Glossary of British customs
A strange name is often the first clue to a good day out. This glossary explains the words you will meet in our event guides, with a local example and a source for each definition. Use the alphabetical list to find a term, then open the linked guide for dates, participation and travel. Definitions describe the custom; they do not confirm the next programme or invite visitors into roles reserved for organised participants. Local arrangements always deserve a closer look.
Follow the customs through the year
See how the occasions fit together in the British ritual year, then read our advice before visiting.
Ba’
A ba’ is the ball, and the name of a Scottish town game in which rival sides try to move it towards their own goal. A moving scrum can fill streets and spill into side lanes. Kirkwall’s Uppies and Doonies provide a well-known example. Visitors can follow from the edge, but should leave players room and read the local guide before choosing a viewing spot.
Bawming
Bawming means decorating a tree with flowers and ribbons. At Appleton Thorn, the village’s children decorate the hawthorn beside the church, sing the Bawming Song and dance around it. The tree is the focus of an organised community ceremony, rather than a public craft activity. Visitors can watch and support the occasion; families hoping to join an activity should ask the organisers first.
Beating the bounds
Beating the bounds is a ceremonial journey around a community’s boundary, traditionally helping people remember where it ran. Boundary markers might be struck with branches as part of the walk. Britain’s customs also include related ways of marking territory: Bacup’s Coconut Dancers travel from one town boundary to the other. Read each local guide, since a boundary dance and a parish walk are different occasions.
Bog snorkelling
Bog snorkelling is a race along a water-filled trench using a snorkel and flippers. At Llanwrtyd Wells, the championship’s rules govern how competitors propel themselves, making it a very different challenge from ordinary swimming. There is plenty to enjoy on dry land too. Read the current entry information before applying, and plan clothing, changing and the journey to the bog as part of the day.
Bonfire society
A bonfire society is a membership organisation that keeps its own bonfire traditions and celebrations going. Sussex’s processions can involve several societies visiting one another, with their own costumes and organised roles. At Battle, only members of invited societies can join the procession; the public watches from the pavement. Being in the crowd does not make someone a marcher, so ask about membership separately if interested.
Bottle kicking
The bottles in Hallaton’s bottle kicking are small wooden barrels, not glass containers. Hallaton and Medbourne contest them across open country on Easter Monday, following a procession and the hare pie scramble. The action is a moving mass of people rather than a game inside a marked stadium. Watch from outside the scrum and expect your view to change as the contest moves.
Burryman
The Burryman is South Queensferry’s walking figure covered in the hooked burrs of burdock plants. With attendants helping him along, he makes his way around the town as part of a custom associated with the Ferry Fair. His extraordinary appearance is easier to recognise than to explain: the ceremony’s origins are uncertain. Follow considerately, give the party space and leave the costume untouched.
Calennig
Calennig is a Welsh New Year gift, and the word also belongs to customs of children visiting homes and singing for gifts. In the Gwaun Valley, it appears in the living Hen Galan tradition, where local children sing and receive money or sweets. This is a household and community celebration. Ask locally about public gatherings rather than planning a visitor circuit of private homes.
Clavie
The Clavie is Burghead’s burning half-barrel, fixed to a carrying post and taken through the town by local bearers. It is the centrepiece of an old New Year celebration, ending at the Doorie Hill. The barrel’s construction and handling belong to the organised custom. Visitors watch from the public areas, keeping well clear of fire, working space and the bearers’ route through the streets.
Common riding
A common riding is a mounted celebration associated with a town’s boundaries and common land, especially in the Scottish Borders. Riding, flags, music and civic ceremonies can share one programme, but each town has its own order and meaning. Selkirk’s ride and Casting of the Colours are a useful example. Watch from an agreed public spot; riding requires separate experience, equipment and entry checks.
Conker
A conker is the horse-chestnut seed used in a game between two players, each with a seed threaded on a string. Players take turns striking the other conker until one breaks. The World Conker Championships turns that familiar contest into an organised tournament. Its equipment and match rules matter, so read the current conditions before entering rather than arriving with a specially prepared garden champion.
Coracle
A coracle is a small, lightweight boat with a rounded shape and shallow base, traditionally used for fishing on Welsh rivers. It is light enough for one person to carry. At Cilgerran, racing brings the craft onto the River Teifi as part of the village celebrations. Watching from the bank and applying to paddle are different plans, so check the current participation and safety arrangements.
Dole
A dole is a charitable distribution. In the customs calendar, it can mean a particular annual gift of food, with rules about who receives it and a ceremony surrounding the giving. At Tichborne, flour is blessed and distributed to eligible local people. Visitors can watch, but receiving a share is not guaranteed. The local entitlement is part of the custom, not simply an admission arrangement.
Dook
Dook is the word visitors meet in South Queensferry’s Loony Dook, a New Year’s Day plunge into the Firth of Forth, often in fancy dress. A parade and cheering spectators are part of its character, but the water is the central challenge. Watching is an option in its own right. Anyone considering the plunge should read the current event advice and plan warm clothing afterwards.
Flitch
A flitch is a side of bacon, the prize at the Dunmow Flitch Trials, where married couples present their case for a harmonious marriage before a jury. The hearing and its questions turn an everyday relationship into public theatre. Stories about the custom’s beginnings need separating from documented history. Visitors can enjoy watching the trial; couples hoping to claim the bacon must follow the organisers’ application process.
Garland
At Castleton, the garland is a huge bell-shaped structure covered in flowers, worn over the upper body of the mounted Garland King. It leads a procession through the village and gives Garland Day its name. This is much more substantial than a wreath or a necklace of flowers. Leave the rider and attendants room, and use the current route to choose a considerate viewing position.
Guising
Guising is appearing in disguise as part of a visiting or performing custom; the word is related to the guisers found in folk drama. Costumes can conceal a performer beneath ribbons, strips or other unfamiliar dress. Marshfield’s paper-clad mummers offer a striking example of how disguise changes a street performance. Watch the whole scene and leave room for the players, not just the photograph.
Gurning
Gurning means deliberately contorting the face, and a gurn is the expression produced. At Egremont Crab Fair, competitors frame their faces in a horse collar for the Gurning World Championships. The comic result is the attraction, not a test of anyone’s usual appearance. Visitors can watch the contest or check the organisers’ current entry arrangements, leaving room for judges and each performer to be seen.
Hobby horse
A hobby horse in a folk custom is a costumed character representing a horse, not the child’s stick toy. Its shape can vary widely: a carried head, a large body frame or a cloth-covered figure can all belong to the wider family. Padstow’s ’Obby ’Oss is a distinctive local example. Read its own guide, since a shared name does not mean shared rules or dates.
Hocktide
Hocktide names the Monday and Tuesday in the week after Easter week. At Hungerford, Hock Tuesday brings the Hocktide Court and the Tutti Men’s rounds, connecting the celebration with the town’s commoners and their rights. Its position follows Easter, so it moves around the calendar. Public watching and a booked place at the lunch are separate arrangements; use the current programme to plan either.
Horn dance
The horn dance at Abbots Bromley is a travelling folk dance whose performers include six people carrying reindeer antlers. A hobby horse and other characters accompany them around the parish. The age of an antler is not proof of the age or meaning of the dance, whose origins remain uncertain. Plan around the current route, since one village photograph cannot show the whole day’s progress.
Hurling, Cornish
Cornish hurling is a traditional ball game played with a small silver ball, distinct from the Irish stick-and-ball sport. At St Columb Major the Townsmen and Countrymen contest it; St Ives has its own children’s custom. The shared name should not suggest a standard pitch or one set of visitor rules. Read the local guide and keep clear of the players and a moving ball.
Jack-in-the-Green
Jack-in-the-Green is a person concealed inside a framework covered with foliage, carried through a May procession. Leaves and branches give the figure its unmistakable moving-bush appearance. Hastings makes Jack the centre of a wider weekend with visiting dancers and music. The procession and the final gathering are different viewing opportunities, so choose your place from the current programme and leave the performers’ route clear.
Mangold
A mangold, also called a mangelwurzel, is the root vegetable traditionally hollowed out to make a punkie lantern. At Hinton St George it belongs to a lantern procession associated with the end of October. A carved pumpkin may be familiar from Halloween, but it is not the vegetable described by this custom. The shape and material are part of what makes a punkie distinctive.
Mari Lwyd
The Mari Lwyd is a Welsh winter visiting figure, usually made with a decorated horse’s skull carried on a pole above a white sheet. The sheet conceals the person bringing the horse to life. Singing and exchanges at doorways are part of the wider custom, with local variations. Llangynwyd’s guide explains its own arrangements; visitors should seek local advice instead of treating homes as public venues.
Maypole
A maypole is the pole around which organised May Day dances take place, often with dancers weaving ribbons into patterns. Ickwell has a permanent pole and a programme involving children and adult dancers after the May Queen’s crowning. Watching the ribbons interlace is part of the attraction, but the dance is rehearsed. Visitors should stay outside the arena and ask about eligibility before seeking a performing place.
Mummers
Mummers are performers in seasonal folk plays, often comic and often involving a fight, a fallen character and a doctor’s revival. Local versions have different characters, costumes and dates. Marshfield’s Old Time Paper Boys wear strips of paper, giving their Boxing Day play a distinctive appearance. Stand where you can hear as well as see, and leave a clear space for the performers to deliver the scene.
Pace Egg
A Pace Egg play is an Easter folk drama, with mock combat and characters familiar from the wider mumming tradition. Heptonstall’s version brings the action into the village on Good Friday. The name belongs to the Easter custom rather than a race involving an egg. Watch a complete performance if you can: the speeches and comic interruptions matter as much as the moment of the fight.
Plough Monday
Plough Monday is the first Monday after Twelfth Night, associated with the return to agricultural work after Christmas. Customs included taking a decorated plough around a community and collecting money, food or drink. Related celebrations survive or have been revived in different forms. Goathland’s Plough Stots give visitors a way into that winter calendar, but their published Day of Dance has its own event arrangements.
Proclamation
A proclamation is a formal public announcement. At Rowell Fair, the bailiff reads the fair’s charter at successive stops around Rothwell, accompanied by halberdiers and a band. Hearing the words in their street setting is the point, rather than simply seeing a costumed parade. Follow the current route, listen during the reading and keep outside the separately controlled ceremonial scuffle involving the halberdiers.
Punkie
A punkie is a lantern made by hollowing out a mangold and placing a candle inside. Children carry the lanterns in Hinton St George’s Punkie Night procession, led by a Punkie King and Queen. The carved root vegetables give the evening its particular character. Check the current gathering and lantern arrangements before joining, and watch without crowding the children or blocking the procession’s way.
Rushbearing
Rushbearing is a church-linked custom recalling the renewal of rushes that once covered an earth floor. Today, decorated bearings, flowers, banners and a procession can make it a village celebration. Grasmere’s church describes both the preparation and the public day as community work. Watching and helping to make a bearing are different ways to enjoy it; contact the committee about a suitable preparation session.
Shin kicking
Shin kicking is a contest in which two opponents hold one another and attempt to bring the other to the ground through kicks to the shins. It is a celebrated part of the Cotswold Olimpick Games, with competition rules and supervision. The striking name is not an invitation to copy it in the crowd. Watch outside the contest space and consult the current entry conditions before applying.
Shrovetide football
Shrovetide football is a family of traditional mass ball games associated with the days before Lent, rather than modern association football on a pitch. Ashbourne’s Royal Shrovetide game takes place on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, with large moving groups carrying the ball through town and countryside. Each game has its own local rules. Visitors should read those arrangements and choose viewing space outside the action.
Spurtle
A spurtle is a wooden Scottish kitchen tool used to stir porridge and other dishes. Its rod-like shape makes it different from a broad spoon. The Golden Spurtle championship takes its name from the utensil and turns porridge-making into an organised cook-off in Carrbridge. Read the competition categories to understand what is being judged, and keep ordinary kitchen enthusiasm separate from the formal entry requirements.
Squibbing
Squibbing is Bridgwater’s simultaneous display of large fireworks, held aloft by organised squibbers on long wooden supports called coshes. It follows the carnival procession and produces a line of sparks along the High Street. Squibbers and spectators have separate roles: the display is not a public hands-on activity. Follow the viewing instructions, keep back from the working area and allow for sparks when choosing where to stand.
Stone skimming
Stone skimming sends a flat stone bouncing across the water’s surface. In the distinction used by the Easdale championship, the distance travelled matters, rather than simply counting the skips. The island’s quarry provides a memorable setting for an organised version of a familiar pastime. Watch from the designated area and follow the event’s rules for stones and entry, rather than throwing wherever a gap appears.
Straw bear
A straw bear is a person dressed in a covering of straw and brought out as a performing figure. Whittlesey’s revived custom places the bear among musicians and visiting dance teams in a January festival. The costume is heavy and needs attendants, so the figure’s movement depends on a team. Give the bear space, follow the public route and keep hands away from the straw covering.
Swan upping
Swan upping is the annual census and health check of swans and cygnets on stretches of the River Thames. Traditionally dressed swan uppers travel by rowing skiff, making a working wildlife task into a distinctive riverside sight. It moves along the river over several days, rather than staying at one viewing point. Choose an announced observation stop and leave the birds and boats undisturbed.
Tar barrel
A tar barrel is a burning barrel used in several local fire customs, but the way it is handled varies. Ottery St Mary’s barrel rollers carry theirs through the town; Allendale has its own distinct head-carrying tradition. A shared object does not mean an interchangeable event. Read the relevant guide, keep clear of the bearers and leave the handling of fire to the organised participants.
Tutti man
A Tutti man is one of the ceremonial visitors who make the rounds of Hungerford’s commoners’ properties on Hock Tuesday. Flower-decorated poles with oranges on top make the pair easy to recognise. The title applies regardless of the holder’s gender. Their calls are part of the town’s organised custom, so visitors should follow the public activity considerately and leave entrances clear as the party moves on.
Wassail
An orchard wassail is a seasonal celebration focused on apple trees and hopes for a fruitful harvest. Carhampton’s custom includes singing and placing cider-soaked toast in branches, with cider poured at the roots. Other wassails take different forms, so a familiar name does not settle the programme. Read the local guide and follow the organisers’ lead about joining songs, gathering places and any noisy moments.
Well dressing
Well dressing creates pictures from flower petals, leaves, seeds and other natural materials pressed into clay on boards. They decorate wells and water sources as a thanksgiving for water. Tissington’s displays and blessing procession are a well-known example, while nearby villages have their own dates and boards. Look closely without touching: the pictures are temporary, carefully assembled work, and the materials change as they dry.
Woolsack
A woolsack is a sack of wool; at Tetbury it becomes the load competitors carry in races on Gumstool Hill. The weight and route turn a short street into a demanding sporting course. Different classes have their own arrangements, so the name alone does not tell you which race suits an entrant. Spectators should keep the runners’ route clear and use the current programme to follow the contests.
Worm charming
Worm charming is the art of bringing worms to the surface without digging. At Willaston, teams work their allocated plots during a timed contest, trying to collect the biggest count within the rules. The methods are part of the entertainment, but the worms’ welfare and the competition conditions still matter. Book through the organisers if entering, or watch from outside the plots without disturbing a team’s patch.