor Litany) on the three days before Ascension Day (40th day after Easter). The Major Rogation originated as a Christian festival to supplant a pagan Roman festival, Robigalia, which consisted of a procession from Rome to a point outside the city, where a dog and a sheep were sacrificed to save the crops from blight (robigo, "wheat rust").

Ascension - this feast has been celebrated 40 days after Easter in both Eastern and Western Christianity since the 4th century. A distinctive feature of the feast's liturgy in the Western churches is the extinguishing of the Paschal candle after the Gospel has been chanted, as a symbol of Christ's leaving the earth.

Pentecost - (from Greek pentecoste, "50th day"), also called WHITSUNDAY, a major festival in the Christian church, celebrated on the Sunday that falls on the 50th day after Easter. Original Jewish feast was a thanksgiving for the firstfruits of the wheat harvest.