David Castleton (Author) on Nostr: At the end of the Christmas period, there was a custom of lighting fires in fields to ...

At the end of the Christmas period, there was a custom of lighting fires in fields to bring luck to the crops. This tradition seems to have been especially common in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Often one large and 12 smaller fires were set. The smaller ones could represent the 12 disciples or the 12 days of Christmas. Sometimes the fire representing Judas would be stamped out early. An account from 1791 speaks of the "old cider, which circulates freely on these occasions. A circle is formed around the large fire, when a general shout and hallooing takes place, which you hear answered from all the neighbouring villages and fires. Sometimes 50 or 60 of these fires may all be seen at once." #Folklore #history #farming #weird #winter