In past times, 21st. December was celebrated as St. Thomas's Day. It was the day when poor women and children went 'a-Thomasing' or 'gooding'. This was the old custom of begging for gifts of food or money from better-off neighbours on St. Thomas's Day. At Southwick Church School, children were sometimes given a day's holiday for 'Gooding Day', but at other times they absented themselselves from their lessons so that they could go round the houses collecting. http://history.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/getschool.php?id=900 Gooding Day is noted on the following web page about Wiltshire Words http://www.wiltshirefhs.co.uk/databases-wiltshirewords.html At Lydiard Tregoze the custom on 21st. December was called Thomasing: history.wiltshire.gov.uk/community/getfolkcal.php?id=93 -- Josephine Jeremiah www.ianandjo.dsl.pipex.com