from the Chronicles of Celtic Folk Customs by Brian Day book.... CELTIC. After the decline of the Whitsun Ales this became a day for picnics, fairs, games and sports, although some organised events were much like the Ales of old. Latterly these events tended to move the Late Spring Bank Holiday. The Church originally et aside Whit Monday and Tuesdays as holidays, and the warm weather combined with the fact that Whit lay conveniently between the ploughing of fields and their sowing, and the forthcoming hay-making, led to these two days becoming ones of open-air enjoyment. This allowed freedom from winter restrictions of church and barn accommodation, the only large buildings available to villagers and both difficult to heat and make comfortable. The drunkenness and revelry associated with Whit was of course not welcome in churches anyway, and many of these occasions deteriorated into disorder and violence. This fact led to a variety of alternative entertainments and distractions being instituted on Whit Monday. The Lord and Lady of Misrule, formerly appointed to preside over the festivities, evolved into an elected mock-King and Queen, perhaps having a link with the election of Summer Queens today in Scotland. I may have been the reluctance to abandon the tradition of May or Whit games that brought about the creation of a formal summer holiday, taken, if at all, before the corn harvest, but not necessarily in one's own community. Soon popular travel was to see the demise of the organised communal events, save perhaps the village fires. CORNWALL. This was a holiday, and picnics were popular. Typical foods were 'heavy cream cake' and a Junket (recipe to follow) with clotted cream. Church Ales feasts were held. Two men had been elected the previous year to collect money and organise the feast for the parishioners. Methodist arranged an open-air service at an earth-round called Gwennap-pit at Carn Marth, near Gwennap, near Redruth. A fair was held at Redruth to coincide, and it was usual for most ot those who took the special-service excursion trains to go to the fair rather than the service! -- Pat Connors, Sacramento CA http://www.connorsgenealogy.com Professional Genealogy Research All outgoing mail virus free, scanned by Norton 2002